The Western States 100-miler is the Super Bowl of ultrarunning because of its historic underpinnings, competitive field, and unique entry process. Let’s take a look at how people get into the race and out of the race 😄

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1. How they got in.

With almost 10,000 hopefuls but only 375 coveted spots, entry is a lifetime goal for many. Most entries are granted via the race’s unique lottery system. You enter the lottery by qualifying at selected 100-mi and (hillier) 100-km races.

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‍Each year you run a qualifying time but don’t get picked in the lottery, your number of tickets in the “hat” double. The result is an interesting statistical phenomenon.

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Exponentially more people have fewer tickets, but a small amount of people have exponentially more tickets. It seems this year (2024) the entry field is comprised mostly of people who qualified 4- and 7-years consecutively.

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2. How they got out.

‍With 375 starters, 100.2 miles, and 20 aid stations, the field continuously dwindles as the race goes on. High temperatures make the race notoriously difficult after sunrise. The aid stations with the most drops are at miles 30.3 and 55.7, both with 13 DNFs. The DNF rate this year was 24%. The typical range is 15-30%.