Anthony Costales placed third at the 2023 Western States 100. In this interview he talks about how his race went, and his plans to shift gears for a shorter distance race next.
For more on how the race played out, read our in-depth Western States 100 results article.
Anthony Costales Post-2023 Western States 100 Interview Transcript
iRunFar: Sarah Brady of iRunFar. I’m here the day after the 2023 Western States 100. I’m here with third-place man Anthony Costales. Anthony, congratulations. How are you feeling today?
Anthony Costales: Feeling good. Thank you for interviewing me, Sarah.
iRunFar: No problem. It’s a pleasure. So, yeah. So, you had an interesting day yesterday.
Costales: Yeah.
iRunFar: Did it live up to your expectations?
Costales: Yeah, I mean, the crowd was pretty wild right from the start. Got up that escarpment pass, and it was amazing to think how many people got up, how early people woke up to get to the top of there. Because I felt like I woke up early, and they were there before us.
iRunFar: Yeah, there was a really good crowd. And how did you find the snow in the earlier parts of the course? Did you feel that played to your strengths, or how was that?
Costales: Just tried to stay as calm as possible. We were a pretty good group. Sometimes like, a couple people would separate, then we’d all catch back up, because we didn’t know where the course was at for a second. Then that kind of would happen over and over for like, that first 15 miles, for sure. And then a little bit through 20. But yeah, it didn’t go too bad, but it was definitely something different.
iRunFar: Yeah, for sure. I was actually on the course the day before, and it was, yeah, it was pretty hard to see the track with all the snow.
Costales: Yes, yeah.
iRunFar: Yeah, great. And then you kind of buddied up with Tyler [Green] for, I think, a good bit of the race, did you?
Costales: Yeah. Tyler and I probably got near each other around mile 28-ish. Just him and I. And then kind of went back and forth all the way to Devil’s Thumb, or all the way through Devil’s Thumb, and then all the way down to Michigan Bluff, all the way into Foresthill. And then we were really together completely between Michigan Bluff to Foresthill. And then he kind of let go me after that, on that next downhill, he kind of ran away. And I ended up kind of closing the gap towards the last few miles of the race, but little, not enough real estate.
iRunFar: Yeah, yeah, it was pretty close in the end. And did you find as the two of you were running together, were you stronger on the climbs and him on the descents, or vice versa? How did it go?
Costales: I definitely felt like I was stronger on the climbs, and he was doing work on me on the downhills. But yeah, I mean, there were just some points where we were just running together and actually, we were just kind of pumping each other up. Keeping vibes good. Which was kind of needed, because I had a pretty low point between mile like, probably about 30 to 40.
iRunFar: Okay, yeah. And was that to do with the heat? I know people are saying it’s a cool year. To me, it’s still pretty hot.
Costales: No, it wasn’t. I was just kind of all by myself for a little bit before Tyler caught up. And it was just that long downhill half marathon section they talk about. And it’s like, a lot of it’s almost a dirt road, and I just wasn’t having fun. I felt like I just wasn’t running good. The guys in front I felt were running away. And it was kind of good once Tyler caught up to kind of, get some good vibes from each other.
iRunFar: Yeah. And was that the longest section of the route where you were by yourself?
Costales: Yeah. That was probably one of the loneliest sections, I would say.
iRunFar: Okay, cool. And then yeah, your finish line with your family there and everything looked like a brilliant moment. Was that really special?
Costales: Yeah, it was really special to go around that track with everybody. Just so many people cheering. And then getting to see my wife and then picking up my 2.5-year-old daughter and carrying her across was, yeah, a definitely special moment.
iRunFar: Yeah, that’s fantastic. So, have you thought of anything else for the rest of the season?
Costales: Right now, I just need to get rested up and make sure everything’s firing all cylinders. I do, the one race that does interest me right now is Tim Tollefson’s Mammoth Trail Fest 26k. It’s not for sure. But yeah, that’s the one I kind of, it just sounds really fun and I’m curious.
iRunFar: I think that’s on the Golden Trail Series now, isn’t it?
Costales: Yeah, it is. I won’t be running the Golden Trail Series, but I’ll just be probably getting my butt kicked by all those people on the Golden Trail Series. Because they’re something else.
iRunFar: Yeah. It’s nice to mix up the distances, though, isn’t it? Like you’d like to train for something fast now?
Costales: Yeah, train for something fast. Just get a little, kind of just do something completely different, and take a little bit of break from the long stuff, I think is a good idea. And yeah, I guess the best guy that’s ever done it does that quite a bit. So, it’s probably good to key off of that.
iRunFar: Absolutely. Yeah. And then you might not have thought this far ahead, but obviously you’ll be in for next year. Do you think you’ll take that place? Or are you going to play it by ear?
Costales: It is quite early for that, and luckily, I think we have till December to figure that out. So. See how everything is. It was pretty incredible out here. So, I can’t say no, but there’s a lot of places in the world that I also like to go check out and do races at as well.
iRunFar: Okay, great. Well enjoy your recovery. Congratulations again. And thanks so much.
Costales: Alright. Thank you so much.
