2021 Western States 100 Men’s Race

It would have taken a lot to convince most everyone to bet against Jim Walmsley (pre-race interview) this year. And yet some of us still somehow did, because Walmsley took an unconventional path to 2021 success. But we all should have known better.

With many of the international men choosing not to make the trip over the various ponds, it was going to be a showdown of domestic talent. Listening to Walmsley talk before the race, it was clear he was in a good place mentally and physically. An IT band injury in the spring may have cut down on his training volume, but in the end, it may have ended up being a blessing in disguise. He went into the race with the experience of two well-executed States performances, and he surely he drew on that knowledge to put together a smart and measured race from start to finish.

Hayden Hawks (pre-race interview), on the other hand, was making just his second attempt at the 100-mile distance. But after setting a course record at the JFK 50 Mile last fall and a solid block of training leading up to Western States, he was out to race and win. Jared Hazen (pre-race interview) was hoping that fourth time would be the charm for Western. After a third and a second in previous years, he hoped that a training block that started in February would deliver results.

It didn’t take Walmsley long to make it the 3.5 miles up to the Escarpment. He was accompanied by Hawks and followed closely by Hazen. This order was entirely unsurprising given that all three men had the confidence to try to win the race.

Early on at Red Star Ridge at mile 15, Hawks and Walmsley were already running three minutes under record pace, the lack of snow clearly saving them time. Hazen followed in third two minutes back with other race favorites Tim Tollefson (pre-race interview), Matt Daniels (pre-race interview), and Mark Hammond close on his heels. Just under an hour later at Duncan Canyon, Walmsley and Hawks had pushed the pace another four minutes under record pace, both running smooth at 24 miles in.

By Robinson Flat at mile 30, Walmsley’s pace had become too much for Hawks. He passed through five minutes under course record pace and 45 seconds in front of Hawks. By this time, Tollefson, running toward his childhood home in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, had moved into third, just over 12 minutes back, looking very relaxed. Thirty seconds later, Hazen came through, already looking decidedly rough.

Sometime before mile 38, Walmsley had donned a bucket hat and continued to cruise at six minutes under record pace, slowly pulling away from the rest of the field. Hawks held the gap to just six minutes while Hazen and Tollefson joined forces nearly 17 minutes back. The likes of Alex Nichols (pre-race interview), Drew Holmen, and Max King stayed close, just another seven minutes back.

By mile 50, Walmsley had put eight minutes into the course record. Maybe it was the bucket hat, but the only word to describe his appearance was relaxed. It was a full 26 minutes later before second place Hawks rolled through, still seemingly running within himself. Nichols led Tollefson through, both looking strong. Hazen continued to suffer, dropping back to fifth.

By the time the leaders rolled through Foresthill at mile 62, it was 93 Fahrenheit in the shade and 97 in the sun. It was time for the heat management strategies to come into play. “It’s not the heat, it’s the hills,” said Hawks, coming through after losing 10 minutes to Walmsley in the previous five miles. He was now 48 minutes back and had Nichols to contend with who was slowly closing the gap.

That ever-infamous Cal Street, stretching between Foresthill at mile 62 and the Rucky Chucky river crossing at mile 78, is where the day started to catch up to Walmsley—just a little bit. At the Cal 2 aid station, he’d given back his advantage on the course record. From there on out, he moved faster than everyone else behind him, but slower than a 2019 Walmsley.

By Green Gate at mile 80, Walmsley was five minutes over course-record pace. But Hawks came through a full 77 minutes back. A surging Holmen was just 11 minutes behind and didn’t even stop. This was his first attempt at 100 miles, and he’d clearly done his homework on pacing and patience. Tyler Green was close behind. With a 14th-place finish at Western States in 2019, Green was on a mission to do better.

By the time Walmsley made it to Robie Point, just a mile to go, and with the course record was off the table, he stopped for a Coke and walked the climb. He would continue to cruise the final mile in his bucket hat to win his third Western States in a row with a time of 14:46:01.

Behind him, the race for the podium stayed intense. Somewhere between Green Gate and Pointed Rocks at mile 94, Hawks disappeared from the front of the race, leaving Green in second place with Holmen chasing just six minutes back. Cody Lind followed in fourth and just 17 minutes back.

At the end, Green would hold off Holmen with a time of 16:11:00 to take second, a massive jump up from his 2019 finish. Holmen completed the podium with a time of 16:23. Both had started off conservatively and had it pay off in the end.

Lind would finish fourth in 16:49:40, an impressive run for his first 100 miler and first attempt at Western States. He clearly had insider’s knowledge as the son of two-time Western States finisher Paul Lind and the grandson of the event’s original medical director Dr. Bob Lind.

Tollefson rounded out the top-five men with a time of 16:55:49. He’d put off running Western until he felt ready to do the race justice, and clearly, he was ready. The fact that he’d grown up in the area and run the last miles of the course hundreds of times certainly paid off in the race’s most difficult miles.

In the back half of the men’s top 10, we had sixth-place Kyle Pietari, who executed yet another well-played top-10 performance, Stephen Kersh who finished seventh for the second time in a row after curiously bouncing around almost all the top-10 positions over the course of the day, and Hawks who ultimately crossed the line in eighth place after experiencing physical struggles and a long stay at the mile 94 aid station to regroup.

Among the day’s breakout runs was ninth place Kyle Curtin, who moved up into the top 10 late. And Nichols rounded out the top 10 in what looked like a difficult finish after an even more difficult day.

And just to clear the air for those wondering, Daniels DNFed at mile 55. Hazen and Jeff Browning left the race at mile 62. And Hammond and King tapped out at mile 80.

posted Sunday June 27th
by I Run Far