Western States 100 Top Contenders

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No trail race comes anywhere close to capturing the imagination like the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run. It’s the center of the American ultrarunning universe, the deal-maker for elite athletes looking to make a semblance of a living in this sport, and a lifelong dream for front- to back-of-the-packers alike.

And much of it runs through desiccate, monochromatic, suburban California. On fire roads.

Why does Western States rise above the rest? Maybe because it’s the oldest 100-mile footrace in the U.S. Maybe because of the near-guaranteed hellish heat. Or maybe—probably—because of the Golden Ticket system.

You see, qualifying for the Western States 100 is not easy. The race uses a rather unconventional methodology for selecting the lucky 369 few who get to toe the line. And integral to shaping that hyper-competitive field of Western States 100 top contenders is the Golden Ticket system. Here’s the deal.

Why Do Western States 100 Golden Ticket Races Matter?

If the Western States 100 is the “Super Bowl of ultrarunning,” the Golden Ticket races are the regular season. There are six Golden Ticket races throughout the year, at which top ultrarunners from around the world go head-to-head to earn a coveted spot on that line in Palisades Tahoe held this year on June 28, 2025.

It’s a brilliant stroke of sporting pop culture meets Willy Wonka fantasy. Starting just two months after Western States at the CCC 100K in Chamonix France in August and culminating with the Canyons 100K on the Western States course in April, the Golden Ticket races drum up nearly a year’s worth of intrigue for the Big Race while simultaneously sucking us into the narratives of the top contenders.

And like in football, if you do really well you get a bye: The top 10 finishers in the men’s and women’s races lock their spot on the starting line for the next year. Everyone else must appease the lottery gods: Almost 10,000 runners threw their names into the hat for the 2025 race, and thanks to permitting, Western States can only let in 369. That means that first-year lottery applicants had a lofty 0.4 percent chance of getting in this year. That’s about as likely as Salt Lake City winning the Super Bowl—and they don’t have a football team.

The 2025 Western States 100 Golden Ticket Qualifying Races

The line up of Golden Ticket races changes almost every year. Thanks to Western States’ (covert) partnership with the UTMB World Series, most of them are now UTMB World Series races. The remaining ones—the Javelina Jundred and the Black Canyon 100K—fall under Aravaipa Running, the race organization to pioneer the trail running race livestream in the U.S. Each Golden Ticket race gives out two or three tickets per gender. They’re awarded to the top finishers, rolling down through about fifth or sixth place depending on the race.

Below, we’ve listed the Golden Ticket races for the 2025 Western States 100; scroll down for more info on each event:

August 30, 2024
CCC 100K
Chamonix, France
3 Tickets Men/Women

October 26, 2024
Javelina Jundred 100-Miler
Fountain Hills, Arizona
2 Tickets Men/Women

February 8, 2025
Black Canyon 100K
Mayer, Arizona
3 Tickets Men/Women

February 15, 2025
Tarawera 100K
Rotorua, New Zealand
2 Tickets Men/Women

March 22, 2025
Chianti Ultra Trail 120K
Chianti, Italy
2 Tickets Men/Women

April 26, 2025
Canyons Endurance Runs 100K
Auburn, California
3 Tickets Men/Women

CCC 100K

Chamonix, France. August 30, 2024. 3 Tickets Men/Women 

What used to be considered the “little sister” to UTMB has blossomed into a championship-level race in its own right. CCC is a fast, flowy, very hilly 100K that follows the back two thirds of the UTMB course through Italy, Switzerland, and France.

Javelina Jundred 100-Miler

Fountain Hills, Arizona. October 26, 2024. 2 Tickets Men/Women

The original costumed 100-mile trail party has turned into one of the faster ultras on American soil. The five-lap course on Halloween weekend is relatively flat, very fast, and typically quite hot.

Black Canyon 100K

Mayer, Arizona. February 8, 2025. 3 Tickets Men/Women

This net-downhill course from Mayer to Phoenix, Arizona, has transformed into an early-season testing piece that reliably produces some of the most impressive ultrarunning performances on U.S. soil each year.

Tarawera 100K

Rotorua, New Zealand. February 15, 2025. 2 Tickets Men/Women

Ostensibly, Tarawera was added to the Golden Ticket lineup to expand access to runners around the world. While American runners with race travel support had hoped to score an easy entry here in 2025, the field, particularly on the women’s side, was loaded. New Zealand is also home to some very strong international-level ultrarunners competing on home soil.

Chianti Ultra Trail 120K

Chianti, Italy. March 22, 2025. 2 Tickets Men/Women

In just its second year, the Chianti Ultra Trail 120K has been added to the Golden Ticket lineup. The 124.4K (77-mile) loop through Italian wine country boasts 17,000 feet of climbing and descent and passes by 25 ancient castles. It’s where Kilian Jornet will attempt to earn a ticket after a 14-year hiatus from Western States. (He won in 2011 after finishing in third in his debut the year before.) He’ll be joined by 2024 UTMB champ Vincent Bouillard.

The Canyons Endurance Runs 100K

Auburn, California. April 26, 2025. 3 Tickets Men/Women

Just two months before the big dance, Canyons offers an albeit much greenier preview of the back two-thirds of Western States. Given the condensed time frame, athletes who race their way into States here have seen hit or miss results in June. Rod Farvard, who won the men’s race last year, finished second at States—nearly dethroning four-time champ Jim Walmsley in the process.

Top Men Contenders for the 2025 Western States 100

The men’s race is shaping up to be a legendary battle among many of the greatest-ever. Jim Walmsley returns in his quest for a five-peat, along with last year’s runner-up Rod Farvard, third place Hayden Hawks (who went on to dominate CCC later that summer), and fourth place Kiwi Dan Jones, who just threw down a 30-minute course record at Tarawera. (In fact, eight of the top 10 are coming back this year.)

They’ll be joined by Kilian Jornet—indisputeably the best male ultrarunner ever—and Vincent Bouillard, the Hoka shoe engineer who broke out onto the scene last year with his upset victory at UTMB. Both earned Golden Tickets by taking second and third, respectively, behind Walmsley at Chianti.

But a cast of up-and-coming characters who have been racing their way in will be looking to upset the balance in the universe. Leading that charge is David Roche, who broke the 19-year-old course record at the Leadville 100 in August before winning the Javelina Jundred to earn a Golden Ticket in October. And then there’s Seth Ruhling, who just took down Hawk’s course record at Black Canyon, along with the likes of 2022 Western States champ Adam Peterman who’s on the upswing after injury, and high school teacher and baseball coach Will Murray who pulled a dark horse upset for a stunning second place at Black Canyon.

Men’s Top-10 Returners at the 2025 Western States 100

1.
Jim Walmsley
U.S.
14:13:45

2.
Rod Farvard
U.S.
14:24:15

3.
Hayden Hawks
U.S.
14:24:31

4.
Dan Jones
New Zealand
14:32:29

5.
Caleb Olson
U.S.
14:40:12

6.
Jon Albon
U.K.
14:57:01

7.
Tyler Green
U.S.
15:05:39

8.
Jia-Sheng Shen
China
15:09:49

9.
Jonathan Rea
U.S.
15:13:10

10.
Chris Myers
U.S.
15:18:25

Men’s 2025 Western States 100 Golden Ticket Winners

Hayden Hawks
U.S.
CCC (1st)
(already in WS100)

Peter Fraňo
Slovakia
CCC (2nd)
(accepted)

Adam Peterman
U.S.
CCC (3rd)
(accepted)

Daniel Jones
New Zealand
CCC (4th)
(already in WS100)

Huo-Hua Zhang
China
CCC (5th)
(accepted)

David Roche
U.S.
Javelina Jundred (1st)
(accepted)

Jeff Mogavero
U.S.
Javelina Jundred (2nd)
(accepted)

Seth Ruhling
U.S.
Black Canyon (1st)
(accepted)

Will Murray
U.S.
Black Canyon (2nd)
(accepted)

Joe McConaughy
U.S.
Black Canyon (3rd)
(accepted)

Daniel Jones
New Zealand
Tarawera (1st)
(already in WS100)

Hiroki Kai
Japan
Tarawera (2nd)
(accepted)

Adrian Macdonald
U.S.
Tarawera (3rd)
(accepted)

Jim Walmsley
U.S.
Chianti (1st)
(accepted)

Kilian Jornet
France
Chianti (2nd)
(accepted)

Vincent Bouillard
France
Chianti (3rd)
(accepted)

Top Women Contenders for the 2025 Western States 100

If the men’s race is a who’s who of ultrarunning, the women’s race will crown a new who. No former champions are toeing the line this year. But like the men’s race, eight of the top 10 are coming back—including second place Fu-Zhao Xiang of China who threw down the third fastest time ever in her debut—and third place Eszter Csillag of Hungary.

They’ll be joined by Riley Brady, the non-binary runner from Boulder, Colorado, who’s on a tear with back-to-back Golden Ticket race wins at Javelina and Black Canyon, where they smashed the course record by 30 minutes. Tara Dower, who set the overall record on the Appalachian Trail last summer and just took second well under the previous course record at Black Canyon, seems to be rolling last year’s momentum into something just as special this year.

Also, don’t sleep on China’s Lin Chen, who was flirting with a podium spot at States last year until the skin ripped clean off the bottoms of both feet and she was forced to abandon, ran her way back in at Black Canyon after a short build coming back from an injury. And then there’s New Zealand’s Caitlin Fielder, who successfully translated her “short course” speed to a longer distance at Tarawera. She finished just six minutes behind winner and compatriot Ruth Croft who, no big deal, won Western States in 2022 and took second in her debut at UTMB last summer.

Women’s Top-10 Returners at the 2025 Western States 100

1.
Katie Schide
U.S.
15:46:57

2.
Fu-Zhao Xiang
China
16:20:03

3.
Eszter Csillag
Hungary
16:42:17

4.
Emily Hawgood
Zimbabwe)
16:48:43

5.
Yngvild Kaspersen
Norway
16:50:39

6.
Ida Nilsson
Sweden
16:56:52

7.
Heather Jackson
U.S.
17:16:43

8.
Rachel Drake
U.S.
17:28:35

9.
Priscilla Forgie
Canada
17:30:24

10.
Leah Yingling
U.S.
17:33:54

Women’s 2025 Western States 100 Golden Ticket Winners

Toni McCann
South Africa
CCC (1st)
(declined)

Martyna Młynarczyk
Poland
CCC (2nd)
(accepted)

Rosanna Buchauer
Germany
CCC (3rd)
(accepted)

Hau Ha Thi
Vietnam
CCC (4th)
(accepted)

Riley Brady
U.S.
Javelina Jundred (1st)
(accepted)

Hannah Allgood
U.S.
Javelina Jundred (2nd)
(accepted)

Riley Brady
U.S.
Black Canyon (1st)
(already in WS100)

Tara Dower
U.S.
Black Canyon (2nd)
(accepted)

EmKay Sullivan
U.S.
Black Canyon (3rd)
(accepted)

Lin Chen
China
Black Canyon (4th)
(accepted)

Ruth Croft
New Zealand
Tarawera (1st)
(declined)

Caitlin Fielder
New Zealand
Tarawera (2nd)
(accepted)

Beth McKenzie
U.S./Australia
Tarawera (3rd)
(ineligible)

Helen Mino Faulkner
U.S.
Tarawera (3rd)
(declined)

Nancy Jiang
New Zealand
Tarawera (4th)
(accepted)

Fiona Pascall
U.K.
Chianti (1st)
(accepted)

Johanna Antila
Finland
Chianti (2nd)
(accepted)