Western States Advice

For the night before the race, I would definitely agree that the Squaw is a great place to stay. The start is early and it is well worth being able to just walk out the door and go to the check-in / start about 100 ft away. Also, once you see the start, you can go back to sleep and catch up on a few zzzzs

For the night of the run, I recommend you book a room in AUburn, the closer to the finish the better. I believe that the Holiday Inn is already full, but it may be worth a try in case someone cancelled. You may wonder why would you book, if your runner will be running and you will be pacing. Well, here are the reasons:

1.  When your runner finishes, you will not be able to have an early check-in. It will be near to impossible with all of the people in Auburn for the race.  Your runner (and probably you too) will be desparate for a shower and a bit of a rest before the awards.
2. When you crew / pace, it is important to take care of yourself. You should not start pacing when you are tired. Your runner will need you to be alert and "with it" since he/she will not. By getting the room, you will be able to rest before going out to pace. I know that I was able to check-in early and relax before going out to crew. It was very hot and bright so it was good to have a break from the sun. When I went, I was able to check in early on Saturday. You will also be able to check on you runner's progress in the business centre.
3. The above 2, assume everything goes well. And I know, many people will be praying or sending well-wishes for the race to go as planned, but you never know. If the unthinkable happens, it would be horrible not to have a room

Other considerations, who are you pacing? What is there estimated finish time? Will you meet them at Forest Hill, which is where most people pick up a pacer? Would you need to get a ride there? Or if you drive yourself, can someone bring you back there at the end of the race? 

Just a few thoughts from someone who has crewed this race successfully. My runner finished in a very stressful 29 hours and 45 min and he was happy to go to the room and shower before the awards ceremony.

 Feel free to ask for more tips. I will be there again this year. There will be quite the Vancouver crowd.

 

Hi Runzalot,

Haven't been down for the WS 100 recently, but we also stayed in Truckee when Action Jackson ran WS and when we crewed for a friend way back when. 

Who are you pacing?  Look for the CFA shirts and be sure to say hi.  There are a few members heading down.

I've stayed at the Squaw Valley Resort (owned by Intrawest). They have massive rooms, full kitchens, & a public hot tub....it is also within walking distance of the race Start, weigh-in, pre-race orientation, & a few shops & restaurants. Since you are really close to race day, it may be hard to get a place. The other option is Truckee...about 20 minutes from Squaw Valley. I haven't stayed there, but I know there are some more budget-oriented accomodations. For after the race, I've stayed in a Marriott Suites between Auburn & Sacramento...make sure you book a ground floor room so you don't have to hump luggage up stairs. If you ask for an accessable room, you won't even have to step over a threshold! Sacramento is very spread out, so best to stay on the airport side (assuming you are flying in/out).