2019 Western States 100 Prediction Contest

iRunFar’s 2019 Western States 100 prediction contest.

By on June 19, 2019 | Comments

Western States 100 logoWelcome to iRunFar’s eleventh annual Western States 100 prediction contest! Drymax, Hoka One One, Buff, Julbo, Altra, Maggie Tides Design, GU, and Squirrel’s Nut Butter have all contributed great prizes. As in past years, we’ll have both merit-based winners as well as a random winner, so give this contest an honest go and you could end up bringing home some great gear!

Read on to learn how this contest works, to see what you can win, and to enter the contest.

The Basics*

Drymax - Official Sock WS100The rules are the same as they’ve been the previous 10 years. You select, in order, your top-8 picks in both the men’s and women’s field. Points are accumulated based on the difference between a runner’s projected placing and their actual placing. (Placing is gender specific.) Given the reality that some top runners will drop out, only your five most accurate picks per gender will count. All DNSs and DNFs will be scored as if the runner placed one spot behind the final finisher. Your goal is to have the fewest total points among your 10 scoring runners (5 men and 5 women).

Here’s an example of how points are awarded for a single pick. If I pick Ian Sharman for fifth man and he wins, I’d accumulate 4 points (|5-1|=4). On the other hand, if I pick Sharman to place fifth and he finishes as ninth man, I’d again accumulate 4 points (|5-9|=4). I’d get the same 4 points even if he’s beaten to the track by an additional woman.

Ties will initially be broken by the lowest number of points accumulated from the contestants’ picks for the men’s and women’s masters winners. (You can choose a masters winner who you previously chose to place top-8 overall.) If a tie remains, the accuracy of the picks of the overall winners will be the second tiebreaker. Any persistent ties will be resolved through a random drawing.

Please note that the entrants list used is as of 3:10 p.m. PDT on June 15th. While there will be changes to the entrants list before race day with the waitlist system, we’re all on a level playing field picking from the same list.

The contest will close at 6 p.m. U.S. PDT on Wednesday, June 26. That’ll give me time to, once again, analyze all your picks for a ‘group-think’ analysis prior to the race.

To follow all of our Western States coverage, subscribe to iRunFar via RSS or via email. In addition, following us on Twitter will insure that you receive all of the live coverage we provide before, during, and after the race! On race day, we’ll also have a live-coverage page here on iRunFar with additional insight and commentary.

The Prizes

Merit Prizes

Here’s what each of the three merit-based prize winners will receive:

First Place

  • From Drymax: 6 pairs of running socks of the winner’s choosing, including the option for eponymous sock versions of 2019 WS 100 runners Kaci Licktieg and Ian Sharman, as well as the iRunFar sock;
  • From Hoka One One: A pair of Hoka trail running shoes of the winner’s choice;
  • From Buff®: An iRunFar BUFF® Original Multifunctional Headwear;
  • From Julbo: The winner’s choice of a pair of sunglasses;
  • From Altra: A waterproof Wasatch Jacket;
  • From Maggie Tides Design: A 13×19″ print of the Western States course;
  • From GU: 24-serving Summit Tea ROCTANE Energy Drink Mix, 24-pack Hoppy Trails Energy Gel, and 10-pack box of ROCTANE Protein Recovery Drink Mix; and
  • From Squirrel’s Nut Butter: A prize pack from Squirrel’s Nut Butter, including a stick of their all-natural anti-chafe salve.
Maggie Tides Design - Westen States 100 print

Maggie Tides Western States print. (prize will be a paper print, rather than canvas)

Second Place

  • Julbo LogoFrom Drymax: 4 pairs of socks of the winner’s choosing;
  • From Hoka One One: A pair of Hoka trail running shoes of the winner’s choice;
  • From Buff®: An iRunFar BUFF® Original Multifunctional Headwear;
  • From Julbo: The winner’s choice of a pair of running sunglasses;
  • From Altra: A waterproof Wasatch Jacket;
  • Altra logoFrom GU: 12-serving Summit Tea ROCTANE Energy Drink Mix, 24-pack Hoppy Trails Energy Gel, and 10-pack box of ROCTANE Protein Recovery Drink Mix; and
  • From Squirrel’s Nut Butter: A prize pack from Squirrel’s Nut Butter, including a stick of their all-natural anti-chafe salve.

Third Place

  • From Drymax: 2 pairs of socks of the winner’s choosing;
  • GU EnergyFrom Hoka One One: A pair of Hoka trail running shoes of the winner’s choice;
  • From Buff®: An iRunFar BUFF® Original Multifunctional Headwear;
  • From Julbo: The winner’s choice of a pair of sunglasses;
  • From Altra: A waterproof Wasatch Jacket; and
  • From GU: 12-serving Summit Tea ROCTANE Energy Drink Mix and a 6-pack Hoppy Trails Energy Gel;
  • From Squirrel’s Nut Butter: A prize pack from Squirrel’s Nut Butter, including a stick of their all-natural anti-chafe salve.

Squirrel's Nut Butter - logoYou’ll also get fame. As proof, we once again recognize last year’s winners, as they bested more than 1,600 other entrants. Nice work, folks! 1st: Taylor McPherson, 2nd: Grant Acosta, 3rd: Aaron Lighter. For those who are interested, here are the results of last year’s contest as well as the ‘group-think’ predictions the contest entries provided before the race.

Random Prize

This year, we’re awarding one random grand prize to one lucky entrant who gives the contest an honest attempt. The random winner will receive the same prize pack as the first-place merit winner (except the art)! Here’s what they receive:

Random Grand Prize Winner

  • From Drymax: 6 pairs of socks of the winner’s choosing;
  • From Hoka One One: A pair of Hoka trail running shoes of the winner’s choice;
  • From Buff®: An iRunFar BUFF® Original Multifunctional Headwear;
  • From Julbo: The winner’s choice of a pair of sunglasses;
  • From Altra: A waterproof Wasatch Jacket; and
  • From GU: 24-serving Summit Tea ROCTANE Energy Drink Mix, 24-pack Hoppy Trails Energy Gel, and 10-pack box of ROCTANE Protein Recovery Drink Mix; and
  • From Squirrel’s Nut Butter: A prize pack from Squirrel’s Nut Butter, including a stick of their all-natural anti-chafe salve.

The Contest

You may want to check out our regularly updated men’s and women’s previews before you make your picks. Make sure your favorites are actually running!

[This year’s Western States prediction contest is now closed.]

*The Details
Only one entry per person. If you enter early and wish to change your picks before the deadline, you may replace those picks–please just use the exact same name and email address on subsequent entries. We suppose you don’t need to make all 18 picks, but be aware that a non-pick will be treated the same as a DNF. You can only choose a runner once per gender, but you can pick someone like Jeff Browning to place overall and win the men’s masters category. No hedging bets, finding loopholes, or other funny business; we reserve the right to invalidate any entry that doesn’t follow in the spirit of fairness.

The Hints
Here at iRunFar, we’ve published our women’s and men’s previews and will be publishing a slew of interviews in the coming week. We update the previews whenever we receive new information about athletes. (In other words, stay tuned!) However, you’ve got to do the reading on your own… we’d recommend it as some top entrants usually end up missing the race.

The Closing

If you want to talk through your ideas before making picks, go for it. For those wishing to go public on their predictions, please leave some or all of your picks in a comment after making your official selections. Go ahead, put your mouth where your mind is!

If you enjoy what iRunFar provides, consider becoming a fan of iRunFar on Facebook or subscribing by the methods noted above.

[Editor’s Note: Special thanks to Mitchell Goodman for building the backbone for our prediction contests a decade ago and to Andy Clink for brining the contest’s programming up to date. Also, props to the VHTRC Bull Run Run Pick-the-Winner contests of long ago. My enjoyment of those contests gave rise to this contest.]

Bryon Powell

Bryon Powell is the Founding Editor of iRunFar. He’s been writing about trail running, ultrarunning, and running gear for more than 15 years. Aside from iRunFar, he’s authored the books Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons and Where the Road Ends: A Guide to Trail Running, been a contributing editor at Trail Runner magazine, written for publications including Outside, Sierra, and Running Times, and coached ultrarunners of all abilities. Based in Silverton, Colorado, Bryon is an avid trail runner and ultrarunner who competes in events from the Hardrock 100 Mile just out his front door to races long and short around the world, that is, when he’s not fly fishing or tending to his garden.