The Western States Experience | Day 1!

by Chase Parnell — June 24, 2021

---

We shoved off from Bend, Oregon on Wednesday morning with a seven hour drive ahead of us. The route to the Olympic Valley took us through the high desert, also known as the Oregon Outback, a vast swathe of arid land covered in nothing but sagebrush, grasses and juniper. Silver Lake, Summer Lake, and Lakeview were the primary ranching towns we passed, the names were misleading as the giant blue lakes on the map next to these towns were nonexistent, all dried up. We crossed into California and angled over to Reno, Nevada before linking up with the Truckee River which would send us back into Northern California and into the northern reaches of the Sierra Nevadas. These mountains were a sight for sore eyes after the long push through the desert. Healthy green forest and granite rock, our first glimpse of the grand obstacle all the runners toeing the line on Saturday would need to traverse.

It was funny checking in on instagram and seeing all the elites posting their travel shots en route to Western States. A heat map with tendrils snaking and weaving their way towards the same location, a tiny little valley nestled at the base of a few mountains amongst thousands. From Mammoth Lakes to Flagstaff, from Portland to Boulder, the best ultrarunners in the country were all making their way in giddy anticipation. Wisely, many of them stopped somewhere along their journey for a shake-out run. Race week nerves and a freshly tapered body providing mixed emotions as they contemplate, are the legs feeling good? Did I do enough? Am I getting sick? Could I win this thing?

Our situation, of course, is less anxiety-inducing seeing as how we don’t have an epic feat of endurance drifting overhead in a few days time. It almost feels selfish being here as a spectator. Partaking in all the pre-race festivities without making the trek on Saturday. On the other hand, we’ve got our own ultra cut out for us. Lots of words will be written.

Our goal was to make it to the inaugural Western States YouTube livestream coverage where Dylan Bowman and Corrine Malcolm would be interviewing some of the top contenders in 20 minute increments. As we were parking, I saw Jeff Browning walking away from the venue so I knew he’d just wrapped up his interview, so Matt Daniels must’ve been starting soon, and then it would be Tim Tollefson, Beth Pascall, and Jared Hazen. Listen, I’m a big fan of this sport, I’ve been following some of these athletes for years now, and so naturally I’m feeling a little starstruck. One strange dynamic is I don’t really know if any of these people know much at all about Treeline Journal. Maybe they’ve seen a preview article or recap, but if I were to say I’m Chase from Treeline Journal, I really don’t know if it would ring a bell. Think awkward blank stares. There’s so much content out there, new websites and podcasts pop up every week, so we’re still feeling like small fish in a big pond. I guess what I’m saying is that I’m feeling both nervous to potentially interact with some of these runners that I’ve only really followed on the interwebs, but also excited because I genuinely love competitive ultrarunning and I really respect what these people can do. I was at the Olympic Trials last week for four days and I felt the same way about them. These are some of the best runners in the world!

Late as usual, we squeak into the venue and get seated just before Tim Tollefson hits the stage. Before I go on, we were pretty blown away by the beauty of this place. It’s a stunning mountain resort nestled under some impressive peaks, sloping ski runs, there’s a tram that disappears over a giant wall of rock. It’s green, there are ponds, it’s full of money, and there’s a North Face shop and a Starbucks. Who knew.

So yeah, there we are, sitting on a patio listening to Dylan Bowman speak, that familiar voice that I’ve pumped into my jaybirds on countless runs, there’s Billy Yang on a laptop, helping to manage the livestream, and there’s Tim Tollefson looking fly with his bear-pelt thickness hair, hipster shades, and all the Hoka accompaniments. I know I didn’t have to travel a full day to listen to this conversation but everything is better live. You get to see the exchanges behind the scenes, the next interviewee hovering off to the side, all the inner workings.

Tim was super likable and he had all the quick quippy rebuttals to Dylan’s proddings. They make a great duo. Tim seems like he’s in a good headspace. It feels like his motivation is coming from a place of joy and love of running. He’s clearly very intelligent and I’d be shocked if he didn’t race that way on Saturday. I’m looking at him to be in that 5th-10th place range at 50k and then start rolling, gathering momentum, and there’s no telling where he might be able to land. The sky’s the limit.

Next up, Beth Pascall was a joy to listen to. Being something of an anglophile after our month long van tour of the UK in 2017, I let myself drift away with the melody of her British accent. She kept things light and fun but it’s clear that she’s extremely prepared, meticulous in her preparations. She ran Western States in 2019 and finished 4th. I’m predicting she’ll finish higher this time around. Not sure if she’ll win, she’s certainly capable, but I’m reserving my pick for the winner until after I hear from Brittany Peterson and Clare Gallagher over the next few days.

Lastly, Jared freaking Hazen. It was fun to listen to that guy talk. He’s quiet and reserved but he does have a certain confidence that comes through when he’s talking about his running. I think he feels ready. Don’t quote me on this, but based on all my Strava stalking, he definitely put in the most volume of any elite runner out there. This will be his 4th running of Western States and he’s only 26 years old! I don’t know, I could be reading too much into this because of the aura of the Coconino Cowboys, but I was really picking up on the competitive sentiments. Listening to Tollefson and then listening to Jared, it felt like Jared was playing for keeps. He even said, “This year is about winning.” He expanded on his intention to win and the funny thing was that I was totally buying it. I’m sitting there nodding my head in agreement. Somehow Jared lured me into thinking that he might be the favorite now after I’ve been saying Tollefson all along!

Stoke level was high after all the interviews, a nice beginning to a steady infusion of it over the coming days. Walking out of the live audience seating area I did something I very rarely do, I actually introduced myself to Dylan Bowman. I’d never met him although I knew he’d read some of our work as he’d mentioned some preview articles in his Pyllars newsletter. Sure enough, he said we’ve been crushing it and couldn’t have been nicer. We chatted about some of the wisdom bombs Jared Hazen dropped and I got to meet his partner in crime, Harmony. I subscribe to their Pyllars app because I’m a headcase and thought their holistic approach to ultrarunning and wellness would help. It has.

Anyways, I linked back up with Nikki who had to bail because the kids were acting up, and we made our way back into Truckee where we’ll be staying for the next four nights. A hot tub and a manhattan sealed day one of the Western States experience. Can’t wait to wake up and see what tomorrow brings. Cheers.

If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it with a friend, signing up for our free Rise & Grind weekly newsletter or supporting us via Patreon for as little as $2 a month. We really appreciate your support!