Dear ,

I hope your training has gone well and you're into your taper. Seven more days until the race. This is the final runner update email. Any other last minute information will be disseminated at the pre-race briefing on Friday at 2 p.m. at Olympic Valley.

Thursday and Friday

Activities in Olympic Valley will begin on Thursday. Hike or ride the tram for the Flag Raising ceremony at noon at High Camp. We will say a few words about WS runners and volunteers who we've lost in the past year then ceremoniously begin the race weekend with some inspiring words. There will be two trams: 10:00 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. The ride will be free, but space is limited.

The Thursday afternoon clinics have been finalized and, like the Flag Raising ceremony, are open to everybody. These will be held in the Squaw Valley Convention Center and also streamed on our youtube channel.

  • 2:30 p.m. Crewing A Western States Runner – (Asst RD Bill Hambrick and Lon Monroe)
  • 3:45 p.m. Ultrarunning Research and Performance – (Emily Krause, MD and Megan Roche, MD) ~ Ultrarunning Performance – what helps? Current thoughts on stress fractures and stress injuries.
  • 5:00 p.m. The Trail Sisters ~ The Women of WSER presented by Trail Sisters is a panel composed of seven runners (Aneta Zeppettella, Brittany Peterson, Camille Herron, Erika Hoagland, Mayra Lopez, Meghan Canfield, Zoe Rom) with diverse backgrounds and experiences. These women are invited to share their unique thoughts on both the race and current events within the sport. This event is hosted by Trail Sisters founder Gina Lucrezi.

For your crew and pacers there is the HOKA High Camp Challenge at 10:00 a.m. This will take you from the official start line of the Western States 100 and run the trail to High Camp. It's approximately three miles and 1800 feet of climbing. After pancake breakfast and awards, runners are invited to take the gondola back to Palisades for free or run/hike back to the bottom. It's free to register.

Every runner must check-in at registration on Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. This is where you will get your swag, sign some waivers, get your wristband and bib, and have your picture taken for the webcast. There will be two chips attached to your bib number so please don't fold it. If for whatever reason you decide not to run but have picked up your bib and chips, please report back to a manager at the start so we know you didn't start and are not lost. Or send me an email.

Drop bags need to be placed in the appropriate area between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Please do not use paper bags, shoe boxes, or anything made of paper-like products. These can get wet and tear easily. You are limited to one drop bag per aid station. 

Finally, the mandatory pre-race briefing is at 2 p.m. outside near the Start Line. Bring a chair. We'll try to keep this under an hour so you can go back to your room and relax.

Click here for the full list of pre-race activities.

Aid Stations

WSER is cup free. GU Energy will provide you with a reusable cup on Friday at registration. Please carry it with you to use at the aid stations, or be prepared to use your own bottles. 

In an effort to keep gel wrappers out of the landfill, WSER is participating in the Terracycle program. Each aid station will have a receptacle to collect empty packets of any brand so we can upcycle them. The flexible film packaging is shredded and pelletized and is then used by manufacturers to make new products such as reusable shipping pallets, picnic tables, park benches, bike racks and playgrounds.

On The Trail

You will be following pink ribbons and pin flags the whole way. Do not follow any other color or combination of ribbons.. For the night sections we will be using the same pink ribbons with small pieces of highly reflective red/white material at the bottom and pink pin flags with reflective stripes. Generally, there will be 5-8 ribbons/pin flags per mile, not including turns/intersections. A little less in the first half, a little more in the second half when runners generally slow down. There will also be small directional yellow signs at key intersections to help you.
Cutting switchbacks is not allowed. Littering is not tolerated. While we realize you may inadvertently drop something from your pack, please be very careful. It is incumbent on all of us to be respectful stewards of the trail.
 
If you are close to the cutoffs coming into an aid station, we will be utilizing the following protocol to help you manage your time.
 
30 minutes----3 short blasts on air horn
20 minutes----2 short blasts on air horn
10 minutes----1 short blast on air horn
5 minutes----Verbal warning to all those still in the aid station
Aid station closed----one long blast on air horn
 
You must leave the aid station before the cutoff.
 
If for whatever reason you decide to drop from the race, please be sure you have your wristband cut off by an aid station captain. If you are unaccounted for we will attempt to contact you and/or your emergency contact. If we are not successful in these attempts, we will need to contact Search and Rescue. So it is imperative that we get your wristband if you have to call it a day.

Checking in at aid stations

We are using two unique timing systems this year. At each aid station volunteers will record your split time which is then uploaded to our tracking database at ultralive.net. Some aid stations will have wands that will read your chip and send your split via satellites. Please be patient as these are new for our volunteers this year. These are the same devices used at UTMB and other races in Europe. There are also a couple aid stations that have timing mats. Finally, as backup we will manually record your bib number so please make sure it is visible as you come into and leave the aid stations.

River Crossing

With a low snowpack, we will be crossing the American River at mile 78 via a cable strung across the width of the river with volunteers standing in the water to help you get across. This is often one of the highlights of the race. The water levels are controlled by an upstream dam. There is a pillow of water released early in the morning for rafting. Unless you are at the very front of the race, the water shouldn't be deeper than waist level. If you are a frontrunner it may be a little deeper as the water will continue to drop. Please follow the directions of the volunteers and hold onto the rope!
Race Program

While you will receive a paper copy at Olympic Valley, here is a link to the 2022 Race Program.

How can friends and family follow your progress?

As described above, your arrival time at every aid station will be recorded and entered into our tracking database. We will try to get these in as close to real-time as possible but know that due to the remoteness there could be delays. This is the URL to share with them.


We also have a Western States Endurance Run mobile app that is available on both IOS and Android.

For the second time we will have a continuous live broadcast for the duration of the event. The webcast will be streamed live on our Youtube channel beginning at 4:15 a.m. Saturday until the end of the golden hour at 11:00 a.m. Sunday:


IrunFar will also be live tweeting the event.

Safe travels and we'll see you in Olympic Valley.

Craig Thornley
Race Director