With 6,208 entrants with a combined 29,724 tickets in the pot, the lottery for the 2022 Western States 100 was a tight one. If a runner doesn’t have an automatic entry, a sponsor spot, or a golden ticket, the chance of getting their name pulled is slim – but never none. Just look at Cat Bradley: she gained entry into the 2017 race with only one ticket in the hat, so it can be done! Eighteen of the entrants had 128 tickets, years of qualifying races and waiting to get into the historic race.
Since fewer runners than usual participated in the 2021 race, the race organization was able to obtain a permit to allow a few more runners in this year: 385 rather than the regular 369. To start, 56 overseas rollover spots will be given to international runners who were selected for but not able to travel to the 2021 race due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With 164 automatic entrants, that leaves 221 spots for the lottery.
Here’s a link to the 2022 Western States 100 entrants list (which is not yet complete at the time of this article’s publishing but should be soon, according to the race organization, as all entrants finalize their registration).
Let’s take a look at the top runners who have made it into the Western States 100 so far, whether via automatic entry or by the lottery itself.
Men’s Top-10 Returnees
The top-10 finishers of 2021 are invited to return for 2022, and for the men, all but two — Jim Walmsley and Stephen Kersh, first and seventh in 2021, respectively — have elected to do so.
Jim Walmsley – 14:46:01(pre-race and post-race interviews)- Tyler Green – 16:11:02 (post-race interview)
- Drew Holmen – 16:23:09 (post-race interview)
- Cody Lind – 16:49:40
- Tim Tollefson – 16:55:49 (pre-race interview)
- Kyle Pietari – 17:00:34
Stephen Kersh – 17:29:24- Hayden Hawks – 17:48:47 (pre-race interview)
- Kyle Curtin – 18:18:31
- Alex Nichols – 18:33:14 (pre-race interview)
Tyler Green cooling off in the American River at mile 78, on his way to taking second at the 2021 Western States 100. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Women’s Top-10 Returnees
Like the men, it looks like most of the women’s top 10 are planning to return. Beth Pascall has elected to not return as she continues to recover from injury, and Audrey Tanguy and Camelia Mayfield are both not returning either.
Beth Pascall – 17:10:42 (pre-race and post-race interviews)- Ruth Croft – 17:33:48 (pre-race and post-race interviews)
- Ragna Debats – 17:41:13 (pre-race and post-race interviews)
- Brittany Peterson – 18:07:42 (pre-race interview)
- Katie Asmuth – 18:23:24 (post-race interview)
Audrey Tanguy – 18:37:45- Emily Hawgood – 19:13:55
Camelia Mayfield – 19:17:20- Keely Henninger – 19:42:37
- Kaci Lickteig – 19:47:56 (pre-race interview)
Beth Pascall on her way to winning the 2021 Western Sates 100. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Fast Runners with Automatic Entry
Below are some speedy men and women who have already achieved entry to next year’s race via one of the other pre-lottery auto-entry methods so far, or as an international rollover due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As mentioned earlier, the race organization awarded automatic entry to 164 runners this year, and there were 56 overseas rollovers. We share the means by which each of these automatic entrants received their entry.
Men
- Mark Austin – 13th 2016 Western States 100; 4th & 7th 2019 & 2018 IMTUF 100 Mile (raffle)
- Reid Coolsaet – 2-time Olympic marathoner with what looks like a 2:09 marathon PR (sponsor)
- Brett Hornig – 1st 2021 Peterson Ridge Rumble 36 Mile (race admin)
- Adam Kimble – 13th 2018 Western States 100; 8th 2021 Leadville 100 Mile; 4th 2020 Tarawera 100k (sponsor)
- Greg Miller – 2nd 2021, 2019, & 2018 Rio Del Lago 100 Mile (race admin)
- Tom Owens – 4th 2019 UTMB; 5th 2017 CCC (overseas rollover)
- Sébastien Spehler – 2nd 2021 Ultra-Trail Cape Town; 2nd 2021 Grand Trail des Templiers; 1st 2019 The North Face 50 Mile Championships (overseas rollover)
- Cole Watson – 3rd 2021 Javelina Jundred Mile; 5th 2021 Canyons 100k (sponsor)
Women
- Stephanie Auston – 3rd 2020 Black Canyon 100k; 2nd 2019 Tarawera 100k (overseas rollover)
- Lucy Bartholomew – 15th & 3rd 2019 & 2018 Western States 100 (overseas rollover)
- Luzia Buehler – 11th 2019 Western States 100; 5th 2021 UTMB (overseas rollover)
- Meghan Canfield – 12-time Western States 100 finisher most recently 18th in 2018 (Silver Legend)
- Cecilia Flori – 12th & 5th 2019 & 2018 Western States 100; 2nd 2020 Black Canyon 100k (overseas rollover)
- Erika Hoagland – 5-time Western States 100 finisher most recently 10th in 2016; 1st 2019 Rio del Lago 100 Mile (pregnancy deferral)
- Ailsa Maconald – 13th 2018 Western States 100; 1st 2020 Tarawera 100 Mile; 6th 2019 CCC (overseas rollover)
- Zoë Rom – 3rd 2021 Rio del Lago 100 Mile; 3rd 2021 Tillamook Burn 50 Mile (sponsor)
- Amber Weibel – 14th 2019 Western States 100; 4th 2021 High Lonesome 100 Mile (raffle)
Top Lottery Entrants
A total of 221 names were drawn during the lottery, and among them were a small number of athletes who could crack the top 10 on the right day.
Men
- Michael Dubova – 2nd 2021 Old Dominion 100 Mile; 1st 2020 Hellgate 100k
- Trevor Fuchs – 3rd 2021 Wasatch Front 100 Mile; 1st 2020 HURT 100 Mile
- Jesse Haynes – 5-time Western States 100 finisher most recently 24th in 2018; 5th 2020 Black Canyon 100k
- Wesley Hunt – 3rd 2021 Pinhoti 100 Mile; 6th 2021 Rocky Raccoon 100 Mile
- Seth Kelly – 12th 2015 Western States 100; 6th 2021 Burning River 100 Mile
- Peter Mortimer – 2nd 2021 Cocodona 250 Mile
- Daven Oskvig – 4th 2021 Canal Corridor 100 Mile
- Marvin Sandoval – 3rd 2021 Moab 240 Mile; 5th 2021 Leadville 100 Mile
Women
- Allison Baca – 1st 2019 Silver Rush 50 Mile
- Colleen Weitzel – 6th 2019 Bighorn Trail 100 Mile
Full lottery and waitlist results.
Top Waitlist Entrants
A total of 75 people were chosen for the 2022 race waitlist. There’s a chance that these fast folks from the waitlist could get into the race.
Men
- Ryan Witko – 1st 2019 Arkansas Traveler 100 Mile; 2nd 2018 Vermont 100 Mile (2nd on waitlist)
Women
- Alison Miller – 2nd 2020 Blood Rock 100 Mile; 3rd 2019 Cruel Jewel 100 Mile (3rd on waitlist)
- Wendy Stalnaker – 7th 2020 Never Summer 100k; 6th 2019 Canyons 100k (73rd on waitlist)
Full lottery and waitlist results.
Hoka Golden Ticket Races Entries
With sevensix Hoka Golden Ticket Races this year — threetwo international and four in the United States — many top runners will be vying for the automatic spots awarded to the top-two male and female finishers of each race. Should runners decline their Golden Ticket, it can roll down as far as fourth place.
In a notable turn of events, on January 25, 2022, the Tarawera 100k, a Golden Ticket Race, was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On January 26, the Western States 100 race organization announced that the final two Golden Ticket Races of this series, the Black Canyon 100k and Canyons 100k, would each award golden tickets to the top-three male and female finishers.
Here’s who’s gained entry so far via this mechanism:
Men
- Trueheart Brown (Black Canyon 100k)
- Aurélien Collet (Les Templiers)
- Jeffrey Colt (Black Canyon 100k)
- Rod Farvard (Canyons by UTMB 100k)
- Tyler Fox (Bandera 100k)
- Arlen Glick (Javelina Jundred Mile)
- Jared Hazen (Canyons by UTMB 100k)
- Ryan Montgomery (Javelina Jundred Mile)
- Adam Peterman (Canyons by UTMB 100k)
- Ludovic Pommeret (UTMB)
- Jonathan Rea (Bandera 100k)
- Scott Traer (Black Canyon 100k)
- Vincent Viet (Les Templiers)
Arlen Glick, 2021 Javelina Jundred Mile Champion, earned a Golden Ticket for the 2022 Western States 100. Photo: Javelina Jundred Mile
Women
- Camille Bruyas (UTMB)
- Tessa Chesser (Javelina Jundred Mile)
- Courtney Dauwalter (UTMB)
- Camille Herron (Javelina Jundred Mile)
- Marianne Hogan (Bandera 100k)
- Anne Lise Le Quere (Les Templiers)
- Jazmine Lowther (Canyons by UTMB 100k)
- Anne-Marie Madden (Black Canyon 100k)
- Taylor Nowlin (Black Canyon 100k)
- Ellie Pell (Bandera 100k)
- Aroa Sio (Canyons by UTMB 100k)
- Dominika Stelmach (Black Canyon 100k)
- Leah Yingling (Canyons by UTMB 100k)
Camille Bruyas finishing second at the 2021 UTMB, where she earned a Golden Ticket for the 2022 Western States 100. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Finally, here is the whole series schedule:
- August 26, 2021 – UTMB (France, Switzerland, Italy)
- October 24, 2021 – Les Templiers 100k (France)
- October 30, 2021 – Javelina Jundred (U.S., Arizona)
- January 8, 2022 – Bandera 100k (U.S., Texas)
February 12, 2022 – Tarawera 100k (New Zealand)On January 25, 2022, the 2022 Tarawera 100k was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.- February 12, 2022 – Black Canyon 100k (U.S., Arizona)
- April 23, 2022 – Canyons by UTMB 100k (U.S., California)
[Editor’s Note: This article was last updated on May 3, 2022.]
Call for Comments
- How do you think the runners are stacking up this year? Who are some new runners you think might rise to the top?
- Did you manage to get into the 2022 Western States 100, or has the lottery evaded you once again?
