In our new monthly column in partnership with Strava, we take a deep dive into compelling data points that reveal the more human side of sport.
While no runner who finishes the Western States Endurance Run (WSER) is “average,” we can learn something about effective training from finishers. Data scientists at Strava compiled data from Western States finishers, from 2018-2022, to help us investigate the numbers behind successful finish times.
Here’s how successful runners train for the Western States 100.
The Peak Week
The median peak week for a WSER finisher was 81 miles and 16 hours, with an accumulated elevation of 13.5K feet of vertical gain (we use medians rather than averages to eliminate outlier data). The median longest run was 50 miles, and 43 percent of athletes did at least a 100K run in the lead-up to States. Sixty-five percent of runners did at least one race in the build-up to fine-tune their race day strategies and log more time on feet.
That’s some significant volume! But not everyone started with huge training weeks. The median base going into the six-month lead-up to WSER was a modest 37…
