The race of my life... again
In June 2022 I am going to run the Western States Endurance Run
In June 2022 I am going to run the Western States Endurance Run (WSER). Arguably the most sought-after 100-mile trail race in the world. It is not what I had planned and to be honest, not what I believe I am currently capable of as a runner. However, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I got 6 months to level up my running game for this epic race. I’m excited and determined to do this.
To my non-running friends just a quick note on the impact and meaning of WSER: Almost without exception the WSER sees the most outstanding athletic performances of our sport every year. It repeatedly redefines what is possible in ultra trail running and endurance sports in general. Although I am far from contributing anything meaningful to this agenda, it is still the greatest honor to be a part of it and giving it my very own personal everything to hopefully become a proud finisher of not just my first 100 mile race, but also the oldest and most iconic one in the world.
A few words on the entry process of WSER: Each year the race only allows a total of 369 starters (Due to covid they raised the number to 385 this year). 165 starts are given away to elite runners (e.g. the top 10 runners of last year’s edition), golden ticket winners (a true shortcut of this process, but you have to finish 1st or 2nd in one out of 7 highly competitive golden ticket ultra trail races), a handful of rollovers from 2020 when the race was cancelled due to covid and some sponsorship participants. This means that in the end 220 starts are available to "ordinary runners". Unfortunately each year more than 6000 runners qualify and apply for this. Obviously that’s why there’s a lottery.
If you apply for the first time you got 1 ticket in the lottery, if you apply for the 2nd time you got 2, for the third time 4 and so on. For 2020 the insane number of 29724 tickets were in the box. Some runners have been trying to get in for many years and have applied with up to 128 tickets. To cut this short: chances of winning the lottery are pretty goddamn low. To save you from complex mathematical calculations here’s a rule of thumb: odds of getting in with only one ticket are around 1.1%. It takes 6 consecutive years of nonstop qualifying and applying to have a more or less solid 50% chance.
You bet I was surprised when my fellow Willpower Athletes pointed out to me that I obviously won the WSER lottery with only one ridiculous ticket and was allowed to start in 2022. At first I was a bit embarrassed, then scared to death and only after a while I could start thinking it through with a cool head. It took me 2 days to make a final decision, although it got easier the more thoughts I spent on it. As I am typing these words it is crystal clear to me: I want to do this.
So why did I throw myself in the lottery at all? Yes. Good question. Shot answer: Because I could. If you ever want to run WSER in your life (which I did), you’d better start applying as soon as you can to constantly increase your odds and my CCC 100k race was a qualifier that allowed me to. Neither did I think I would win the lottery with only one ticket, nor was I sure if I could come up with a WSER qualifying race each year to continuously apply.
So here I am, embarking on an awe inspiring running project yet again. Only one year after my first 100k, which came to me already highly unexpected. Still not sure about this "fate" thing, but if there is something like this existing in my running life, then it definitely wants to see me running long hours in the mountains instead of working on my road racing goals haha!
Anyway, let’s do this.