Articles by John Medinger
Crews and spectators descend on Foresthill (mile 62) during the 2025 Western States Endurance Run. This is the only spot where most will be able to see their runner until the finish line. Jesse Ellis | Let's Wander Prod...
Welcome to the Three Dot Lounge, where we ruminate on all things Western States and focus on quirky statistics and geeky trivia. . . At Western States, the weather is always the number one topic of conversation. This...
Courtney Dauwalter and Adam Peterman are the North American UltraRunners of the Year (UROY) for 2022. It’s Dauwalter’s fourth consecutive UROY, dating back to 2018 (there was no award for 2020). She joins Scott Jurek a...
Far too often, we look at champions as if they are made from a sinewy type of steel. When they win, it is because they are far different than any of us – more talented, mentally tougher and physically stronger, filled...
The votes are in! Jim Walmsley of Flagstaff, Arizona, and Courtney Dauwalter of Leadville, Colorado, have repeated as North American UltraRunners of the Year. For Walmsley, it is the fifth straight time for this honor...
“Well. That was sadistic.” Those were the first words out of Kristian Howell’s mouth after he finished second in the inaugural Lake Sonoma 100K. The race series postponement to Labor Day weekend brought out mid-summer...
Kuni Yamagata was the oldest runner to finish Western States this year at age 68. Let’s Wander Photography Welcome to the Three Dot Lounge, where we annually list our deep thoughts, cheap shots and bon...
2020. I think it’s safe to say that none of us have ever experienced a year quite like this one. I think it’s also safe to say that all of us hope that we never will have to experience another year like it again. Lik...
The 1980s: In the Beginning April 1981: Ronald Reagan had just been inaugurated to his first term as president, James Michener’s The Covenant topped the New York Times best seller list, and Hall and Oates had the nu...
With virtually all races canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we “organized” a FatAss 50K for runners to celebrate on the day that Western States would have been run. Completely tongue-in-cheek, we called it the “Not Exactly Western States FatAss 50K,” (or NEWS 50K) run entirely on the Arizona Trail just north of Flagstaff, Arizona.
With virtually all springtime races canceled due to COVID-19, my wife and I ruminated about what races would look like when the restrictions were lifted. “Hey, we could do something like that! Just make everyone run solo.” With that, we hatched the concept of the MayDay! Solo 50K, to be run Fat Ass style on May 1 in Sedona, Arizona.
Jim Walmsley and Ellie Greenwood are the North American Ultrarunners of the Decade for 2010-2019.Greenwood, who was Ultrarunner of the Year three times (2011, 2012 and 2014) edged out Courtney Dauwalter, Kaci Lickteig an...
The votes are in: Jim Walmsley and Courtney Dauwalter have repeated as North American Ultrarunners of the Year. For Walmsley, it is the fourth straight year of this honor, matching Tom Johnson (1994-1997) as the only man...
The votes are in and Jim Walmsley has a three-peat, while Courtney Dauwalter moved to the top of the women’s rankings from second place in 2017. The women’s voting was nearly unanimous, with Courtney nabbing 37 first-pla...
Welcome to the Three-Dot Lounge, where we annually regale you with Western States deep thoughts, cheap shots and bon mots… First and foremost in everyone’s mind every year is the weather. Heat is what makes Western State...
More than anything, what separates Western States from most other 100-milers is the pre-race buzz. Hype. There’s lots of it. The Squaw Valley village is full of runners, pacers, crew, spectators, volunteers, media, sponsors, and various other hangers on. The energy level – and entrant’s anxiety levels – increases as race week goes on. By Friday, it’s so electric you can feel it.
Every year is unique in our sport, but 2017 was a milestone year. For the first time ever, more than 100,000 ultra finishes were recorded in North America. When you consider that as recently as 25 years ago the total num...
Lake Sonoma 50 has evolved into the most competitive ultra of the spring and this year’s race continued the trend. The women’s field was packed with talent – one of the deepest fields in memory. The men’s field didn’t di...
John Morelock, whose writing graced the pages of UltraRunning for more than six years, died on February 5. He was diagnosed with a rare and incurable abdominal cancer in November, and succumbed three months later. He was 74.
Two thousand and sixteen was another year of solid growth and increasing speed in our sport, a continuation of trends that was surely apparent to all participants. But under that umbrella were many ironies and surprises...
Just when you think no one could possibly run faster, someone does. That was the opening sentence to last year’s race report, and I’m going to use it again. Remarkably, for the ninth consecutive year, the course record w...
Sadly, we must report that that Ruth Anderson died on February 27. She was 86 and had suffered from Alzheimers the past few years. Her husband John died just two…
It was fascinating to watch the voting unfold for the Ultrarunner of the Year. The men's field was incredibly crowded - no fewer than eleven men received a vote for first place, and it was pretty easy to make a plausible...
Race directing isn’t rocket science. It’s mostly grunt work and taking care of a lot of picky details. It’s not easy to write about race directing in a general sense, since there is so much variability in ultras. Some ar...
Tonia Smith’s surgeon came into her room with a grim look on his face. “I have some difficult news to tell you. You have pancreatic cancer.” He continued, “We had every pathologist in the department look at your slide...
Just when you think no one could possibly run faster, someone does. For the eighth consecutive year, both the men and women’s course records were broken, as Alex Varner and Stephanie Howe raised the bar a little higher....
In a year filled with amazing performances, Rob Krar and Ellie Greenwood were voted 2014 Ultra Runners of the Year. It was the second award for Krar, who successfully defended his 2013 crown. Greenwood, whose 2013 was in...
If you pull out the DVD from the 1986 Western States 100, there’s a shot of winner Chuck Jones descending toward the Rucky Chucky river crossing. He looks straight into the camera and says, “I love runnin’.”
Unbreakable: The Western States 100, a film released in December by JourneyFilm, tells the story of the 2010 Western States, which featured a highly anticipated battle between four of the…