Dear ,
Hope your preparations for the race are going well. We're down to less than 80 days before the race. This is your April Runner Update email. Expect one or two more from me before the pre-race briefing on Friday June 24 up in Olympic Valley.
Snowpack
I'll start off with the snowpack, or lack thereof. After record amounts of snowfall in December, it has been very dry. On April 1, generally the peak depth for the year, we had 15.1 inches of snow water content at the Palisades Tahoe Snowtel site which is at 8200' near the top of the first climb out of Olympic Valley. If you look at our
snowpack history web page, you'll see that is the 3rd lowest April 1 snowpack since 1983. As such, you can expect the course to be snow-free and to cross the river at mile 78 on foot via a cable strung across, with volunteers in the river to help you get safely to the other side.
Trail Work Opportunities
While our stewards have already been working to keep the trail clear of blowdown and will continue as the snow melts, there are a couple of opportunities for you to get your hands dirty with us as we do the final work days to get the trail ready for the race.
In addition to those pre-race opportunities, there are four opportunities to help with the Granite Chief Wilderness Trail Reroute project. This is a three year project that we are very excited about.
WSER GU Flavor
You may have seen last month that our Performance Nutrition Sponsor, GU Energy Labs, announced the release of the new Salted Lime ROCTANE gel flavor in celebration of the brand’s renewed partnership with our race.
The limited edition Salted Lime flavor debuts in the ROCTANE lineup of products geared toward high output athletic pursuits, as ROCTANE Energy Gels have three times more amino acids and sodium than original GU Gels, making them ideal for long, challenging, and brutally hot races like Western States. Sodium and amino acids are especially important when training or racing for multiple hours or during high-intensity conditions.
The Salted Lime flavor was, in fact, the winner in a flavor contest held by GU in the runup to the 2021 Western States Endurance Run. When asked what flavor they would prefer for training and racing in the heat, athletes chose Salted Lime by a wide margin over four other candidates.
GU Energy Labs traces its roots back to the 1989 edition of the race, when company founder Bill Vaughan created the first energy gel as a portable, easily digestible fuel for his daughter’s run. By donating the proceeds from the gel, GU supports the ultra-running community and stewardship of the trail system that makes up our race.
