If American ultrarunning had a Superbowl, it would start in Olympic Valley, California, and end 100.2 miles later on the Placer High School track in Auburn. But how does one get into the infamous Western States?! This article breaks it down.
The Western States Endurance Run—the world’s oldest 100-mile race—has hosted the sport’s biggest names from Gordy Ainsleigh and Ann Transon to Courtney Dauwalter and Jim Walmsley, and its egalitarian entry system ensures that runners have a chance of competing against the best of the best.
But not a great chance.
For the distinction of being one of the only, if not the only race that crosses Wilderness land—about four miles of the course are within the Granite Chief Wilderness—WSER is limited to just 369 racers. (As a comparison, more than 2,500 people started UTMB in 2023.)
Around 100 of those spots go to “automatic entrants,” leaving just 270 or so bibs available for the general public through the annual lottery. How can you be one of the lucky few? Let’s talk about it.
Most aspiring Western States racers’ best chance is through the lottery held on the first Saturday of December each year.
Getting your name in the hat is relatively straightforward; all you have to do is finish one of the qualifying races under the time limit during the preceding one-year qualifying period. For 2025, the qualifying period is November 6, 2023, through November 3, 2024.
After completing a qualifying race, you simply apply through the WSER Portal from November 1–21, 2024. For the 2024 race, 9,388 people vied for 267 spots, which put everyone’s odds of being selected at 2.8%.
Sort of.
The WSER organizers are both unabashed data nerds, and want to give dedicated runners a fair chance, so the lottery is weighted by the number of years you’ve been applying. Rather than each runner getting a single ticket, runners get 2^(n-1) tickets, with n being the number of years you enter the lottery without being selected.
If your head hurts, you’re not alone. It’s a little math-y, so let’s break it down. If it’s your first year, you get one ticket; your second year you get two tickets; your third year you get four tickets, and so on. After nine years, you’ll have 256 tickets in the hat.
Each year you apply, your odds of being selected improve exponentially. In 2024, first-time entrants had a 0.7% chance of success while nine-time entrants had an 85.2% chance.
At Western States, persistence pays off.
If you don’t like your odds in the lottery, you can always try to get one of the 100 or so automatic entries. Spoiler alert, unless you’re an elite runner, have a really good friend at HOKA, or are just very lucky, your chances are probably better in the lottery.
Here are the main ways to get automatic entry (listed from most helpful to least):
Anyone going for an automatic entry must also complete the online application, which requires proof you completed a qualifying run.
Maybe your best chance of running WSER is to attend the lottery drawing in person. Every year, organizers pull a “Bonus Drawing” to give those present one last chance to be selected.
May the odds be ever in your favor…
The Demystifying Series: How to get into UTMB
The Demystifying Series: What is the Golden Trail World Series?
