After finishing seventh in her debut 100 miler at last year’s Western States 100, the Swede living in Norway, Ida Nilsson, is back for her second attempt. In the following interview, Ida talks about what went right and wrong last year, how a month of training in the U.S. has gone, and what a perfect day of racing Western States might look like for her.
To learn more about who’s racing, check out our women’s and men’s previews and follow our live race coverage on race day.
Ida Nilsson Pre-2024 Western States 100 Interview Transcript
iRunFar: Meghan Hicks of iRunFar. I’m with Ida Nilsson. It’s Western States week for 2024. And you are back again. Hi, Ida. How are you?
Ida Nilsson: I’m good. Thank you.
iRunFar: This is your second Western States. You had, timewise, an incredible debut there last year finishing seventh place in under 18 hours. I think 17:43-ish. I think you said it was a difficult day for you, but those are great numbers for a debut Western States and a debut 100-mile race.
Nilsson: Yeah, I mean, it was really, it wasn’t too warm last year, so it was really good conditions. I think you can’t really look at the time. Everyone had great times. I think you need to more look at the race and your placing. And I feel like it was fine as my first 100 miler, but it could have gone better as well, but it could have also gone worse.
iRunFar: [laughs]
Nilsson: I mean, I made it to the finish line, and I was top ten, so I could come back here without another Golden Ticket race. So that was kind of a nice winter this time, to not have to worry about that.
iRunFar: A qualification race.
Nilsson: Yes.
iRunFar: Yeah. So, last year I think you said you lost your stomach quite early in the race, and that was your limiting factor all day long?
Nilsson: Yeah, kind of. It was hard with the nutrition. And I was fine. I could keep running, but I didn’t have much energy to really push. Yeah, but I had to sit down. I kept going, but it was a little bit slower than I would have liked.
iRunFar: It was your first 100-mile race also, right?
Nilsson: Yes.
iRunFar: But you had done CCC before and other races that take a lot of hours. So, hours-wise, it wasn’t a huge step up in time out, but it was a big step up in the miles in that time.
Nilsson: Right. I mean I’ve done CCC. That took like 13 hours. I’ve mostly done 80ks and a few faster 100ks. So, I think all other races have been under 10 hours. So, yeah, I haven’t been doing so many races that takes a long time.
iRunFar: You talked about a few of the difficulties at last year’s race. What were some things that happened that were really good that you’re like, “Hey, that was really cool?”
Nilsson: I think it was really nice that we were close together from third to 10th position around there, all the women. And it was changing a lot, so it was never really like “Okay, I’m just in this place and I don’t see anyone,” and it’s just kind of boring running. So that made it interesting. And I also felt I had good downhill legs, which I was happy with, which is important for this race.
iRunFar: [laughs]
Nilsson: That kind of saved me a little bit when I felt I didn’t have so much energy, like the uphill, so that was good. At least I felt I had my downhill legs quite far in the race. I mean, it’s always harder. It was, and I don’t think my last downhills were very good.
iRunFar: Relatively.
Nilsson: But yeah, at least quite far into the race.
iRunFar: Western States is a race that people love to repeat. Some people come back two, four, ten times, right? Whenever a person comes back, the question that I want to ask is what brings you back? What makes you want to do it again?
Nilsson: I think that’s hard with all races because most races you like, you want to do again, but you also want to do new races. So, I think that’s every year, this balance.
iRunFar: Yeah.
Nilsson: Because it’s something in you that you want to perfect a certain race. And I feel like with a lot of courses I think that part I could have done way better, or that preparation. And I think why we’re coming back to certain races, because it’s really nice to try to do it better. So I think that’s my main thing. I like to race, and then I felt like I could have done a little bit better. And then I felt like oh, I want to come back again. And then also when I was top ten, it’s easy to come back.
iRunFar: This is maybe more of an existential question, but do you think perfection is possible in 100-mile racing? Do you think we get one perfect 100-mile race in our lives? Ultrarunning is already inherently difficult and then you go 100 miles.
Nilsson: No, I don’t think you could. I mean, you can probably get close, but all my races that I’ve done in life, I think you probably would quit if you get it, because then you have nothing to try to achieve if you get it perfect. And I think it’s always something that could be a tiny bit better.
iRunFar: If you were to shut your eyes right this moment and envision your perfect day out, and knowing that there’s going to be problems. It’s 100 miles. What does a really good day look like for you on this course?
Nilsson: I feel it’s a course where you both need to be really fit, but also have this endurance. It’s like a mix. I think some other 100-mile races is more like you need to be more tough and endure, but this one you need to actually be running quite fast a lot of times as well, and have that fitness. And then handle heat, of course, and nutrition. Just be moving well and quick the whole time. So, I think this year I feel I get a bit older each year, of course. Like, I will never reach my top physical shape at any point in life any longer because I passed that point, even though I try sometimes. I love it.
I think like this year I feel like more I would really want to nail the things I can nail. Like with the crew and be moving well, and not doing mistakes, and all those extra things that is from outside. Because I think when I was younger, I can rely too much on just fitness, on that I know I’m good when I’m racing. So I was like, “oh, I can always be better when I race than in training.” And I rely on my fitness. And then I get a little bit too competitive and I can make mistakes. And I also think it’s kind of boring to think about details. Like I put a lot of energy in the 98%, which is the preparation, year-round, we’re training. But then the small details sometimes I’m like, “oh, it doesn’t interest me enough.”
iRunFar: Yeah.
Nilsson: Something now I need to start to be a little bit more to nail everything around better to have a good race, because my fitness is declining, and I can’t really compete just with that anymore. So I will try to do that for once.
iRunFar: You’re a masters runner. In 2021, Ragna Debats set the women’s masters record at 17:41. You were just a wee bit off of that last year. Is that something that you’re thinking about too is the women’s masters record? If, I mean stars have to align, you know, the weather has to allow for fast times, but is that something that you think about on a decent weather day?
Nilsson: I didn’t know about it at all last year or thought about it. I don’t think I will. I mean, I’m in the race and I’m just trying to compete as well as possible, and that’s probably a bonus if it goes well, but I don’t think about that too much.
iRunFar: Race day, part of the fun of it is your crew and your pacers. Who is the team supporting you on race day this year?
Nilsson: Yeah, EmKay [Sullivan] and her husband Tommy [Sullivan] told me they are going to both crew and pace me, so that’s really good. They were there for me last year as well, so it’s going to be good.
iRunFar: Like, lowkey repeat what worked.
Nilsson: Yeah, and I can do some things better. Like, it was the first time for all of us. I’ve never had a crew, and I never had a pacer before in a race.
iRunFar: Right.
Nilsson: You get so much support in this race. I’m not used to it. You’re used to take care of yourself, and I think I was quite bad with this, giving directions to people. Like “oh, what you actually need?” So I think we have a better strategy this year of how we’re going to do it.
iRunFar: That’s a really good point. I mean, you have come over from you know, almost strictly European racing where pacers and crews are not a thing. All the runners typically rely on aid stations. Yeah, just absorbing that inherent piece of Western States where it’s so crew heavy, so pacer heavy, it’s so part of the experience. Are you really just going to embrace it this year?
Nilsson: Yeah, I mean, it’s a lot of smaller stuff that can help you, especially if it gets really warm, I think. So, I think it’s important because you can have so many aid stations. It’s just an hour between everything pretty much. Maybe an hour and a half the longest one, so you can actually, if you like, think it through to do it well. And I think that’s important now, especially if it gets really hot here.
iRunFar: You’ve been in America for a little over a month or about a month. You came for Western States training camp here in the Sierra Nevada and then spent some time training in Flagstaff. Is that how it went this year?
Nilsson: Yeah, I started with the training runs again, and I thought it was really nice last year, and just social thing. And also to see the course a little bit, because it’s difficult when I come by myself and logistic with car or anything. So it’s a perfect time to see part of the course and just meet up with people. So, I did that and then had a little road trip with Eszter [Csillag] and went to Grand Canyon a few days. And then I went to Flagstaff and been there for three weeks.
iRunFar: Cool. So now you’re part of the great migration of people training in Flagstaff, Arizona for Western States, or you’ve moved back up to the Sierra Nevada for race week.
Nilsson: Yeah, I did last year as well. I have also trained in Flagstaff for other races because I enjoy this place. I think there are probably more places that are good to train for Western States, but it works well for now.
iRunFar: You were an NAU runner and you always will be a little bit of a Northern Arizona runner, weren’t you?
Nilsson: Yeah, I will always cheer for people in Flagstaff.
iRunFar: Yeah. Well, best of luck to you this weekend on your second Western States experience. Good luck, Ida.
Nilsson: Thanks.
iRunFar: Thanks.
