![]() RELATED: Katie Asmuth’s Long Trail Back to Western States Herron, who set a new world record for running 435.33K (or 270.5 miles) in 48 hours back in March, is intending on doubling back to run the Leadville 100 on August 19, in Colorado. (See the complete 2023 Western States 100 entrants list at this link.) Seven of the top 10 women finishers are returning from last year’s race, led by Canadian runner Marianne Hogan, 32, who was third at Western States last year (18:05) and then two months later was second at UTMB in Chamonix, France.Īlso returning are Zimbabwe’s Emily Hawgood, 27, who was fifth in 18:16, Americans Leah Yingling, 32, (sixth, 18:32), Taylor Nowlin, 32, (seventh, 18:46), Camille Herron, 41, (eighth, 18:51), and Katie Asmuth, 37, (ninth, 19:30), as well as French runner Camille Bruyas, 31, (10th, 19:34). ![]() This year’s women’s field is one of the deepest in the history of the race. RELATED: Yes, Western States Is Worth the Hype Credit: Peter Maksimow Women to Watch PDT on June 24, one hour before the start of the race. The race will be broadcast via livestream on the event’s YouTube channel beginning at about 4 A.M. Here’s a rundown of runners to watch and other details of the 2023 Western States 100. “Fifty years is a long time in our sport, but it’s still pretty young if you consider he’s still around and still running.” “Gordy is still around and kicking,” Western States race director Craig Thornley said recently. He ran the Lake Sonoma Marathon last year and completed his most recent 100-miler in 2020 at the age of 72.Īinsleigh last finished Western States in 2007 at the age of 60, but he’s been given a special bib “0” in the ensuing years, even though he hasn’t run it. It was after those initial efforts that the concept of earning a silver belt buckle for finishing a 100-mile race in 24 hours (and a bronze buckle for a 30-hour finish) first originated.Īlthough Ainsleigh hasn’t run Western States in years, he’s still trail running at age 76 and will be around for this year’s event. But Ainsleigh, who would go on to finish the race 22 times, has always been credited as being the first official finisher. The official race didn’t begin until 1977, when 16 runners started and only three finished-Andy Gonzales, Peter Mattei, and Ralph Paffenbarger. When Ainsleigh jogged his way over the finish line in 23 hours and 42 minutes, he proved that it was, in fact, possible to cover 100 miles over dusty trails in less than a day. And I knew I couldn’t finish, but I came to the point where I said, ‘well, I can still take one more step.’ And so I decided to keep taking one more step until I could no longer take one more step.” “It was really clear I was going to hit bottom really soon. “I just wasn’t willing to quit because I wanted to be a part of that experience,” Ainsleigh said. It got tough after the halfway point, but he kept on chugging along, and in doing so, went a long way in defining the sport of ultra-trail running that now spans the globe. While many of the other equestrian participants encouraged him, many thought he was crazy. See Trail Runner‘s Full Collection of Western States CoverageĪlready known for his running prowess at a time when recreational running had started to boom across the U.S, Ainsleigh, then 27, set out early on the morning of August 3, 1974, to try to run the route. But, he says, he “never got around to it,” and so he decided to try to run the entire length of the course. If you haven’t heard the story, Ainsleigh had participated in the regionally popular 24-hour Tevis Cup horseback riding event a few times in the early 1970s, but in 1973 his horse went lame and he intended to buy another horse to compete in the next year’s event. It’s not the oldest ultra-distance trail race of modern times, but it’s one of the most prestigious because it really put the ultra-trail discipline and the 100-mile race distance on the map. With a legacy tied to Ainsleigh’s legendary effort 49 years ago this summer, the 2023 Western States 100 will send 381 runners on a 100.2-mile journey from the base of the Palisades Tahoe ski slopes on its legendary 100-mile route to the Placer High School track down in Auburn. the Western States 100) will get underway just before sunrise on June 24. Where would ultra-distance trail running be without Gordy Ainsleigh? Probably not on the verge of celebrating 50 years of a 100-mile trail race from Olympic Valley to Auburn, California.īut thanks to Ainsleigh-and, of course, thousands of others that followed in his footsteps-the 50th Western States Endurance Run (a.k.a.
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