The lottery for the 2020 Western States 100 took place on Saturday December 7, 2019, confirming the vast majority of next year’s field, including a few top runners. However, most top runners either secured entry prior to the lottery or will do so in the coming months.
This year’s lottery saw a 14% increase in applicants over last year, with a total of 6,664 runners applying for entry via the lottery. The starters list in June 2020 will ultimately contain 369 runners, a number set by the race’s permit through the Granite Chief Wilderness Area. Among this there will be 102 automatic entrants (some decided and some yet to be decided, see below for details) and the remainder who were chosen in 2020 lottery.
A change was announced to the WS 100 entrance process in 2016, and will be implemented for the fourth time in the 2020 event, a 50-person General Waitlist. If a registered entrant decides not to race, members of the waitlist will move onto the entrants list. Today, that waitlist was also filled from among the lottery entrants, as well. For perspective, the waitlists rolled down to allow the 36th and 31st runners to toe the line in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
Here’s the full 2020 Western States 100 entrants list and the separate 2020 waitlist.
Let’s take a look at the top runners who have made it into WS 100 so far.
Women’s Top-10 Returnees
The women’s top 10 from the 2019 Western States 100 are invited to return in 2020 as automatic entries, and eight of the 10 women have chosen to do so:
- Clare Gallagher – 17:23:25 (pre-race and post-race interviews)
- Brittany Peterson – 17:34:29 (post-race interview)
- Kaci Lickteig – 17:55:55 (pre-race and post-race interviews)
- Beth Pascall (U.K.) – 18:06:51
- Camelia Mayfield – 18:13:31
Kaytlyn Gerbin– 18:13:33 (pre-race interview) (Author’s Note: Kaytlyn Gerbin declined her automatic entry.)- Nicole Bitter – 18:55:14 (post-race interview)
- Kathryn Drew – 18:59:08
- Addie Bracy – 19:53:38
Corrine Malcolm– 20:02:29 (Author’s Note: Corrine Malcolm declined her automatic entry.)
Men’s Top-10 Returnees
The men’s top 10 from 2019 are also invited to return with auto-entries, and seven intend to do so:
Jim Walmsley– 14:09:28 (pre-race and post-race interviews) (Author’s Note: Jim Walmsley declined his automatic entry.)- Jared Hazen – 14:26:46 (pre-race and post-race interviews)
Tom Evans (U.K.)– 14:59:44 (pre-race and post-race interviews) (Author’s Note: Tom Evans declined his automatic entry.)- Matt Daniels – 15:21:36 (pre-race interview)
- Mark Hammond – 15:36:12 (pre-race interview)
Gediminas Grinius– 15:43:50 (Author’s Note: Gediminas Grinius declined his automatic entry.)- Stephen Kersh – 15:54:15
- Patrick Reagan – 15:54:31
- Jeff Browning – 15:55:06
- Kyle Pietari – 15:56:13
Other Fast Runners Who Received Automatic Entry
According to UltraSignup, 69 of the 102 auto-entry slots were filled ahead of the race, with 15 of those being top-10 returnees from last year. (Looking back, 19 of 20 eligible 2018 top-10 runners accepted their spot into the 2019 race.) Below are some speedy women and men who have already achieved entry to next year’s race via one of the other pre-lottery auto-entry methods so far:
Women
- Magdalena Boulet (Sponsor spot)
- Tracy Dimino (Raffle spot transferred to her)
Men
- Jorge Maravilla (Sponsor spot)
- Ryan Montgomery (Sponsor spot)
Top Lottery Entrants
A total of 264 names were drawn during today’s lottery, and among them were a small number of athletes who could crack the top 10 on the right day.
Men
- Cody Draper
Tomokazu Ihara (Japan) and Kyle Curtin are fifth and 17th on the waitlist, respectively, and likely to gain entry. Rod Farvard is 35th on the waitlist with his entry quite uncertain.
Women
- Keira Henninger
- Shannon Howell
- Alyson Jay
- Susan Kramer
- Kelly Teeselink
- Dreama Walton
Cass Chisholm (U.K.) is 45th on the waitlist and, therefore, is unlikely to get in.
UTWT Entries and Golden Ticket Races
At the moment, athletes still have two ways to get into the 2020 Western States 100, via the Ultra-Trail World Tour and the Hoka One One Golden Ticket Races.
The Ultra-Trail World Tour’s (UTWT’s) designated runners have been announced, and, as in recent years, the UTWT has designated four North American runners and six runners from further afield.
Men’s UTWT Entries
- Hayden Hawks
- Tom Owens (U.K.)
- Sébastien Spehler (France)
- Tim Tollefson
Women’s UTWT Entries
- Lucy Bartholomew (Australia)
- Luzia Buehler (Switzerland)
- Kellie Emmerson (Australia)
- Keely Henninger
- Camille Herron
- Audrey Tanguy (France)
The five-race 2020 Hoka One One Golden Ticket Races will offer up to 20 WS 100 entries to be given to top finishers of these races. The top-two men and top-two women finishers of each race gain entry, and if they already have an entry or if they decline it, the entry can roll down as far as fifth place. Here’s the race-series schedule for 2020:
- January 11 – Bandera 100k (Texas)
- February 15 – Black Canyon 100k (Arizona)
- March 28 – Georgia Death Race (74 miles) (Georgia)
- April 11 – Lake Sonoma 50 Mile (California)
- April 25 – The Canyons 100k (California)
Men’s Golden Ticket Entries
- Drew Holmen (Bandera 100k)
- Alex Nichols (Bandera 100k)
Women’s Golden Ticket Entries
- Ailsa MacDonald (Bandera 100k)
- Michelle Magagna (Bandera 100k)
[Last Updated Jan 17, 2020]
Call for Comments
- Are there any contenders who are already in the race who we’ve not included above? Let us know who we missed!
- Who can you see winning the women’s and men’s races in 2020?
- Anyone you’re hoping will try to gain entry via a Golden Ticket Race? If you’re a speedster and are trying to get in via either route, let us know!
