There may be lots to like concerning the Western States 100 — the gorgeous trails, the neighborhood, the historical past, the competitors, the storylines. However this month, we’re paying homage to the treasure trove of knowledge the race group maintains on its web site.
In the event you’d like a refresher on fascinating features of this iconic race or in case you’re a more moderen fan of the occasion, strap in. Are you aware of attention-grabbing statistics or knowledge factors we didn’t embrace within the article? We’d love to listen to from you within the feedback part!
Twenty Assist Stations and 1,500 Volunteers
As a world-class manufacturing with glorious consideration to element and thrilling dwell protection, these of us following the race from afar could be susceptible to forgetting that race organizers are collaborating in their very own spectacular endurance occasion. They make it look straightforward.
In actuality, the Western States 100 is a big and logistically complicated occasion. Its 20 help stations span two sides of the American River. The path consists of giant, distant sections with no cell protection. The security and efficiency targets of athletes rely on an estimated 1,500 volunteers whose roles embrace — however aren’t restricted to — protecting help stations stocked, serving to athletes settle down with water and sponges, tending to medical points, and monitoring athletes. The occasion web site states that volunteers “spend days making ready for the run and will probably be at their stations for over 30 hours.”
Spectators and volunteers keep cool within the river on the Rucky Chucky river crossing, a essential level within the race for runners at mile 78. Photograph: iRunFar/Alex Potter
Ninety Tevis Cup and Western States 100 Finishers
Western States honors people who’ve accomplished each the Western States 100 working race and the Western States Path Trip endurance journey for horses and people, also referred to as the You CUPon a web page of its web site. A part of the occasion’s lore is that Gordy Ainsleigh accomplished the primary Western States in 1974 when he ran the course alongside the human and equine members of the Tevis Cup.
As of June 2025, 90 people have accomplished each occasions. Susan Kramer is the latest feminine finisher of the Tevis Cup on the record, as she accomplished each the working race and the endurance journey in 2021. Pat Fitzgerald completed Western States 3 times from 1983 to 1985, and has Tevis Cup finishes spanning from 1958 to 1986.
First Finishers in 1974 and 1978
Gordy Ainsleigh grew to become the occasion’s first finisher in 1974, as acknowledged above. Pat Smythe grew to become the race’s first feminine finisher in 1978. She was the co-founder of a Bay Space working group referred to as “Ladies on the Run,” and strived to boost consciousness of girls’s potential to succeed at lengthy distance racing. That very same 12 months, Shannon Weil grew to become co-race director with Mo Livermorehighlighting girls’s lengthy historical past of excellence at Western States on the organizational facet as nicely.
A 12% Probability of a Snow Route and a 26% Probability of a Boat Crossing
The race web site’s meticulous stats embrace data on snowpack for every yearcourting again to 1983, for the Sierra Nevada, the mountain vary via which the race travels. Race organizers have carried out a snow route 5 instances in these 43 years, when snowpack made the primary help stations inaccessible. The final time a snow route was used was in 2011.
In accordance with the race web site, the snow water content material on April 1, 2025, was 41.2, in comparison with 65.0 in 2011. The snow route seems to be more than likely in years when the snow water content material is larger on June 10. Snow water content material averaged 68.36 inches on snow route years. In distinction, snow water content material was 5.3 inches, on common, in years when the usual course was used.
Snowpack within the excessive mountains, together with when water is launched from water management constructions upriver, assist to resolve how runners cross the American River at 78 miles into the race, at what’s affectionately referred to as the Rucky Chucky river crossing. In 11 of these 43 years, racers have crossed through boats. In different years, racers wade throughout the river whereas holding onto a rope.
The Rucky Chucky river crossing in the course of the 2023 Western States 100, a 12 months when boats had been used to cross the river. Photograph: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
Common of 44 Runners Get in from the Wait Listing
Since a wait record was first carried out for the 2017 version, a median of 44 runners from the wait record finally achieve entry to the occasion earlier than race day (1). If we exclude the 2020 version of the race, which was canceled, a minimum of 31 wait-listed runners per 12 months finally achieve entry into Western States within the 12 months they’re positioned on the wait record. That determine has been as excessive as 68, which is what number of wait-listed runners entered Western States in 2022.
Favorable Temperatures Imply Favorable Ending Charges
Other than the 100% finisher charges in 1974 and 1976, when the one starter for every version accomplished the occasion, Western States has seen its highest finisher charges in 2023 and 2019, with 86.5% and 86.4% of entrants ending, respectively. Notably, the daytime excessive for these years was a extra modest temperature than is typically skilled at Western States, with 2019 being the hotter of the 2 years with a daytime excessive of 83 levels Fahrenheit, in comparison with a median excessive of 89.
In distinction, the 2006 version was one of many hotter years, with a daytime excessive of 101 Fahrenheit. At 52.6%, the finisher price that 12 months was the bottom seen since 1986. The correlation between temperature and finisher price isn’t clearcut, although. For instance, the occasion has seen a few of its highest finisher charges since implementing a waitlist in 2017; it’s potential runners who decide they’re unlikely to complete previous to the occasion are inclined to DNS so their spot on the beginning line can go to a different runner.
Jim Walmsley celebrates after setting the Western States 100 course file in 2019. Favorable circumstances meant that 12 months’s race additionally noticed a excessive proportion of finishers. Photograph: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
The chart under, up to date from a earlier article on temperature and course circumstances at Western States, reveals there hasn’t at all times been an apparent relationship between daytime excessive temperatures and finisher charges, since 1985.
Scatterplot exhibiting the co-relation between warmth and finisher charges on the Western States 100, for the reason that 1985 version of the race.
Composition of the Begin Line
Let’s flip our consideration now to the composition of the sphere to higher perceive who will get an entry into this occasion and the way they’ve carried out through the years. Final 12 months, we did a deep dive into the lottery course of for Western Statesand mentioned the three primary methods to get into the occasion.
- Develop into very concerned with the occasion, equivalent to by being a board member or by volunteering at an help station for a few years;
- Be actually, actually quick; or
- Acquire entry via the race lottery.
Pie chart exhibiting the breakdown of Western States entrants and the way they secured entry.
Efficiency Distribution
Let’s begin by looking on the distribution time of Western States finishers. By plotting all end instances from 2000 onward in 30-minute increments, we get the next graph.
Bar chart exhibiting the variety of Western States finishers in several finish-time brackets between 2000 and 2024.
A couple of issues from this plot that bounce out are the silver buckle blimp and the “Golden Hour” spike. All finishers who run sub-24 hours obtain a coveted silver buckle. Those that end from 24 hours to 30 hours get a bronze buckle. It’s fairly attention-grabbing to see how this purpose of working underneath 24 hours skews the end instances so dramatically, creating a major spike within the hour earlier than.
Equally, we are able to observe a big group ending within the Golden Hour, the hour earlier than the tip of the race. This hour, on common, has the most important variety of finishers, who’re preventing to the very finish to make it throughout the end.
Kuni Yamagata, at 68 years previous was the oldest male finisher of the 2021 Western States 100, and completed in the course of the Golden Hour. Photograph: iRunFar/Alex Potter
Prime Performances
On its web site, Western States shows knowledge on the highest 100 finishes within the historical past of the race. By plotting this knowledge we get an attention-grabbing view into how the race has advanced over time and mirrors among the findings we dove into on the development of path races.
On the boys’s facet, we see a couple of scattered standout performances within the early years, with the previous 15 years bringing extra prime 100 performances. In 1988, Brian Purcell ran a blistering time of 16:24, taking the win. From 1999 to 2005, Scott Jurek reset the usual with dominant performances in consecutive years. The 12 months 2010 is the primary 12 months we see a number of finishers on the highest 100 all-time record, with subsequent years having an more and more bigger variety of people under the present lower of 16:28:34.
Scatterplot exhibiting standout males’s performances at Western States via the years.
On the ladies’s facet we see the unbelievable performances of Ann Plason from 1989 to 2003 in a league of her personal. From 2011 to 2018, we see a gradual improve of prime 100 finishes, with the final 5 years actually bringing a bounce within the prime of the sphere.
Scatterplot exhibiting standout girls’s performances at Western States via the years.
Masters and Past Classes
Western States has a masters class that acknowledges the performances of runners aged 40 and older. This class can also be seeing a lift in top-end efficiency time. In 2024the data on the boys’s and ladies’s sides had been damaged with Tyler Inexperienced and Ida Nilsson each shaving off round 40 minutes from the earlier data.
The occasion additionally retains monitor of age-group performances via the 70-and-up age group for women and men. Jeff Browningage 53, for instance, has acknowledged his intention this 12 months of chasing the boys’s 50-to-59 age group file, set by Steven Moore at 18:14:57 in 2019.
Ida Nilsson on the way in which to setting a brand new masters file on the 2024 Western States 100. Photograph: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Oldest Finishers
Western States additionally awards prizes for the oldest female and male finishers. These finishers show that age is only a quantity. The oldest finishers are Nick Bassett on the boys’s facet, in 2018 when he was 73, and Gunhild Swansonwho completed on the age of 70 in 2015. Bassett, now aged 80, is signed as much as run the 2025 version. There may be at all times a purpose to maintain working towards!
The gang celebrates after Gunhild Swanson completed the 2015 Western States 100 with six seconds to spare. Photograph: Ted Knudsen
Name for Feedback
We might most likely write one other 10 pages with all the info round Western States, however we’ll depart it at that. If you wish to hold exploring the historical past and numbers of the race, I’d suggest this year-by-year walkthrough. And, tell us of different enjoyable Western States statistics or historical past within the feedback!
Notes/References
- This determine consists of the wait-listed runners who’ve gained entry to the 2025 version on the time of writing. The common will change if extra runners achieve entry to the 2025 version previous to race day.
