Inside Western States: How the Oldest 100-Mile Trail Race on Earth Became the Most Sought-After Ticket in Endurance Sports
In the wee hours of August 4, 1974, an undernourished, dehydrated Gordy Ainsleigh crossed the finish line at the Gold Country Fairgrounds in Auburn, CA. He began his day 24 hours earlier and 100 miles to the east, on the shores of Lake Tahoe. Departing Tahoe City at roughly 5 a.m., Ainsleigh ran up and over Emigrant Pass, which sits at 8,750 feet above sea level, traversing the region's high country before dropping into the sweltering heat of the canyons that weave their way through the foothills and down into Auburn. Finishing in just under 24 hours, Ainsleigh became the first person to complete what would later become the most prestigious ultramarathon in the United States, the Western States Endurance Run.
Over 50 years on from Ainsleigh's pioneering effort, the Western States (or WSER, for short) is one of the most sought-after races in global trail running. With only around 370 bibs doled out each year, runners must enter a lottery to secure a spot on the start line, with some runners waiting for a decade or more before they are finally selected to race. Not only do prospective runners have to enter the lottery every single year, but they must also run one of WSER's qualifying races, usually 100K or longer, just for the privilege of entering the lottery. In 2026, over 11,000 people entered the lottery. The race is a lifelong goal for many amateur trail runners, but for the pros, WSER is one of the biggest races, if not the biggest race, on the calendar.
Since the first race, the course has changed-though the soul remains the same. The race now departs from Olympic Valley, CA, at the base of Palisades Tahoe ski resort. It heads straight up past 1960's Olympic rings to Emigrant Pass, through difficult mountainous terrain and down through the canyons, where runners are usually treated to triple-digit temperatures. They then move across the American River at the notorious Rucky Chucky aid station and into Auburn, where the 100.2-mile course finishes with a quarter loop around the track at Placer High School. Upon arriving, runners are greeted by an electric atmosphere. Spectators fill the bleachers and crowd the football field, unleashing a raucous din of cowbells, clapping, and cheers.
A Challenge Cherished by Pros
While many of the runners who are granted entry into Western States are simply there to finish within the cutoff of 30 hours (a feat in itself), the race has piqued the interest of more and more elite and professional runners over the past few decades. Ultrarunning legends like Ann Trason and Scott Jurek dominated the race throughout the 90s and 00s-Trason won the race 14 times between 1989 and 2003, setting a course record in 1994 that stood for 18 years, and Jurek, no slouch himself, won the race seven consecutive times between 1999 and 2005.
Since Trason and Jurek's respective reigns at the top of the podium, however, the racing has turned up a notch. The early 2010s saw a changing of the guard, with new blood like Kilian Jornet, one of the most accomplished ultrarunners of all time, dueling it out at the front of the race each year.
A high mountain runner who cut his teeth on the alpine ridges of Europe's many mountain ranges, Jornet came to Western States for the first time in 2010, drawn in by the challenge of racing the fast, hot course. Where most of his experience was in cold, harsh, alpine environments, Western States was a considerable departure from the terrain he was used to, posing unique challenges to the then-22-year-old.
"It's not natural to me," Jornet told me in a pre-race interview. "Being in the heat for many hours and just purely running, running fast for so long in these temperatures. I think that's the challenge that excites me."
The race's high temperatures, when paired with its fast, runnable course, are one of the most commonly-cited challenges of Western States, with almost every athlete we interviewed commenting on how difficult it is to stay cool on the dry, dusty singletrack trails that highlight the back half of the course.
The Course That Takes No Prisoners
Lotti Brinks, a Hoka-sponsored pro from Germany who now lives in Boise, Idaho, told us that she first heard about the race from her college running coach, Patrick Reagan, who regaled her with stories of snowy starts and 105-degree finishes.
"I remember a very distinct conversation where he [Reagan] was telling me about this race that starts in the snow, and then you go through the heat of the canyons," Banks said. "It just sounded crazy to me."
In spite of the harsh race conditions, advancements in technology and exercise science have played a huge role in making the race more competitive. Super shoes (running shoes outfitted with plush, supercritical foams and carbon plates), personalized nutrition plans, and the ability for racers to have a crew follow them around the course have led to consistently lower race times.
Indeed, in the 2026 edition of the race, just two weeks ago, the top four men, Vincent Bouillard, who set a new, previously unthinkable course record of 13:46:15; Francesco Puppi; Ryan Montgomery; and Tomas Cardin, all surpassed the previous course record, and the top woman, Jenn Lichter, also set a new course record in her first-ever 100-mile race. Also worth noting is that while this year's race only had one course record on the women's side, the top seven women all finished within the overall top 20.
Between the race's illustrious history, the course's unique challenges, and the ever-growing competitive field, Western States has continued to be a can't-miss race for the top athletes in the sport. But this doesn't mean the race is getting any easier. Stiffer competition means harder racing, and harder racing means that even the favorites don't always make it to the finish line.
Jim Walmsley, who held the course record from 2019 until this year's edition, has had an up-and-down history with Western States, which hasn't seemed to dampen his desire to continue to come back to the race and win. In his second attempt, the Arizona native was dominating the race before a wrong turn took him out of contention. This year, he succumbed to an injury halfway through the race and had to pull out. While he's had low moments, he's also had the highest of highs; he has won the race four times: 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2024.
Jornet, arguably the best and most well-rounded ultramarathoner and mountain athlete of all time, has won everything there is to win in ultra. Much like Walmsley, he, too, has been unable to resist the magnetic energy of Western States. He took a 15-year break between his win in 2011 and his return in 2025, but decided it was time to give it another go and see if he had a win left in him. After a third-place finish last year, he came back for 2026 looking for the victory, but was also forced out of the race due to injury.
Attrition didn't just affect the veterans: 26-year-old young gun Hans Troyer stormed out in front of this year's race, pushing the pace for the first 60 miles in an attempt to break the race favorites and write himself into history, only to crash out just before the final leg into Auburn. But that's Western States. The course, which features more downhill running than climbing, may look simple on paper, but it takes no prisoners. You conquer the course, or it conquers you. That's part of what gives Western States such a distinct place in the world of ultrarunning. But the course is far from the only reason Western States is special.
Related: Ultramarathoner Jim Walmsley Details the Mid-Race Mistake That Almost Cost Him OCC
A Family Affair
While the race's elite competition continues, year after year, to bring the best talent to Northern California with hopes of breaking the tape at Placer High, Western States has a history and culture that is unique in the rapidly growing sport of ultrarunning.
The race has, as mentioned, been run for over 50 years and is considered the oldest 100-mile ultramarathon in the world, setting the stage for the trail running boom we're seeing today. It has also clung to its rebellious, ragtag origins, in spite of the now ever-present attention from sponsors and media. The Western States community is what continues to make the race special.
When we asked Walmsley what still brings him back to Western States 10 years after his first attempt, he mentioned the competition and prestige, but what seemed to really strike a chord in his heart was the volunteers who have been showing up for decades.
"When I go back to the Auburn area, it always feels very welcoming…it's really nice, and very special, that it feels like a community away from my community. They welcome me back with open arms. I forget that when I'm away [from the race] for a while," he said. "I think Western States has a big turnover as far as participants and who's doing it every year, which is also unique, but the volunteers are some of the most consistent people, [going] to this race every single year, and so it's the same faces and the same smiles that I get to see at all the aid stations. It's pretty cool to go back now over a 10-year period, and just have the memories trigger, trigger, trigger. It's like running down memory lane."
When you're at the start in Olympic Valley, or at one of the aid stations strewn throughout the course, or at the finish line, there is a camaraderie and family-oriented spirit surrounding the race that is exceptionally rare for a race with such a high standing within the sport. It feels like a grassroots race that somehow stumbled into being one of the biggest races in the world, rather than a race purpose-made to cater to elite runners and corporate sponsorships.
For example, this year, Hayden Hawks, a pro who has won some of the biggest races in the world and finished on the Western States podium twice in his career, had his seven-year-old son help crew him for the first time. And his son was not just there as a mascot-he was there to be part of the action. Hawks set out to fight for the win, but that wasn't going to stop him from bringing his son onto the team.
And while Hoka, one of the biggest running brands in the world, may be the title sponsor, and there are numerous brand activations taking place throughout race weekend, both at the start in Tahoe and at the finish in Auburn, Western States still feels like the little engine that could. You can't even follow the race without getting a bit of the dust on your shoes; being there feels like you're part of the experience, not just a fan or a bystander. Maybe you didn't race, but you were part of something bigger than yourself, and much more than a cog in a corporate machine.
Related: The No-Nonsense Plan to Prep for Any Race at High Altitude
The Magic of Western States
This is no more evident than during golden hour, when the final hour runners have to finish the race before the official cutoff of 30 hours. Elites may be finishing in staggeringly fast times these days, but most of the pack is simply trying to beat the cutoff time-an incredible feat in itself.
As golden hour approaches, it feels like the entire town has gathered at the track to cheer on the final finishers. Runners who have already finished, sometimes 15 hours earlier, return to the track to cheer on their fellow competitors. Cowbells begin to ring loudly again. Cheering hits its highest decibel, and shouts of encouragement pour in from every direction. Family and friends crowd the finish line, and tears flow freely as runners, who have been on the course pushing themselves to their limit for well over a day, run, limp, stagger, or crawl across the finish line, achieving something that perhaps even they never thought was possible.
And that's the magic of Western States. It isn't the spectacle or the sponsors or the YouTube livestream. It's the gun slingin' starter who kicks off the race with a shotgun blast to the heavens, the volunteer picking up discarded trash at the aid station, and the folks who spend a sleepless night welcoming every runner home to the finish line. It's every athlete, from first place to DFL (Dead Freakin' Last; a term of endearment in ultramarathoning), who fought to get to the start line and took their shot.
Every runner that finishes the race under the 30-hour cutoff receives a belt buckle to remind them of their battle with the course that was once thought impossible to run, but if the scenes at the finish line are any indication, runners leave Auburn with a whole lot more to hang their hat on.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jul 9, 2026, where it first appeared in the Fitness section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published July 9, 2026 at 1:31 PM.