Western States 100 2026: Race Week Begins in the Sierra Nevada

# Western States 100 2026: Race Week Begins in the Sierra Nevada

The Western States Endurance Run is the original. Every other 100-mile trail race in the world traces some part of its lineage to this event — the unbroken thread from Gordy Ainsleigh's 1974 ride-the-trail-without-a-horse attempt to the 2026 starting line currently being constructed at Olympic Valley.

That starting line will be active in one week. The race week — the final preparation period for approximately 400 athletes who earned their entry through lottery, automatic qualifier slots, or invitation — has begun. The town of Auburn, where the race finishes, is filling. Olympic Valley, where the race starts, is reviewing logistics. The high country between is, this year, in unusual but workable condition.

Here is what the 2026 Western States looks like as race week opens.

The Course

The Western States 100 begins at Olympic Valley (formerly Squaw Valley) at 6,200 feet of elevation. The race climbs immediately to the Escarpment at 8,710 feet — 2,500 feet of ascent in the first 4.5 miles — and then enters the high country of the Granite Chief Wilderness, traversing snowpack-marked routes that, in higher snow years, define the early race.

From Robinson Flat at mile 30, the course descends through the Forest Hill divide: a long descent into the American River canyons, where the day's heat — typically in the 90s in the canyon bottoms — accumulates against the trail's exposed sections. The canyons are where Western States is, every year, won and lost. Athletes who pace conservatively through the high country and arrive at Devil's Thumb (mile 47) and Michigan Bluff (mile 55) with energy intact run negative splits through the second half. Athletes who race the first 30 miles are reduced to walks by mile 50.

From Foresthill (mile 62) the course follows the California Loop along the American River, crosses the river at the Rucky Chucky ford (mile 78), and climbs to Auburn through the Pointed Rocks and No Hands Bridge sections. The finish is in the Placer High School stadium in Auburn — a quarter-mile lap of the track concluded in the late evening or, for the back third of the field, into Sunday morning.

100.2 miles total. 18,090 feet of cumulative climbing. 22,970 feet of cumulative descent. The cumulative descent is the larger number — the course is net downhill — and explains why quadricep failure is the single most common reason athletes do not finish.

Snow, Heat, and the 2026 Conditions

The Sierra Nevada winter of 2025-26 deposited an end-of-season snowpack measured at 88 percent of historical average for the Donner Pass / Sugar Bowl region — the upper elevations of the Western States course. The 88 percent reading is the lowest "above average" condition the course has seen since 2022 and represents a relatively standard race-day condition: snow patches above 7,500 feet on the early-course high traverses, manageable with standard race footwear and trekking poles for course-marked athletes.

Race director assessment (released to athletes Monday): the high country is confirmed runnable. The traditional high-route course will be used — no detours required. Athletes should expect occasional postholing on the highest sections of the Escarpment-to-Robinson Flat traverse in the early morning before the snow softens.

Forecast (NWS Sacramento, updated this morning): Saturday June 27 forecast is for high pressure across the central Sierra and Sacramento Valley. Morning low at Olympic Valley: 44°F. Mid-morning high at Robinson Flat (mile 30, elevation 6,800ft): 68°F. Mid-afternoon high in the canyons (Deadwood, Devil's Thumb, mile 45-47, elevation 2,800-4,000ft): 92°F. Evening conditions at Foresthill (mile 62, elevation 3,200ft): 78°F dropping to 60°F overnight.

The 92°F canyon temperature is at the upper end of average for race day — hot but not historically extreme. Athletes who have heat-acclimated in the four weeks prior to the race will be fine. Athletes who have not — and a smaller number than the field is willing to admit fall into this category every year — will struggle in the Devil's Thumb / Michigan Bluff section.

Men's field: Hayden Hawks (Utah) is entered as the defending champion from 2025, and his year has built toward a defense bid. Vincent Bouillard (France) — the surprise 2024 UTMB winner whose form has held into 2026 — uses Western States as his first major US race. Adam Peterman (Montana), the 2022 Western States champion returning after surgery, is back in the field with full strength reported. Jim Walmsley (USA), four-time champion, is not racing in 2026 — the published 2026 entry list lists him as withdrawn following the announcement that he is targeting Marathon du Mont-Blanc and a late-season UTMB build.

Women's field: Courtney Dauwalter (Colorado) returns to defend the women's course record (15:29:33) she set in 2023 and has held through the subsequent race years. Marianne Hogan (Quebec) is entered after a sustained recovery period from the injury that ended her 2024 race; her form coming into 2026 is reported as the strongest of her career. Camille Bruyas (France) headlines the European contingent. Erin Clark (Colorado) returns after her 2025 third-place finish. Keely Henninger (Oregon), the lottery-entered local who finished fifth in 2024, has built carefully for this race.

The depth of both the men's and women's fields is significant. The men's race in particular projects as the most open competitive field in five years. The women's race remains, until Dauwalter visibly slows, the women's race.

What the Week Holds

Wednesday June 24: Course preview ride for media; trail-marking finalization in the high country.

Thursday June 25: Athlete check-in opens at Olympic Valley. Mandatory medical screening (Western States is one of the few 100s that requires pre-race medical assessment; this is genuinely useful and not bureaucratic).

Friday June 26: Race briefing at Olympic Valley village square, 1:00pm. Course-marking sweep finalized. Athletes complete final gear-bag drops to crew aid stations.

Saturday June 27: Race start, 5:00am Olympic Valley. First finisher expected at Auburn approximately 8:30-9:30pm Saturday evening. Cutoff: 30 hours (11:00am Sunday).

The Western States Cultural Moment

Beyond the racing, what distinguishes Western States from the rest of the 100-mile racing calendar is its specific cultural texture. The race is now in its 53rd year. Volunteer aid stations are run, in many cases, by the same families who staffed them in the 1980s. The 24-hour silver buckle — awarded to finishers under 24 hours — is one of trail running's two or three most coveted awards (UTMB's gold finisher medal and Hardrock's belt buckle are the others). The "Roll Call of Western States" — read at the awards ceremony, naming every finisher in order — is the discipline's oldest continuous tradition.

For athletes racing Saturday, this is the culmination of training cycles measured in years. For volunteers, this is the most important week of the trail-running summer. For the towns of Olympic Valley, Foresthill, and Auburn, this is the weekend that defines the local economic and cultural calendar.

It is the first race that proved 100 miles on foot in a single day was possible. Every subsequent race owes it acknowledgement, and most provide it openly.

The 2026 edition starts in one week.

For runners who want to experience the Western States course themselves — outside of race weekend — see our Race the Western States 100 route: Sierra Nevada trail guide.