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Gordon Ainsleigh signs autographs for fans at a rally held the day before the run at Squaw Valley last year. In 1974, Ainsleigh became the first man to run the Western States Trail from Squaw Valley to Auburn. He is scheduled to run again this year.
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Endurance athletes from all over the globe will see if they have what it takes to complete 100 miles in one day, all on foot. The Western States 100-mile Endurance Run kicks off at 5 a.m. Saturday morning at Squaw Valley and ends at the football stadium at Placer High School, with the first runners crossing the finish line as early as 8:30 p.m. the same day.
Meadow Vista resident Gordon Ainsleigh was the first man to run the entire course, which had previously been the domain of the equestrian set. All that changed in 1974 when Ainsleigh decided to run the course with the horses during the Tevis Cup ride. He reached Auburn in 23 hours and 42 minutes.
Other runners followed Ainsleigh’s lead. In 1975, Ron Kelley attempted the run, only to withdraw within two miles of the finish line. The next year, Ken “Cowman” Shirk finished the run in 24 hours and 30 minutes.
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A runner breezes by on the Western States Trail near the Granite Chief Wilderness Area in the High Sierra during last year’s Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run. The next run is scheduled for Saturday, June 28 with runners expected to start crossing the finish line at Auburn’s Placer High School as early as 8:30 p.m.
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The first official Western States Endurance Run was held in 1977 with 14 runners, with three crossing the finish line.
The run now draws hundreds, and even more try to enter, but it isn’t
open to just anyone. Athletes must be able to show they have completed
50 miles in less than 11 hours or 100 kilometers under 14 hours in an
official race recognized by Ultrarunning Magazine. Each runner must
also put in eight hours of volunteer work on trail maintenance or pitch
in to help at an organized run.
More than 1,350 runners applied to compete in this year’s Western
States Endurance Run, with 357 actually slated for the event. There
were 166 automatic entries, such as those runners who finished in the
top 10 the previous year, and the rest were selected by lottery in
December.
While the majority of the athletes are from the U.S., the roster also
includes those from the United Kingdom, France, Scotland, Tanzania,
Sweden, Singapore, Japan, Mexico, Canada, Italy and Australia.
According to the event website, the athletes will leave Squaw Valley,
climb more than 2,500 feet in the first four miles, and crest at
Emigrant Pass at 8,750 feet. It passes through the Granite Chief
Wilderness Area and follows Red Star Ridge to Duncan Canyon and
Robinson Flat, averaging 7,000 feet in elevation. The trail then drops
into deep canyons, such as Deadwood and El Dorado, and eventually leads
to Foresthill. From there, the trail re-enters the wilderness and
follows the canyons of the American River to the finish line in Auburn.
The trail is grueling, according to Tim Twietmeyer, who serves as president of the run.
“There are three aspects to the run,” he said. “There’s the physical, where you wonder if you did the right training and prepared properly. Then there’s the fatigue with making sure you’re eating and drinking properly on the run and the blisters, basically your feet falling apart. The last part is the psychological. I don’t think there’s anybody along the way who hasn’t said, ‘At this point, I was ready to go home.’”
Twietmeyer said runners must climb 18,000 feet and descend 23,000 feet throughout the entire course.
“There’s a lot of up and down,” he said. “There isn’t a lot of flat area. When you look at it, as a whole, it’s really a downhill course.”
Since most of the run happens in remote areas, Twietmeyer has some advice for those who would like to watch the event.
“Probably the easiest place to watch is in Foresthill,” he said. “The first runners come up on Foresthill Road around 2:30 to 3 p.m. (on Saturday) and they run through the town. They can see some medical (exams) going on and then they are back on the trail. It’s another three hours with them on their own.”
The finish line at Placer High School’s football stadium on Finley Street in Auburn is another place to watch the runners.
“The heat will determine how early the first runners come across. If it’s a mild day, expect them to start coming in around 8:30 p.m. If it’s 110 degrees, they probably won’t be over the line until about 10 p.m.,” he said.
Twietmeyer said some residents in the Robie Point area, where the runners come off the trails and into a residential area on their way to the high school, have held a neighborhood street party to cheer on the athletes.
He said it’s a nice thing for the men and women to see after they’ve run 100 miles through the wilderness.
“It gets pretty lonely and desperate out there on the trail,” he said.
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