Published May 29, 2023 09:04AM
Western States Endurance Run Announces 2024's Golden Ticket Races - and a Beast Coast Entry
Hello Grindstone! With an East Coast race on the docket for 2024's Golden Ticket races, and CCC replacing UTMB, how will this change reshape the startline at the U.S’s most competitive 100-miler?
AUBURN, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 29: Cole Watson of the United States (L) and Adam Merry of the United States celebrate with their 2023 HOKA Golden Tickets for the Western States Endurance Run after the 100k race during the UTMB World Series Canyons Endurance Runs on April 29, 2023 in Auburn, California. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images for Canyons UTMB)
On May 28th, 2023 the Western States Endurance Run (WSER) updated its schedule and criteria for the 2024 Golden Ticket races. For the third consecutive year, the lineup will include three international races, including CCC, Doi Inthanon Thailand 100M, and Nice Côte d’Azur. Now, East Coast runners are one step closer to entry with the addition of the Grindstone 100k in Virginia. The original UTMB 100-miler has been replaced by the CCC 100k, and the Tarawera 100k replaced by Grindstone. Black Canyon 100k will offer three golden tickets to the full podium, vs the other events’ two.
The Western States Endurance Run is the U.S.’s oldest and most competitive 100-mile race and has long depended on a lottery system to modulate the number of runners on the start line. Golden Ticket events give the top two runners automatic entry into the race, allowing them to bypass the competitive lottery. In this system, 30 spots are reserved for Golden Ticket winners in WSER. If the recipient of the Golden Ticket winner already has an entry (either through the lottery or another Golden Ticket event) the ticket rolls down to the next runner without entry. All runners who finish in the top ten at Western States also get automatic entry the next year.
There are now five Golden Ticket races in the U.S., and each year these events get even more competitive. Historically, there have been five to six Golden Ticket events in the U.S. Notably, the Lake Sonoma 50 is no longer on the docket, which was the only sub-100k chance at a Golden Ticket. All the remaining events are now at least 100k, which is WSER’s current qualifying distance. There are now only two 100-mile qualifiers: Doi Inthanon Thailand 100M, and Javelina Jundred (Arizona).
ADVERTISEMENT
The inclusion of four UTMB-branded events signals the coalescing of trail running’s most competitive events under a single UTMB banner. Additionally, if runners want to run CCC in Chamonix, France, they need to first run a UTMB-branded race to collect sufficient running stones to qualify.
2024 Golden Ticket Races
CCC by UTMB 100K France, Italy, Switzerland, September 1, 2023
Grindstone by UTMB 100K Virginia, September 23, 2023
Nice Côte d’Azur by UTMB 115K France, September 30, 2023
Javelina Jundred Presented by HOKA 100M Arizona, October 28, 2023
Doi Inthanon Thailand by UTMB 100M Thailand, December 8, 2023
Black Canyon Presented by HOKA 100K, Arizona, February 10, 2024 (top 3 M/F)
The Canyons by UTMB Presented by HOKA 100K, California, April 27, 2024
Zoë Rom is Editor In Chief of Trail Runner magazine, and Managing Editor of Women’s Running.
When she’s not running, she’s writing, and when she’s not climbing she’s cooking or eating. Southern story-teller turned mountain-dweller, she starts every day with a cup of strong coffee and a good story. Her work has appeared in REI Co-op Journal, Discover, Rock & Ice, Trail Runner, Backpacker, and Threshold Podcast. She currently hosts and produces the DNF Podcast. She is co-author of the forthcoming book, Becoming a Sustainable Runner with Tina Muir.
