RacesCalifornia Sierra
Western States 100
Demand
4 out of 5
How much it asks
Worth
5 out of 5
Worth the flight + fee
Olympic Valley to Auburn, California, United States
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.
Elevation
Tap or hover for miles, clock, and aidft
Night = sunset 8:31pm to sunrise 5:36am at the start (Jun 27), mid splits.
Bottom ticks are aid. Longest gap 10.3 mi.
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
Local clock derived from published start + finisher splits, not a forecast.
Finishers only (DNFs missing, so the real back of the field is slower).
- 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
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.
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
Latest median 25:42:15 (2026) vs the 30-hour cutoff already listed in Gate. Not a hardness score.
Overall field only. Not a pro or sponsored subset.
Climate
Typical June at the start area · historical race-week weather
- Typical high
- 72°F (22°C)
- Typical low
- 45°F (7°C)
- Typical precip
- 0.50 in (14 mm) / June
- Days with rain
- 11% of days
- High point
- 8,750 ft (2,667 m)
2015–2024 June means at the start / massif. · Open-Meteo ERA5 / climate · retrieved 2026-09-06 (repo record)
Dimensions
Ten 1–5 scores with a one-line why. Organization has a separate confidence tag.
Supporting dimensions · organization confidence high
The original 100-mile trail race: Squaw/Olympic Valley to Auburn, 30 hours, one long day into night.
About 18,000 ft of gain and more descending. Serious, not San Juan or Alps serious.
Singletrack and canyon trail, runnable for the prepared, not a scramble course.
The canyons are the race. Heat is not a weather note; it is the demand.
High point near 8,750 ft at the start escarpment; you spend the day going down, not living at 11,000.
Tahoe-to-Auburn crew puzzle, huge volunteer machine, lottery that structures people's calendars.
The American 100. History, live coverage, and a start list that still moves the sport.
Decades of publicly documented procedures, aid culture, and medical seriousness. High confidence.
You pay in lottery years. Fee not published by WSER as of 2026-09-05; the ticket cost is time.
High Sierra granite into American River canyons. Beautiful, and also a heat tunnel.
| Dimension | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|
Distance & format How much does the advertised distance and format actually ask? | 4 out of 5 | The original 100-mile trail race: Squaw/Olympic Valley to Auburn, 30 hours, one long day into night. |
Vertical How serious is the climbing, not just the mile marker? | 3 out of 5 | About 18,000 ft of gain and more descending. Serious, not San Juan or Alps serious. |
Technicality Hands, poles, route-finding, or just a long dirt road? | 3 out of 5 | Singletrack and canyon trail, runnable for the prepared, not a scramble course. |
Climate Heat, monsoon, ice, or a friendly summer afternoon? | 5 out of 5 | The canyons are the race. Heat is not a weather note; it is the demand. |
Altitude Does the air change the race, or is it a talking point? | 2 out of 5 | High point near 8,750 ft at the start escarpment; you spend the day going down, not living at 11,000. |
Logistics How hard is the weekend around the race: travel, crew, lodging, rules? | 4 out of 5 | Tahoe-to-Auburn crew puzzle, huge volunteer machine, lottery that structures people's calendars. |
Prestige & field Does the start list and history change what the weekend feels like? | 5 out of 5 | The American 100. History, live coverage, and a start list that still moves the sport. |
Organization From public evidence, does the event look competently run? | 5 out of 5 | Decades of publicly documented procedures, aid culture, and medical seriousness. High confidence. |
Value Entry fee, travel tax, and lottery friction versus what you get on course. | 3 out of 5 | You pay in lottery years. Fee not published by WSER as of 2026-09-05; the ticket cost is time. |
Adventure & scenery Would you fly for the place even if nobody kept score? | 4 out of 5 | High Sierra granite into American River canyons. Beautiful, and also a heat tunnel. |