RacesCalifornia Sierra

Icon100MLottery

Western States 100

Demand

4 out of 5

How much it asks

Worth

5 out of 5

Whether the ticket is worth it

Olympic Valley to Auburn, California, United States

American River Canyon from Foresthill. The canyon the Western States trail uses. Chris English / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

Scorecard · is it worth it?

A name that still means something after the expo lights go off.

The card

Western States is the race that taught the United States what a 100-mile trail might be. That matters. It is also not a mountain ultra in the sense this catalog exists to score. The start still has Sierra granite in the legs; the day is decided in the canyons, in heat, on a course more runnable than the internet's reverence suggests. Demand is 4 because 100 miles in 30 hours with a furnace in the middle is a real ask. It is not 5: altitude is a prologue, and the technicality is trail, not mining-country off-trail.

Worth is 5: if you get in, you get the densest volunteer culture in American ultras, a point-to-point that still feels like a journey, and a finish in Auburn that means something to people who have never stood on a start line. You also get a lottery that has become a second sport, and a landscape that, after the high country, is beautiful in a dusty river-canyon way. WSER has not published the entry fee as of September 2026. The years of tickets are the real cost.

We are not allergic to history. We are allergic to pretending history is topography. Western States belongs on an icon list because the field, the organization, and the cultural weight are unmatched in North America. It does not belong in the same mountain sentence as Hardrock, Ouray, or the Tor. Organization confidence is high: WSER publishes like an institution. Course, rules, qualifier culture, and medical posture are all in public. Enough finisher accounts agree that 4 p.m. is the race.

Fly for it if the history is the point. Fly for the Sierra if you want mountains, and then look at a different start line.

Who it is for

Runners who want the founding American 100, can handle canyon heat, and care about the sport's history as much as alpine scenery.

Who should skip

People who think '100 miles in California' means alpine. If you want mountains more than myth, look at High Lonesome or Hardrock.

Gate

Next race: Sat, Jun 26, 2027wser.orgretrieved 2026-09-06 (repo record)
Format: Point-to-point, 30-hour cutoff
Cutoff: 30 hourswser.orgretrieved 2026-09-06 (repo record)
Lottery: Yes
Entry: Lotterywser.orgretrieved 2026-09-07
Qualifier required: Yes. A finish from the RD's list within the window list ↗wser.orgretrieved 2026-09-07
Registration opens: 2026-11-01wser.orgretrieved 2026-09-07
Registration closes: 2026-11-21wser.orgretrieved 2026-09-07
Draw: 2026-12-05wser.orgretrieved 2026-09-07
Results notified: 2026-12-05lottery.wser.orgretrieved 2026-09-07
Last draw: 2026 draw: 11,328 applicants, 93,003 tickets, 254 lottery pickswser.orgretrieved 2026-09-06 (repo record)
Odds: 1 ticket ≈ 0.3%. Tickets double each miss (2^(n−1)). Not a pro multiplier. Golden Tickets, last year's top 10, sponsor and aid-station spots skip the hat.wser.orgretrieved 2026-09-06 (repo record)
Bib economy: WSER qualifierwser.orgretrieved 2026-09-06 (repo record)
Entry fee: Not published by WSER as of 2026-09-05wser.orgretrieved 2026-09-06 (repo record)

Official site ↗Didn't get in?Hardrock vs Western States scorecard

Elevation

Tap or hover for miles, clock, and aidft

Dark from 20:31 to 05:36 local. The median finisher is in the dark from Lyon Ridge onward (7:30am).

Bottom ticks are aid. Longest gap 10.3 mi.

Course line from official GPX. Dots are aid. Tap or hover for mile, elevation, and clock.

Finisher pace · 2026

Median finishers (~50th percentile of 322 finishers). Not a predicted you. · retrieved 2026-09-06 (repo record)

Lyon Ridge 10.3 mi
Aid–aid
2.5 h
Elapsed
2.5 h
Clock
7:30 am
3.0 h slack
Red Star Ridge 15.8 mi
Aid–aid
1.3 h
Elapsed
3.8 h
Clock
8:48 am
1.7 h slack
Duncan Canyon 24.4 mi
Aid–aid
1.6 h
Elapsed
5.5 h
Clock
10:30 am
2.0 h slack
Robinson Flat 30.3 mi
Aid–aid
1.5 h
Elapsed
7.0 h
Clock
12:00 pm
2.2 h slack
Miller's Defeat 34.4 mi
Aid–aid
0.9 h
Elapsed
7.9 h
Clock
12:54 pm
2.3 h slack
Dusty Corners 38 mi
Aid–aid
0.7 h
Elapsed
8.6 h
Clock
1:36 pm
2.5 h slack
Last Chance 43.3 mi
Aid–aid
1.0 h
Elapsed
9.6 h
Clock
2:36 pm
2.8 h slack
Devil's Thumb 47.8 mi
Aid–aid
1.5 h
Elapsed
11.1 h
Clock
4:06 pm
3.1 h slack
El Dorado Creek 52.9 mi
Aid–aid
1.1 h
Elapsed
12.2 h
Clock
5:12 pm
3.5 h slack
Michigan Bluff 55.7 mi
Aid–aid
1.0 h
Elapsed
13.3 h
Clock
6:18 pm
3.6 h slack
Foresthill 62 mi
Aid–aid
1.6 h
Elapsed
14.9 h
Clock
7:54 pm
3.8 h slack
Dardanelles 65.7 mi
Aid–aid
0.9 h
Elapsed
15.8 h
Clock
8:48 pm
5.9 h slack
Peachstone 70.7 mi
Aid–aid
1.2 h
Elapsed
17.0 h
Clock
10:00 pm
4.7 h slack
Ford's Bar 73 mi
Aid–aid
0.7 h
Elapsed
17.7 h
Clock
10:42 pm
6.3 h slack
Rucky Chucky 78 mi
Aid–aid
1.2 h
Elapsed
18.9 h
Clock
11:54 pm
5.1 h slack
Green Gate 79.8 mi
Aid–aid
0.8 h
Elapsed
19.7 h
Clock
12:42 am +1d
5.1 h slack
Auburn Lake Trails 85.2 mi
Aid–aid
1.4 h
Elapsed
21.1 h
Clock
2:06 am +1d
5.1 h slack
Quarry Rd 90.7 mi
Aid–aid
1.6 h
Elapsed
22.7 h
Clock
3:42 am +1d
5.0 h slack
Pointed Rocks 94.3 mi
Aid–aid
1.3 h
Elapsed
24.0 h
Clock
5:00 am +1d
4.7 h slack
Robie Point 98.9 mi
Aid–aid
1.5 h
Elapsed
25.4 h
Clock
6:24 am +1d
4.6 h slack
Placer High School 100.2 mi
Aid–aid
0.3 h
Elapsed
25.7 h
Clock
6:42 am +1d
4.3 h slack

Miles	Station	Aid–aid	Elapsed	Clock
10.3	Lyon Ridge	2.5 h	2.5 h	7:30 am3.0 h slack
15.8	Red Star Ridge	1.3 h	3.8 h	8:48 am1.7 h slack
24.4	Duncan Canyon	1.6 h	5.5 h	10:30 am2.0 h slack
30.3	Robinson Flat	1.5 h	7.0 h	12:00 pm2.2 h slack
34.4	Miller's Defeat	0.9 h	7.9 h	12:54 pm2.3 h slack
38	Dusty Corners	0.7 h	8.6 h	1:36 pm2.5 h slack
43.3	Last Chance	1.0 h	9.6 h	2:36 pm2.8 h slack
47.8	Devil's Thumb	1.5 h	11.1 h	4:06 pm3.1 h slack
52.9	El Dorado Creek	1.1 h	12.2 h	5:12 pm3.5 h slack
55.7	Michigan Bluff	1.0 h	13.3 h	6:18 pm3.6 h slack
62	Foresthill	1.6 h	14.9 h	7:54 pm3.8 h slack
65.7	Dardanelles	0.9 h	15.8 h	8:48 pm5.9 h slack
70.7	Peachstone	1.2 h	17.0 h	10:00 pm4.7 h slack
73	Ford's Bar	0.7 h	17.7 h	10:42 pm6.3 h slack
78	Rucky Chucky	1.2 h	18.9 h	11:54 pm5.1 h slack
79.8	Green Gate	0.8 h	19.7 h	12:42 am +1d5.1 h slack
85.2	Auburn Lake Trails	1.4 h	21.1 h	2:06 am +1d5.1 h slack
90.7	Quarry Rd	1.6 h	22.7 h	3:42 am +1d5.0 h slack
94.3	Pointed Rocks	1.3 h	24.0 h	5:00 am +1d4.7 h slack
98.9	Robie Point	1.5 h	25.4 h	6:24 am +1d4.6 h slack
100.2	Placer High School	0.3 h	25.7 h	6:42 am +1d4.3 h slack

Local clock derived from published start + finisher splits, not a forecast.

Finishers only (DNFs missing, so the real back of the field is slower).

Where the cutoff bites

Least margin: Placer High School, 66 min for the back of the field.

Station	Cutoff	Back	Margin
Lyon Ridge 10.3 mi	5.5 h	2.7 h	168 min
Red Star Ridge 15.8 mi	5.5 h	4.2 h	78 min
Duncan Canyon 24.4 mi	7.5 h	6.1 h	84 min
Robinson Flat 30.3 mi	9.2 h	7.8 h	82 min
Miller's Defeat 34.4 mi	10.3 h	8.8 h	87 min
Dusty Corners 38 mi	11.1 h	9.6 h	89 min
Last Chance 43.3 mi	12.4 h	10.8 h	97 min
Devil's Thumb 47.8 mi	14.2 h	12.4 h	106 min
El Dorado Creek 52.9 mi	15.7 h	13.8 h	112 min
Michigan Bluff 55.7 mi	16.9 h	14.9 h	121 min
Foresthill 62 mi	18.8 h	16.7 h	123 min
Dardanelles 65.7 mi	21.7 h	17.9 h	226 min
Peachstone 70.7 mi	21.7 h	19.3 h	142 min
Ford's Bar 73 mi	24.0 h	20.2 h	228 min
Rucky Chucky 78 mi	24.0 h	21.6 h	144 min
Green Gate 79.8 mi	24.8 h	22.5 h	140 min
Auburn Lake Trails 85.2 mi	26.3 h	24.3 h	117 min
Quarry Rd 90.7 mi	27.7 h	25.9 h	106 min
Pointed Rocks 94.3 mi	28.7 h	27.1 h	94 min
Robie Point 98.9 mi	30.0 h	28.5 h	90 min
Placer High School 100.2 mi	30.0 h	28.9 h	66 min

Finishers only. DNFs are missing, so the real back of the field is slower.

Hardest stretch

Hardest stretch: Start to Lyon Ridge, 2,690 ft in 10.3 mi.

Segment gains from the course elev profile.

From	To	Mi	Gain	Loss
Start	Lyon Ridge	10.316.6 km	2,690 ft820 m	1,981 ft604 m
Lyon Ridge	Red Star Ridge	5.58.9 km	882 ft269 m	510 ft155 m
Red Star Ridge	Duncan Canyon	8.613.8 km	375 ft114 m	1,751 ft534 m
Duncan Canyon	Robinson Flat	5.99.5 km	1,452 ft443 m	713 ft217 m
Robinson Flat	Miller's Defeat	4.16.6 km	399 ft122 m	817 ft249 m
Miller's Defeat	Dusty Corners	3.65.8 km	86 ft26 m	874 ft266 m
Dusty Corners	Last Chance	5.38.5 km	47 ft14 m	914 ft279 m
Last Chance	Devil's Thumb	4.57.2 km	1,365 ft416 m	1,764 ft538 m
Devil's Thumb	El Dorado Creek	5.18.2 km	160 ft49 m	2,387 ft728 m
El Dorado Creek	Michigan Bluff	2.84.5 km	1,602 ft488 m	108 ft33 m
Michigan Bluff	Foresthill	6.310.1 km	1,085 ft331 m	1,304 ft397 m
Foresthill	Dardanelles	3.76 km	89 ft27 m	1,374 ft419 m
Dardanelles	Peachstone	5.08 km	431 ft131 m	919 ft280 m
Peachstone	Ford's Bar	2.33.7 km	203 ft62 m	651 ft198 m
Ford's Bar	Rucky Chucky	5.08 km	356 ft109 m	488 ft149 m
Rucky Chucky	Green Gate	1.82.9 km	519 ft158 m	112 ft34 m
Green Gate	Auburn Lake Trails	5.48.7 km	547 ft167 m	497 ft151 m
Auburn Lake Trails	Quarry Rd	5.58.9 km	159 ft48 m	823 ft251 m
Quarry Rd	Pointed Rocks	3.65.8 km	908 ft277 m	88 ft27 m
Pointed Rocks	Robie Point	4.67.4 km	724 ft221 m	955 ft291 m
Robie Point	Placer High School	1.32.1 km	102 ft31 m	88 ft27 m

Start: 6,232 ft1,900 m
Finish: 1,294 ft394 m
Net: −4,938 ft−1,505 m
Longest climb: 2,464 ft751 m

Point to point. Net downhill. Total climb is still in Facts.

Weekend

Official handbook facts

Start: 05:00
Crew: 30.3, 62, 78 mi
Drop bags: 30.3, 62 mi
Pacer from: 62 mi
Poles: Allowed
Tracker: Open
Course file: Open

Printable cutoff card

WSER 2026 participant guide · retrieved 2026-09-06 (repo record)

Field

Last editions · 100M scored distance

Field evidence: who showed up, who finished, how long. DNF is that evidence, not a difficulty score. Public results, scored distance only.

DNF over the years

DNF 13% in 2026, 23% the year before.

2026

Starters: 370
Finishers: 322
DNF: 13%
Win: 13:46:15
Median: 25:42:15

2025

Starters: 369
Finishers: 285
DNF: 23%
Win: 14:11:25
Median: 26:52:42

2024

Starters: 375
Finishers: 286
DNF: 24%
Win: 14:13:45
Median: 26:28:11

2023