← All eventsWestern States 100
The world's oldest 100-mile trail race: 100.2 miles point-to-point from Olympic Valley to Auburn, California. Net-downhill (~5,500m up / ~7,000m down) through Sierra high country and 40°C+ Gold Country canyons. 30-hour cutoff; sub-24h earns the silver buckle. A running event: heat tolerance and descent durability decide it.
The world's oldest 100-mile trail race, and still the one every ultrarunner wants. 100.2 miles point to point from Olympic Valley to Auburn, California, on the last full weekend of June.
Off the line it climbs 2,550ft to Emigrant Pass, then runs net downhill through the Sierra high country and the furnace-hot canyons of Gold Country to the Placer High track.
Heat is the boss and the descents are the limiter. A 30-hour cutoff earns the bronze buckle. Sub-24 earns the coveted silver. A lottery and a qualifier stand between you and the start.
Is Western States 100 for you?
- Experienced ultrarunners who already have a qualifying 100km or 100-mile finish. The lottery and qualifier mean nobody lines up here on their first ultra.
- Athletes who run well in the heat, or will train hard for it. Canyon floors hit 40C and cook anyone who has not acclimated.
- Strong, durable descenders. This course drops ~7,000m, and it is the quads, not the lungs, that decide who is still running at Auburn.
- Patient runners who hold back early. Time banked in the cool high country is repaid with interest in the furnace.
Training plan for Western States 100
A training plan for Western States 100 isn't a generic base build. Beina reads the event's exact demands, looks at your specific profile and the time you actually have, and maps a highly adapted plan to the start line.
- A 2,550ft climb to Emigrant Pass straight off the start line, up to 8,750ft.
- Net downhill: roughly 7,000m of descending that shreds untrained quads by the canyons.
- Canyon floors at 35 to 43C, the single biggest cause of DNF.
- A second half run into the night, plus a cold, waist-deep river crossing.
- Long trail runs building to 6 to 8 hours, plus weekend back-to-backs for tired-leg fatigue tolerance.
- Weekly downhill repeats and long-descent finishes to armour your quads.
- A late heat-acclimation block: sauna after easy runs and overdressed heat runs, peaking in the final two to three weeks.
- Night runs by headtorch and full cooling-and-fuelling rehearsals in the heat.
- Built from your current fitness and the time you actually have
- Adapts every week as Beina learns how you respond
- Syncs your sessions straight to Garmin and Wahoo
- One clear next session, never a wall of spreadsheet
