After eight years of trying to get into the Western States Endurance Run, Steven Carr made the most of his chance once he did.
Carr, 57, of Huntsville, finished the legendary 100.2-mile California trek in 26 hours, 33 minutes, 56 seconds Sunday. The run starts at Olympic Valley, home of the 1960 Olympic Games, and ends in Auburn. He crossed the Auburn High finish line at 7:33 a.m. Pacific time. A bit fitting for an Auburn University graduate, too.
On Facebook last week before Saturday’s 5 a.m. start, Carr wrote, “Eight years to get selected via lottery and ran yearly qualifying races, including training plans, for a total of 4,451 miles to toe the starting line.”
Carr messaged TVO on Monday after some much-needed sleep, food and recovery work on his battered feet and legs.
“I had a great, memorable experience,” he wrote. “I was hoping to finish under 24 hours and (that) was still obtainable until mile 65-70. I started to get tired, was not consuming sufficient calories and began to slow. No regrets, gave it my best.
“My wife Stephanie, sons Garrett and Davis, and my friend Andy Bussell did a wonderful job crewing. Andy paced me starting at mile 62 until the finish. It was very special having my sons and Andy run the last 3/4 mile with me with live coverage and spectators cheering me on. A memory I’ll never forget.
“These races are so much more than just running. My ultra races have taken me to wonderful locations including Greece and France, have made lasting friendships like Andy, and experiences that I would never have been exposed to unless and signed up for ultra races. The Western States 100 course is tough and the race staff, volunteers, and spectators were awesome!”
Mica Anderson, 31, of Huntsville, dropped at the Forresthill School checkpoint after 62 miles and 18 hours, 45 minutes. That’s a 100K, quite a feat on the Western States course. Anderson was disappointed, of course, but this is her debut and no doubt she’ll be back. She was crewed by her husband, Ross, and Lauren and Kevin Stegen.
Challenging Race
The Western States course has 22 checkpoints, counting the finish line. It also has about 41,000 feet of elevation change. Carr was steady, with pace times of 12:51 to 14:39 in the first 16 stations. The final five sections — covering 15 miles — saw his times jump into the 15-minute range as he neared the finish and enjoyed the final moments getting to the stadium. No matter, as he was one of the 286 finishers out of 375 who started.
Carr’s wife, Stephanie, along with other family and friends, crewed for him.
“For my non-runner friends, this is the Masters for golf and Super Bowl for football fans,” Carr wrote on Facebook. “My optimistic goals are to finish under 24 hours and be semi-competitive in my age group. I’m not a technical trail or high altitude runner but old chicken legs will give it his best.”
Iain Jones, 47, of Knoxville, finished in 28:08:27, crossing the line at 9:07 a.m. Jake Thornton, 34, of Birmingham, finished in 29:01:16 at 10:01 a.m., 59 minutes before the cutoff.
Cutoff is 30 hours, with no wiggle room. Thirty hours and one second? Sorry, no dice. It’s just how it is, and everyone knows it. Runners who complete the course in less than 24 hours receive a silver belt buckle.
Winners, Results
Jim Walmsley of Arizona won in 14 hours, 13 minutes, the second-fastest time in history. He also holds the record. Second- and third-place finishers Rod Farvard and Hayden Hawks were 16 seconds apart. The top five men’s finishers all were sub-15 hours.
Katie Schide won the women’s title in 15:46:57, second-fastest in the women’s division. That also was an hour faster than her 2023 time, and just 17 minutes off the women’s record. Iris Cooper, 65, of Ontario, Canada, was the final runner to finish, in 29:56:10 at 10:56 a.m.
Carr, having finished more than three hours earlier, stuck around to cheer on Cooper and the other final finishers. Classy move. Then, it was off to bed for hours and hours and hours of sleep.
See all of the Western States results and breakdowns here.
This story will be updated.
MAIN PHOTO: Steven Carr, seated right, with family and friends, relaxes after completing the race. (Photo by Suzanne Swift)
