Western States 100 mile endurance run 2013

 

When it comes to ultra running the WSER 100 is the "Boston Marathon" of the genre. This is the oldest 100 mile race in the United States and it draws the best of the best. If running had a Super Bowl this would be it. This years event is being run as I sit and type this on my laptop. The runners got started at 5am in Olympic Valley at Squaw in Tahoe and the elites will be in Auburn, CA by about 8pm tonight crossing the finish line on the high school track. This race will launch the winner into the stratosphere of ultra running. Sponsors will come out of the wood work and race directors will fly you to their races all over the world.

 

 408 people are listed on the entrants list this year and about 10 men and 10 women are in contention for the win. For the men the top choices are, last years winner and current course record holder Timothy Olson followed by most of last years top 10 finishers like Nick Clark, Dave Mackey, Ian Sharman (Walnut Creek), Dylan Bowman, Jorge Maravilla (Vallejo) and Joe Uhan. Other top men that are in the hunt for a win are Rob Krar, Mike Morton, Cameron Clayton, Karl Meltzer & Hal Koerner, all top elites in the sport as well. For the women the top choices are, Rory Bosio, Aliza Lapierre, Nikki Kimball, Amy Sproston, Ashley Nordell and Megan Arborghast. Other top women that are in the hunt for a win are Emily Harrison, Cassie Scallon, Joelle Vaught, Kerrie Bruxvoort & Jennifer Benna.

 

I've read a few prediction articles on this years race and the favorites for the men seem to be:

1. Olson- 29yrs old from Ashland, OR
2. Clark- 39yrs old from Fort Collins, CO
3. Morton- 41yrs old from Lithia, FL
4. Krar- 36yrs old from Flagstaff, AZ 

For the women the favorites are:

1. Bosio- 28yrs old from Soda Springs, CA
2. Sproston- 39yrs old from Portland, OR
3. Kimball- 42yrs old from Bozeman, MT
4. Harrison- 27yrs old from Flagstaff, AZ



We shall see how it all shakes out in about 12 hours from now. Check back here all day for updates on who's leading the race at which checkpoint.

Update: Lyon Ridge Aid Station @ mile 10.5

The men's course record for this aid station is 6:39am.

1.  Cameron Clayton @ 6:32am (Course Record)
2. Hal Koerner @ 6:34am (2nd fastest ever)
3. Nick Clark @ 6:35am (tie 3rd fastest ever)
4. Timothy Olson @ 6:35am (tie 3rd fastest ever)

Clearly the men started out brutally fast!!! This should make for a hell of a race in the 2nd half.

The women's course record for this aid station is 6:45am.

1. Rory Bosio @ 6:44am (Course Record)
2. Joelle Vaught @ 6:46am
3. Kerrie Bruxvoort @ 6:49am
4. Aliza Lapierre @ 6:49am

The women are also starting off at a fast pace!!! Will Kerrie & Aliza benefit from holding off the gas pedal???

Update: Robinson Flat @ 29.7 miles

The men's course record for this aid station is 9:30am.

1.  Cameron Clayton @ 9:27am (Course Record)
2. Tomothy Olson @ 9:29am (tie 2nd fastest ever)
3. Nick Clark @ 9:29am (tie 2nd fastest ever)
4. Hal Kpoerner @ 9:29am (tie 2nd fastest ever)
5. Ian Sharman @ 9:31am

What an exciting race. The lead pack is tight and running really hard!!!!

The women's course record for this aid station is 9:59am.

1. Joelle Vaught @ 10:14am
2. Pam Smith @ 10:21am
3. Aliza Lapierre @ 10:25am

The women have fallen off of the course record pace they started with. Probably a wise idea on this hot day. They are all still relatively packed tight.

Update: Dusty Corners @ 38 miles

The men's course record for this aid station is 10:39am

1. Hal Koerner @ 10:38am (Course Record)
2. Timothy Olson @ 10:39am
3. Cameron Clayton @ 10:39am (possible injured foot)
4. Nick Clark @ 10:42 (tied for 3rd place)
5. Dylan Bowman @ 10:42 (tied for 3rd place)
6. Rob Krar @ 10:42 (tied for 3rd place)

The men are still tightly bunched up and running course record pace on a day when it is unusually hot!!! Somoene's going to crash & burn in these conditions.

The women's course record for this aid station is 11:14am

1. Pam Smith 11:41am
2. Joelle Vaught 11:43am
3. Amy Sproston 11:46am

 The women have fallen behind the men by an hour! This is unusually slow but I still contend that it may be a wise choice this early in a 100 mile race with really hot temps in the canyons today!!! Let's see how it all plays out in the end.

Update: Devils Thumb @ 47.8 miles

The men's course record for this aid station is 12:06pm.

1. Timothy Olson @ 12:10pm
2. Hal Koerner @ 12:12pm
3. Nick Clark @ 12:19pm (lingered long at the aid station)
4. Rob Krar @ 12:19pm
5. Dylan Bowman @ 12:19pm

The men are just barely off course record pace. Looks like Cameron Clayton's foot problem may be real. He is no where in the top at this point. I'm so happy for Hal & Tim. What a great race this has been!

The women's course record for this aid station is 12:55pm

1. Pam Smith @ ?:??pm
2. Amy Sproston @ 1:39pm
3. Rory Bosio @ 1:45pm

Joelle & Aliza have dropped back and Rory has climb a few places. Kerrie Bruxvoort ran up front for a while but has fallen back quite a bit at this point. Nikki Kimball may be making up time on the lead pack.

Update: Michigan Bluff @ 55.7 miles

The men's course record for this aid station is 1:23pm

1. Timothy Olson @ 1:28pm
2. Hal Koerner @ 1:37pm
3. Dylan Bowman @ 1:43pm
4. Rob Krar @ 1:43pm

Timothy has opened his lead a little more. Nick Clark has fallen off a bit. Dave Mackey is still back at Devils Thumb complaining of stomach issues and talking about dropping.

The women's course record for this aid station is 2:13pm

1. Pam Smith @ 3:04pm
2. Amy Sproston @ 3:22pm
3. Nikki Kimball @ 3:27pm

The women have fallen to 1.5 hours behind the men and are starting to spread out more!!! Nikki Kimball is challenging for a podium finish. That makes me so happy. These 3 women are older, wiser and apparently just as tough as the younger ladies they are dominating at this point. Rory Bosio has fallen back to 4th just in front of Aliza Lapierre & Megan Arborgast. Notice the top 3 woman keep switching up!!! What an incredible race.

Update: Foresthill @ 62 miles

The men's course record for this aid station is 2:18pm

1. Timothy Olson @ 2:27pm
2. Hal Koerner @ 2:41pm
3. Rob Krar @ 2:45pm
4. Dylan Bowman @ 2:45pm

Timothy increased his 9 minute lead to 14 minutes and Hal's 6 minute gap over 3rd place has shrunk to a 4 minute gap. Dave Mackey has been at Devils Thumb for over an hour and has finally dropped. The lead men are all still fairly tight and rumor has it that 4th through 7th are right behind the top 3. Karl "The Speedgoat" Meltzer is rounding out the top 10 about 1 hour and 20 minutes behind 1st place

The women's course for this aid station is 3:13pm

1. Pam Smith @ 4:12pm
2. Amy Sproston @ 4:35pm
3. Nikki Kimball @ 4:38pm

The women are normally about an hour behind the men at this point. Being closer to 2 hours apart is unexpected. Pam's 22 minute lead over Amy remains unchanged while 3rd place Nikki closes the gap slightly. Megan Arborgast is a close 4th running about 7 minutes behind 3rd place. Rory Bosio continues to slip back and our other front runner Joelle Vaught has dropped out here at Foresthill.

Update: Rucky Chucky @ 78 miles (106F degrees)

The men's course record for this aid station is 4:32pm

1. Timothy Olson @ 4:53pm
2. Rob Krar @ 5:01pm
3. Mike Morton @ 5:02pm

Hal Koerner has fallen all the way back to 7th. Rob Krar has moved up and so has Mike Morton. They closed the gap to 8 minutes and 9 minutes respectively. Walnut Creek's Ian Sharman looking strong in 4th place (Bay Area Represent!!!). Dylan Bowman (a Bay Area transplant) slips to 5th. Nick Clark is in 6th. This race is getting to be a nail biter, it's on!!!!

The women's course record for this aid station is 5:48pm

1. Pam Smith @ 6:57
2. Amy Sproston @ 7:37
3. Nikki Kimball @ 7:39

Pam Smith has been leading for 30 miles and her 20 minute lead over 2nd place has doubled to 40 minutes. Nikki Kimball is a very close 3rd with a 7minute lead over 4th place Megan Arborgast.

Update: Highway 49 @ 93.5 miles

The men's course record for this aid station is 6:48pm

1. Timothy Olson @ 7:15pm
2. Rob Krar @ 7:25pm
3. Mike Morton @ 7:38pm

Ian Sharman, Dylan Bowman and Nick Clark are a distant and spread out 4 through 6. Hal Koerner dropped at Rucky Chucky.

The women's course record for this aid station is 8:37pm

1. Pam Smith @ 10:15pm
2. Nikki Kimball @ 11:01pm
3. Amy Sproston @ 11:03pm

Pam has a huge lead on 2nd place but is trailing the lead men by 3 hours. She just passed 9th place Karl Meltzer. The fight for 2nd is currently favoring Nikki by 2 minutes but these 2 have traded places several times today. It's impossible to tell who's going to take 2nd and who takes 3rd. 4th place Megan Arborgast is 5 minutes behind 3rd and gaining ground. Can she take a podium this year?

Update: No hands bridge @ 96.8 miles

The men's course record for this aid station is 7:14pm

1. Timothy Olson @ 7:46pm
2. Rob Krar @ 7:53pm
3. Mike Morton

Ian Sharman (4th) Dylan Bowman (5th) Nick Clark (6th)

The women's course record for this aid station is 9:09pm

1. Pam Smith
2. Nikki Kimball
3. Amy Sproston

Update: Robie Pointe @ 98.9 miles

The men's course record for this aid station is 7:35pm

1. Timothy Olson @ 8:05pm
2. Rob Krar @ 8:11pm
3. Mike Morton @ 8:32pm

Ian Sharman (4th) Dylan Bowman (5th) Nick Clark (6th)

The women's course record for this aid station is 9:35pm

1. Pam Smith @ 11:23pm
2. Nikki Kimball @ 12:07 am
3. Amy Sproston @ 12:09am

It's a foot race for the last 1.2 miles to see who gets 2nd & who gets 3rd. These two ladies have battled it out damn near all day long. Megan Arborgast will hang on to 4th place about 7 minutes behind 3rd place.

Update: Placer High School @ 100.2 miles

The men's course record for the finish is 7:46pm

1. Timothy Olson @ 8:17 (15:17:30)
2. Rob Krar @ 8:22 (15:22:05)
3. Mike Morton @ 8:45 (15:45:23)
4. Ian Sharman
5. Dylan Bowman
6. Nick Clark
7. Jesse Haynes
8. Paul Terranova
9. Yassine Diboun
10. Karl Meltzer

The women's course record for the finish is 9:47pm

1. Pam Smith @ 11:37pm (18:37:21)
2. Nikki Kimball @ 12:21am (19:21:42)
3. Amy Sproston @ 12:25am (19:25:11)
4. Megan Arborgast
5. Rory Bosio
6. Aliza Lapierre
7. Emily Harrison
8. Denise Bourassa
9. Leila Degrave
10. Abby McQueeney penamonte