A trail runner on a grassy ridge above a sea of clouds

Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run

It is the historic American 100-miler and the finale of the Golden Ticket series.

Prepare for Western States 100

A plan built from your answers and your race date.

trail training plan

The Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run crosses the Sierra Nevada from Olympic Valley to Auburn, California. The route leaves the high country of the early passes, drops into the hot canyons of the American River, crosses the river by ford or boat depending on flows, and finishes on the Auburn track. Canyon heat in the late morning is the most feared section.

The race is the historic 100-miler of the American calendar and serves as the finale of the Golden Ticket series, which awards places to top finishers at qualifying races.

The formats

One format only.

Format	Distance
100 miles	100 mi

Organizer information, checked on September 21, 2026 · wser.org

When to start

A build for this distance usually runs 12 to 24 weeks. Counted back from race day, that puts the start somewhere between January 4, 2027 and March 29, 2027.

These ranges are working conventions, not a research finding — no trial has compared plan lengths against each other. What matters more is that the plan was built for the weeks you actually have, rather than shrunk down from a longer one.

How to choose your start date

When to start

January 4, 2027

→ March 29, 2027

Worth reading before you enter

Races and distances Trail distances: what changes off the road Distance stops being the useful number. What decides a trail race is how long you are out, how much you climb, and how much the descents have wrecked your legs by the end. Read Training Eating and drinking: what’s proven, what isn’t This is where confident advice most often runs ahead of the evidence. Some of it is well tested. Some is opinion wearing a number. And one common habit can kill you. Read Races and distances When to start preparing your race Most plans fail before the first session, because the block started too late and everything had to be squeezed. Counting back from the date is the dullest and most useful thing you will do. Read

Questions

What is the date of Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run in 2027?

Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run is run on Saturday, June 26, 2027 from Olympic Valley to Auburn. Date published by the organizer, checked on September 21, 2026.

How do you enter the Western States 100?

Additional places are awarded through the Golden Ticket series at qualifying races.

What makes Western States 100 so hard?

9 km, the heat in the American River canyons is punishing, along with the long descents and the river crossing. Managing body temperature largely decides how the day goes.

Other races

This list keeps growing; it draws no line. A race that is missing is prepared for in exactly the same way.

Honolulu · United StatesUltra HURT 100 Jan 16 Its five-loop, 20-mile-per-lap format carries a famously high drop-out rate. Bandera · United StatesUltra HOKA Bandera Endurance Trail Race January The HOKA Bandera Endurance Trail Race is a trail and ultra weekend held in Bandera, Texas, inside the Hil Moab · United StatesUltra Moab 240 Endurance Run January 7 km ultramarathon with 9,620 m of vertical gain, run as one continuous loop out of Moab, Utah. It is par Your race is not here? Tell us about your race You can prepare for it all the same. Any race, anywhere, and even a goal without a race.

Your race is on the calendar. Your plan should be too.

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