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.
Happening on June 29, this 12 months’s occasion, like yearly, is full of intriguing tales. I’d like to spotlight 5 of probably the most compelling tales on this 12 months’s race and in addition current the 12 runners — let’s name them AJW’s Soiled Dozen — who I feel are prone 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. Photograph: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Eric Spector
California’s Eric Spector is trying to turn out to be 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 sturdy finishes on the Large Alta 50k, Napa Valley Endurance Run 50k, and Marin Extremely Problem 50 Mile. In current weeks, Spector has additionally logged over 200 miles on the course in preparation for the large day.
1,000-Mile Bucklers
Due largely to the growing problem of stepping into the race, it has been 5 years since we now have seen a 10-time finisher circle the monitor at Placer Excessive College. This 12 months, nevertheless, 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 attain the feat this 12 months.
Kaci Lickteig profitable the 2016 Western States 100. Photograph: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
No Defending Champions
Whereas Jim Walmsley and Kaci Licktieg, two earlier Western States winners, are within the subject 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 deal with different races this 12 months, leaving the sphere open for a brand new or returning champion.
Girls’s Race
In 2023, we noticed an unbelievable ladies’s race, with Courtney Dauwalter profitable in a course report time of 15:29, and the tenth place girl, Colorado’s Meghan Morgan, ending in 18:11, a time that will have received the race outright a number of occasions over time. With this 12 months’s ladies’s subject much more stacked than final 12 months, I’m anticipating much more density on the entrance of the pack this time round.
Environmental Elements
Mom Nature has not been form to Western States over the previous few years. Between wildfires, snow, and highway closures, the challenges going through the race group have been immense. This 12 months, nevertheless, it seems like issues are returning to regular.
Whereas the injury from the 2022 Mosquito Hearth stays, the forest is slowly returning. Mosquito Ridge Highway, the most important highway accessing the Duncan Canyon and Dusty Corners assist stations, has not too long ago been reopened after being closed for over 18 months as a result of hearth. And until there are important late spring storms, it seems just like the snowpack within the excessive nation might be minimal.
General, it’s shaping as much as be a positive 12 months!
Jim Walmsley profitable the 2021 Western States 100. Photograph: 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 lads’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 might 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:
Girls
- 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 operating the second-fastest time in race historical past. Photograph: 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 time ale.
Name for Feedback
- Who do you assume will win the lads’s and ladies’s races?
- Which racer or story are you most excited to comply with?
