Hot Temps, 100-Mile Course Push Runners at ‘Western States’

Battling temps pushing past 100 degrees, the runners of the 2013 Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run, held this past weekend, had an extra challenge beyond just long miles on a mountainous course.

But despite the hurdles, six racers finished in under 17 hours, with Timothy Olson nabbing an outstanding 15 hours, 17 minutes for the overall win.

Women’s winner Pam Smith managed to go the 100 miles for first-place in 18 hours, 37 minutes.

Described as the world’s “oldest and most prestigious 100-mile trail race,” the annual Western States Endurance Run starts in Squaw Valley, Calif., and ends 100.2 miles later in the town of Auburn, Calif.

It was founded in 1974 and attracts hundreds of ultra-runners each year to battle a course with more than 18,000 feet of uphill trail. The finish line is at Placer High School in Auburn, where the athletes run onto a track and through the finish gate to cheers from crowds in the stands.

More than 270 runners finished the race this year, with times from 15 hours to 29 hours. In all there were 383 starters this year and 277 finishers (72% finish rate). See full race results here.

Congrats to all the runners who pushed limits this past weekend. 100 miles is a looong way to run, especially in the mountains and in the heat. You have our respect.

—Stephen Regenold is editor of GearJunkie. For detailed coverage of the Western States check out iRunFar’s dedicated page to the event.