With Memorial Day weekend within the U.S. behind us, the calendar flips to June. And with that, the eyes of the ultrarunning world — and people of this columnist! — are directed to the 2024 Western States 100.
Going down on June 29, this 12 months’s occasion, like yearly, is stuffed with intriguing tales. I’d like to spotlight 5 of probably the most compelling tales on this 12 months’s race and likewise current the 12 runners — let’s name them AJW’s Soiled Dozen — who I believe are more likely to be on the entrance of the pack come sunset on the end line at Placer Excessive College in Auburn, California, on race day.
The beginning of the 2021 Western States 100. Picture: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Eric Spector
California’s Eric Spector is trying to turn into the oldest finisher of Western States 100. The 77-year-old from Marin County has had a powerful build-up to the race this 12 months, with robust finishes on the Massive Alta 50k, Napa Valley Endurance Run 50k, and Marin Extremely Problem 50 Mile. In latest weeks, Spector has additionally logged over 200 miles on the course in preparation for the massive day.
1,000-Mile Bucklers
Due largely to the rising issue of moving into the race, it has been 5 years since now we have seen a 10-time finisher circle the observe at Placer Excessive College. This 12 months, nonetheless, three runners are trying to gather their 1,000-mile buckles. Philip Sanderson of California, Ken Ward of Oregon, and Kaci Licktieg of Nebraska are all trying to realize the feat this 12 months.
Kaci Lickteig successful the 2016 Western States 100. Picture: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
No Defending Champions
Whereas Jim Walmsley and Kaci Licktieg, two earlier Western States winners, are within the discipline this 12 months, neither winner from the 2023 version of the race is returning. Tom Evans and Courtney Dauwalter, the 2023 winners, have chosen to give attention to different races this 12 months, leaving the sector open for a brand new or returning champion.
Ladies’s Race
In 2023, we noticed an unbelievable girls’s race, with Courtney Dauwalter successful in a course report time of 15:29, and the tenth place lady, Colorado’s Meghan Morgan, ending in 18:11, a time that might have gained the race outright a number of occasions over time. With this 12 months’s girls’s discipline much more stacked than final 12 months, I’m anticipating much more density on the entrance of the pack this time round.
Environmental Components
Mom Nature has not been variety to Western States over the previous few years. Between wildfires, snow, and highway closures, the challenges dealing with the race group have been immense. This 12 months, nonetheless, it seems to be like issues are returning to regular.
Whereas the harm from the 2022 Mosquito Hearth stays, the forest is slowly returning. Mosquito Ridge Street, the key highway accessing the Duncan Canyon and Dusty Corners support stations, has just lately been reopened after being closed for over 18 months as a result of fireplace. And until there are vital late spring storms, it seems to be just like the snowpack within the excessive nation can be minimal.
Total, it’s shaping as much as be a high-quality 12 months!
Jim Walmsley successful the 2021 Western States 100. Picture: iRunFar/Alex Potter
AJW’s 2024 Western States 100 Race Predictions
There are clear favorites in each the ladies’s and males’s fields this 12 months: Jim Walmsley, the boys’s course report holder, and Katie Schide, the girl with the second-fastest time ever on the course. Behind them, a slew of different runners can be chasing. It’s anybody’s guess as to who will finally problem for the highest spot. However listed here are my picks for the highest six ladies and men:
Ladies
- Katie Schide
- Rachel Drake
- Leah Yingling
- Heather Jackson
- Emily Hawgood
- Devon Yanko
Males
- Jim Walmsley
- Hayden Hawks
- Tyler Inexperienced
- Jia-Sheng Shen
- Jonathan Albon
- Dakota Jones
Bottoms up!
Katie Schide after taking second on the 2023 Western States 100 and working the second-fastest time in race historical past. Picture: iRunFar/Meghan Hicks
AJW’s Beer of the Week
This week’s Beer of the Week comes from Pigeon Head Brewery in Reno, Nevada. Silver Sage Pale Ale is a basic American-style pale ale that’s mild and crispy, with a touch of sage added to the brewing course of. A deliciously drinkable beer, Silver Sage is an ideal summer season ale.
Name for Feedback
- Who do you assume will win the boys’s and girls’s races?
- Which racer or story are you most excited to comply with?