Trail Running · California

🇺🇸Western States 100:
Course Analysis & Race Readiness

161 km with 4,768 m of gain and 6,276 m of loss. A relentlessly downhill point-to-point where 38% of the course descends, testing legs long after the early climbing is done.

CourseRecon scores your own training against the descending and durability demands that define Western States 100 — the sample analysis below shows exactly how.

161 km

Distance

+4,770 m

Vertical Gain

−6,280 m

Total Descent

Jun 26, 2027

Next Edition · 340 days out

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The Course · GPS-Measured

What 161 km / 100 mi and 4,770 m / 15,640 ft of vertical gain actually look like

Measured from the GPS track: 161 km / 100 mi and 4,770 m / 15,640 ft of vertical gain. This is the terrain you're signing up for: read it before it reads you.

Course Profile

Terrain summary

Claimed vs GPS-Measured

Claimed · Organizer

161km

Distance

+5,500m

Gain

+0.1 km−730 m

GPS-Measured

161km

Distance

+4,770m

Gain

Climb & Gradient

+4,770 mTotal Gain

−6,280 mTotal Loss

Gradient Distribution

36%

Flat

≤3% grade

21%

Run-Climb

3–15% up

Steep Climb

>15% up

38%

Descent

downhill

Steepest Sustained Sections

Climb

KM 74.5–77.9 · +496 m

+14.8%

ClimbCRUX

KM 0.0–5.7 · +742 m

+13.1%

Climb

KM 85.5–89.6 · +530 m

+13%

Descent

KM 79.0–85.5 · −748 m

-11.5%

Finish & Cutoff Times

What it takes to finish

Reference finish times from past results — use them to set a realistic goal pace.

14h 11m

Winning time

14h 36m

Top 5

16h 23m

Top 10

30h 00m

Back of pack

Based on 2026 results.

What This Race Demands

Four things this course asks of your body

Every course weights the four pillars of mountain-ultra fitness differently. Descending carries 43% of the scoring weight on this course — the terrain makes that the deciding factor.

Weighting shows where readiness is won or lost at this distance — not whether you need each pillar. An aerobic base is a given for a race this long, so it carries little deciding weight even though it's essential — the gaps open on the climbs, descents and the back half.

AerobicSustained engine

Foundational

Sustained effort across 161 km with 35% flat, runnable terrain rewarding steady all-day output.

ClimbingVertical power

16%

20 climbs totaling 4,768 m, front-loaded by a 742 m opener; only 5% exceeds 15% grade.

DescendingEccentric / braking

43%

6,276 m of loss over 19 descents, 38% of the course downhill including a 748 m plunge.

DurabilityLate-race resilience

41%

161 km and 11,000+ m of combined vertical change punishing quads and structural resilience.

The Profile in One Line

A net-downhill 100-miler where descending and durability decide the day far more than raw climbing.

Aerobic FoundationalClimbing 16%Descending 43%Durability 41%

Here's how CourseRecon reads a course and an athlete

Sample Readiness Analysis

What a readiness result looks like for this course

This is a worked example for a representative strong mountain-ultra athlete — not your score. Connect your own training and the same analysis runs on you.

Sample

OUT OF 100

MOSTLY READY

For a representative strong mountain-ultra athlete

This is a sample — connect your Strava to see your own result.

Pillar Breakdown

Aerobic

With 35% flat and 21% runnable climbing, the course demands efficient aerobic pacing sustained across the full 161 km rather than short high-intensity surges.

Climbing

Twenty climbs add up to 4,768 m, but grades stay mostly moderate; only 1.5% is very steep, so climbing is about consistent power over volume, not raw steepness.

Descending

With 6,276 m of loss across 19 descents and 38% of the course downhill, sustained braking and eccentric control are the central physical demand.

Durability

Over 161 km with more than 11,000 m of total vertical change, accumulated quad damage and fatigue resistance determine who holds pace late.

KM 0–6

The Opening 742 m Climb

The course's biggest climb hits immediately, gaining 742 m over 5.7 km at 13.1% from the start elevation of 1,900 m up toward the 2,643 m high point. Restraint here protects the legs for the long descents ahead.

KM 75–90

The Mid-Race Climb-Descent Sequence

After a 496 m climb at 14.8%, the course drops 748 m at -11.5% over 6.5 km, then climbs 530 m again at 13%. This back-to-back sequence stresses both eccentric control and climbing power on tiring legs.

WHOLE COURSE

Net-Downhill Attrition

With 6,276 m of loss versus 4,768 m of gain, the course descends far more than it climbs, making quad durability the decisive factor over 161 km.

That was a sample