Western States 100 — The Race That Started It All
The Race That Defined Ultrarunning
Western States 100 didn’t just launch ultramarathon running — it wrote the blueprint. Every 100-miler that came after borrowed something from this race.
It starts at Palisades Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada and ends 100.2 miles later in Auburn, California. The course climbs 18,090 feet and drops 22,970 feet. It crosses the Sierra crest at 8,750 feet, traverses exposed ridges in 100-degree canyons, and asks runners to cover the final 38 miles through the night after a full day of running.
The first edition ran in 1977. Gordy Ainsleigh, a horse competitor who watched horses complete the Tevis Cup over the same terrain, decided to try it on foot. He finished in under 24 hours. The race has run every year since.
The Course
The race begins at Squaw Valley base and immediately climbs 2,550 feet in the first 4.5 miles to Emigrant Pass. From there runners descend into canyons that trap heat — the Foresthill section, roughly mile 62, is where races are made and broken.
High Country (Miles 0-30): Above treeline, exposed, unpredictable weather. Snow is common in early miles even in late June.
The Canyons (Miles 38-55): Deadwood Canyon, El Dorado Canyon, Volcano Canyon. Loose rock, steep descents, heat building. This is where the race separates itself from most ultras.
Foresthill (Mile 62): The last major crew access before the river crossing. Runners often arrive here destroyed. Sixteen miles of runnable trail follow — demanding everything when legs have nothing left.
River Crossing at Rucky Chucky (Mile 78): The American River crossing. Waist-deep in a good year. Cables assist. An iconic moment.
The Final 20 (Miles 80-100): No Hands Bridge, Robie Point, the track finish at Auburn High School. The hardest 20 miles in American ultrarunning.
Cutoffs and the Buckle System
The race has a 30-hour cutoff. Sub-24 hours earns a silver buckle. Sub-30 earns bronze. Key cutoffs: Robinson Flat (Mile 30) at 10.5 hours, Foresthill (Mile 62) at 22 hours, Highway 49 (Mile 93.5) at 28.5 hours.
Getting In — The Lottery
Western States accepts around 370 runners per year from 10,000+ applicants. First-attempt odds are below 5%. Each non-selected year adds a lottery ticket.
Golden Tickets: The top 2 finishers (male and female) at select qualifying races — Black Canyon 100K, Canyons 100K, Bandera 100K — receive automatic entry. This is how Hans Troyer earned his 2025 start.
What Makes It Extreme
Heat. Canyon sections hit 100F+. Altitude hits sea-level runners hard in the opening miles. Nearly 23,000 feet of downhill destroys quads by mile 70. The professional field is the deepest in American ultrarunning.
Jim Walmsley holds the course record (14:09:28, 2019). Courtney Dauwalter is the defining women’s performer of the modern era. Scott Jurek won seven consecutive times (1999-2005).
Hans Troyer finished 8th in 2025 in his first attempt — one of the strongest debuts in recent memory.
100.2 miles | 18,090 ft gain | Base: 6,200 ft | Late June | Palisades Tahoe to Auburn, CA