The Western States 100-mile run is the grandaddy of all 100-mile runs. It started as an endurance race for horses along the old gold rush trails in California. 35 years ago, the first human challenged the field. The horse-racing history of the WS100 is why a lot of trail ultras have gaudy, big belt buckles as finisher awards to this day. To those who run 100-milers, 'States is the run you want to at least once in your lifetime.
Wade Repta, Andy Nicol, Gilles Barbeau, Chad Hyson, Jeff Trigg are CFA members made it through the tough lottery process and were chosen to run in the Western States 100 this year. I was supposed to pace Wade over the last 40-miles of the run. I thought my luck was lousy, as an injury got in the way and prevented me from helping my buddy.
I got together with Wade and Andy last weekend for a short trail run to wish them well before they set off to California. Wade had trained very hard and very smart for the past year and I was sure he had the confidence and ability to go under 24-hours and earn the coveted silver belt buckle. Andy was whining a bit, but Andy's like that. Whine and then run Western States in 17 hours with the big dogs! Chad did a 100-miler on a whim for his birthday last month and I think he did another one since. It seems to me that every time I see or hear tell of Gilles he's running another 100. I didn't speak to Jeff, but word from the trails is that he was primed and good to go.
Last night I heard that, for the first time in the 35-year history of the race, the Western States 100 had been cancelled. Record hot temperatures. Forest fires. Putting the safety of the runners first, organizers of the famous event pulled the plug.
What a drag for Wade, Andy and all of the runners who trained so hard and came from around the world to participate in the big event. Then there are the hundreds of volunteers who help make the race what it is. There will be no refunds on race fees, air fare, hotels or time off work. There will be no love for all of the sponsors and race supporters. I hope this doesn't mean the end of this race... my silver buckle is now gray from wear and tear, so I was hoping to go back one year and get a new one.
Wader, Andy, Jeff, Gilles, Chad... hope you at least get out for a few good fun runs on the gold rush trails!
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Just checked the Western States website. Everybody who made it to the final Start list for 2008 just got an automatic entry for 2009.
All 390 of them.
Let's see, last year we had a 16% chance of getting in for Western States. Based on this new development, I think my chances just went down another 16%.
Jacksonitis?
Our cancelled WS experience
Yesterday we drove 600 miles, mostly on the desolate hwy 50 in Nevada to get to Squaw Valley and start enjoying the pre-race festivities. John Machray, who would be pacing Gilles, and his wife Linda would join us on friday. About midway into our trip, we noticed haze and thought "what a strange place to have so much haze and not be able to see the mountains on the horizon. At about 150 miles, we found a lonely tree with tons of runners on it in the middle of nowhere. like good fatass members Gilles and I donned our club shirts and took some pics (see the traveling colours contest).
Then, about 100 miles before arrival, the haze and sky looked worse. We stopped to get an ice cream and read an article in the local newspaper about the forest fires in California. It had a map with dots representing all the forest fires. It did not look good. Once, we left Carson City and began our approach around Lake Tahoe, we both knew there would not be good news. We sat in silence knowing what it meant when we saw the sky. We could not even see the other side of the lake. The sky had thick thick haze and would only worsen. From time to time, I would comment that maybe we were looking at the worst and it would probably get better. It didn't.
When we arrived at the hotel, we met up with a runner who was talking about the cancellation to a friend on his cell phone. My heart sank. This is truly nobody's fault, but rather mother nature's way of reminding us who is boss. At big horn, I met a man who helped with the reforestation in this parts of the wilderness. I know that this race committee has a true dedication for the wilderness around here and strives to protect it as much as possible. It must have been painful to have to come to that decision, but it was the right thing to do. Later that evening we saw a few of the directors/ board members in the lobby and you could read the pain of it all in their face. The best of Western States (aside from running it, of course) is the spirit of it all. There will be many activities in the next few days for the participants and their families and you can sense the genuine spirit is still there. Everyone we met has been a good sport about it all, especially as they went to pick up their goody bag. There will be other races this year and WS in years to come.
Pictures from Squaw valley