Welcome to iRunFar’s thirteenth annual Western States 100 prediction contest, one of our favorite and most popular traditions at this event! HOKA, Buff, Squirrel’s Nut Butter, Drymax, and Maggie Tides Design 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*
The rules are the same as they’ve been the previous 12 editions. 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 Tim Tollefson for fifth man and he wins, I’d accumulate 4 points (|5-1|=4). On the other hand, if I pick Tollefson 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 the public version as of 2 p.m. U.S. PDT on Monday, June 13. While there will be changes to the entrants list before race day, we’re all on a level playing field picking from this same list.
The contest will close at 6 p.m. U.S. PDT on Wednesday, June 22. That’ll give me time to, once again, analyze all your picks for a group-think analysis prior to the race.
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!
(FYI, your picks have been submitted if you see “Thanks, [Name]. Your choices have been saved” above the table below after clicking “Submit choices”. Snap a screenshot if you’d like a record of your picks.)
[The 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 Ludovic Pommeret 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 Prizes
Merit Prizes
Here’s what each of the three merit-based prize winners will receive:
First Place
From Hoka: A pair of Hoka Tecton X trail running shoes;- From Buff®: An iRunFar BUFF® Original Multifunctional Headwear;
- From Squirrel’s Nut Butter: A prize pack from Squirrel’s Nut Butter, including a 2 oz Compostable Tube and a 2 oz Tin;
- From Maggie Tides Design: A full triptych canvas of the Western States course; and
- From Drymax: 6 pairs of running socks of the winner’s choosing, including the option for eponymous sock versions of 2022 WS 100 runners Kaci Lickteig and Hayden Hawks.
Maggie Tides Designs Western States 100 Triptych
Second Place
- From Hoka: A pair of Hoka Tecton X trail running shoes;
- From Buff®: An iRunFar BUFF® Original Multifunctional Headwear;
- From Squirrel’s Nut Butter: A prize pack from SNB, including a 2 oz Compostable Tube and a 2 oz Tin; and
- From Drymax: 4 pairs of socks of the winner’s choosing.
Third Place
- From Hoka: A pair of Hoka Tecton X trail running shoes;
- From Buff®: An iRunFar BUFF® Original Multifunctional Headwear;
- From Squirrel’s Nut Butter: A prize pack from SNB, including a 2 oz Compostable Tube and a 2 oz Tin; and
- From Drymax: 2 pairs of socks of the winner’s choosing.
You’ll also get fame. As proof, we once again recognize the last race edition’s winners, as they bested more than 1,300 other entrants. Nice work, folks! 1st: Suneel Apte, 2nd: Joshua Bergseng, 3rd: Erik Sandstrom. For those who are interested, here are the results of last edition’s contest as well as the group-think predictions the contest entries provided before the race.
Random Prize
As in years past, 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 Hoka: A pair of Hoka Tecton X trail running shoes;
- From Buff®: An iRunFar BUFF® Original Multifunctional Headwear;
- From Squirrel’s Nut Butter: A prize pack from SNB, including a 2 oz Compostable Tube and a 2 oz Tin; and
- From Drymax: 6 pairs of socks of the winner’s choosing.
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 in the comments section. 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!
