Western States Endurance Run
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About the race
The Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run is a trail race of 100.2 miles that begins in Olympic Valley, California, and finishes at Placer High School in Auburn, California. The official course climbs more than 18,000 feet and descends nearly 23,000 feet. Along the route runners pass Emigrant Pass, traverse the Granite Chief Wilderness, and cross the Middle Fork of the American River.
The event is organized with an entry process that requires a valid qualifying race within a specified one-year period and uses a lottery to select most entrants. For the 2027 running the qualifying window is Monday November 3, 2025 through Sunday November 8, 2026. Lottery registration for 2027 is open November 1 to November 21, 2026, and the lottery drawing is held December 5, 2026. Applicants must be at least 18 years old on race day and must have a qualifying result available online at the time of application.
Selected entrants receive an invitation to complete registration at UltraSignup and pay an entry fee of $575 plus the online fee; registration must be completed within ten days or the entry is forfeited. Automatic entrants receive earlier invitations and must also meet the qualifying requirement. A 75-person ordered general wait list is maintained. The organizer publishes a tiered refund schedule based on withdrawal date and retains specified ticket counts for the next lottery under defined conditions. Visit the organization's website for the most recent information.
