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Note: This is mostly the same introduction I used last year. If you read that then, you can legally skip it this time.
For a number of years now, I've been making and putting up a variety of signs at the Last Chance aid station for the Western States Endurance Run. It started with a few for a couple people I knew in the race, and has grown to be around 50 signs total, including several that are made by others.
One question I get is who gets a sign? Sadly, there's not an easy answer to that.
First, there are obvious people that I know. Every year has few of those.
Second, there are people that I think are fun or somehow otherwise worthy of a sign. (Kaci will always get a sign!) You'll see those below - it's hard to define who these people are, and it can depend on whether I have time and materials left over to put them together.
Third, there are requests from friends (or sometimes friends of friends). This is a growing category - I encourage anyone that knows about these signs to contact me if you would like one next year. I just need to know something that would be inspiring or embarrassing to put on their sign.
Another note: I generally only use a first name don't include a bib number. I really don't want anyone to feel disappointed by not seeing a sign for them, so a tiny bit of my brain chooses to believe that maybe, just maybe, someone will see a sign that's not actually for them, but think it could be. I know, that's pretty unlikely, but keep in mind the runners have been going for over ten hours by this point, and thinking clearly can be a bit of a challenge.
Click here to see a movie of me walking up the hill past the signs to see them in their natural habitat.
Yet another note: I gave several of these signs to their runners at the track. If you would like your sign, let me know and we will work out a way to get it to you.
Hopefully the last note: Here is a link to my main post for this event.
In no particular order:
This was requested by Mandie, and I love that it includes his two cats. Matt finished in about 23.5 hours. I later learned that the cats did, indeed, get tuna, but not a still flopping around 30 pounder like they hoped.
Parrish was the designated runner for Brazen Racing. (One of the hardest things I do is make that Brazen Racing logo - I love how it often looks pretty good, especially from ten feet or so.) I also like the music notes - they also stretched my drawing skills. Parrish finished in just over 27 hours.
The first of two signs for Kelly. I had made one for her, but Janeth really wanted me to make this one for her as well. Kelly was the last runner to leave Last Chance, so she did get to see the sign (although I was already up on the hill removing them). Sadly, she did not get to finish.
This sign was requested by Kiran. Give yourself a thousand bonus points if you knew those weird oval things were headlamps. Pradeep finished in just under 27 hours.
The sign that I had made for Kelly.
Requested by Leigh-Ann. I couldn't resist using glitter glue (and shortly after remembered why I don't use it more often). I had set this on a table on the deck for the glue to dry, but both the cat and dog couldn't resist walking on it. The sideways text and hearts were, well, a choice. Maybe not a good one. Christina finished in the Golden Hour with a bit less than 18 minutes to go.
Requested by Angela - my first ever writing Mongolian on a sign! I wish I could tell you what that says, but different online translations gave answers that didn't feel right. I just hope it wasn't too rude. Tuvshintugs finished in 27.5 hours.
Also requested by Angela. There were two Zachs in the race - a fairly famous, ridiculously fast one (who finished fifth) and Angela's friend who finished in well under 28 hours. I like to think that fast Zach saw this, assumed it was for him, but then spent several miles trying to remember if he had really signed up for the Cocodona 250. And who the heck was Angela???
I've known Mark the ER doctor for many years. Several years ago he set himself a challenge to finish 100 100 mile finishes before he turned 60. Earlier this year he managed to do just that, but it required him to get 25 finishes in the previous 25 months. This was his 101st 100 mile finish. And man did he make it dramatic! He finished with just under five minutes to spare! (Note that he got in with 128 lottery tickets!)
Most of you likely know all about the lottery system for trying to get into the race. If not, here is a primer.
In general, about 370 people get to run this race. There are some golden tickets - you can get a spot by finishing in the top three at a few selected races. There are some spots set aside for sponsors and other considerations (each aid station gets a spot). But most people get in through the lottery. This year, an astonishing 11,328 people tried to get into the race that way. The first year you enter the lottery, you get one ticket. Your chances stink. The second year you get two tickets, and for each year after that, you get your ticket amount doubled.
This year, there were 264 runners that got in through the lottery. 11 people got in with a single ticket. 16 got in with two tickets. 27 got in with 256 tickets - that's ten years after they first tired to get in and nine years of qualifying (you have to run a qualifying race each year - there was no race in 2020). And then there were the five people that had 512 tickets that got in. Amazingly, three of those five got in off the wait list - they were not actually drawn! (The three with 512 tickets that weren't drawn were automatically put at the top of the wait list - usually about 40 people off the wait list get the option to run or to defer until next year.)
One of the five, Lindsay, did not start - I don't know what the story was for this. The other four all made good on their entry and finished: David at just over 26 hours, Neil at 27.5 hours, Mark just under 29 hours (no Golden Hour for him!), and Benny, who finished with a little over three minutes to spare.
It astonishes me that these are all people that have spent over a decade to try to get into this event!
Jack Hsueh ended up with two signs (and a mention on the Pamakids sign). When you finish in under 24 hours, you get a silver buckle (as opposed to the Bronze one you get if you are between 24 and 30 hours). Getting a second would have been quite a feat - one that Jack came close to but didn't quite get with a finish just under 25 hours.
John (I just realized that I put his last name on this sign!) has been a trail stud for much longer than it looks possible when you see him. He is best known for finishing the infamous Barkley Marathons multiple times - a feat that is wildly astonishing.
Sadly, my lettering skills took a huge hit with me running out of room for THUMB. Funnily, in his post-race writeup, John mentioned that it was that climb up to Devil's Thumb that really slowed him down and derailed his plans for a sub 17 hour finish. (He finished in a bit over 18 hours, so it wasn't much of a derailing.)
Bonus points to anyone that recognized the yellow gate or has any idea why it is there.
I talked in the main post about Peggy - this was her third running of this event over a staggering 19 years. She is a legendary aid station captain for the Last Chance aid station (17 years). Ten years ago cancer tried to take her down, but she fought it and won! She was the most senior woman in the race this year. (Which was hard to believe - several times we had women come through Last Chance that we were sure had to be older, but they weren't. Peggy looked WAY younger than many of the women!)
Sadly, while she did make it to Last Chance, that's where she dropped. A variety of things made this not her day, but she can console herself knowing that for the first time in three years, the Last Chance runner actually made it to Last Chance!
Another Mandie suggestion, but with a sort of asterisk. Tara ran this race last year, but sadly, did not get to finish. She managed to get in again this year, so Mandie asked that I put her sign up again (I added the "Take Two" bit). Tara not only got her finish, just a bit over 16 hours, but was the sixth woman! (Yes, Mandie seems to know a lot of very fast trail runners.)
I talked extensively about Oscar in the main post, so I'm not going to repeat most of that. The dude's a legend that has been trying for years to get into this race. Kajukenbo is a martial art from Hawaii that he teaches to (mostly?) kids. It involves belts. I thought it would be funny to joke about whether there was a belt that would work for a WSER buckle. He sent me a picture of him with a belt that had the buckle on it, simply saying "yes."
The other fun thing was that, on pure accident, a volunteer was coming down the sign hill when Oscar made it to his sign, and I have a picture of him with it!
One of my biggest fears (that has happened multiple times) is that a runner will completely miss noticing their sign (which can be forgiven - they likely have a bit on their mind at this point). So on the few times that I get a picture like that, confirming that they found their sign, it makes me feel so good.
Pen had the idea of a Pamakids sign that I would put up each year, and just update with the names of that year's runners. This is the fifth year for this sign. There will be a point where the sign will have to be retired (it's close now, so maybe?). This year's names are Kelly, Pradeep, Maddie (who dropped before Last Chance), Christina (who also dropped before Last Chance), and at the last minute off the wait list, Mei.
Mei is an interesting story since she was at 42 on the wait list. That's historically right on the edge of getting in, but not knowing for sure until very late. She found out she was in just a few days before the start. For some, that's not enough notice due to travel logistics. Since Mei was relatively local, she was able to jump in at the last minute. Not ideal - there are a lot of things you would want to prepare before running this race (drop bags, crew, pacers, lodging, etc.), and it's a bit challenging to get all that prepared not knowing if you are getting in. (There have been wait list people that showed up at bib pickup the day before the race and gotten in due to a last minute withdrawal and, well, they were there and ready to go!)
Mei finished in the very respectable time of 25.5 hours or so!
I usually take some supplies so that people at the aid station can make a sign for someone. This is one of those signs ("The Barfies???"). Sadly, Julian did not get to see this sign.
This one was also made at the aid station, and was made for Jack Hsueh (who I had made a sign for as well). Jack finished in just under 25 hours.
Note that there was one other sign made at the aid station, but I failed to get a picture of it and have no idea who it was for. I believe the person that made it grabbed it so they could get it to the runner.
This is a new general purpose sign I made for the Car Wash. We constantly get asked for these sorts of details, and have several small race-supplied signs scattered around that have some of this info, but I thought it would be nice to have a bigger sign at a point where the runners are getting ready to leave that had this info.
It was indeed nice to have this - not just for the runners, but for us volunteers to remind us of the answers to these questions. Since this worked fairly well, my plan is to make a much nicer, larger version of this sign for next year.
And that's about it!
Each year this is a fairly big task that I start early in June, but I get so much positive feedback that it always feels worth it.
Also, it's worth noting that Oscar, whose sign you saw above, often makes a dozen signs or so, but due to his running this year, was not able to do that.
As mentioned earlier, I'm more than happy to make a sign for just about anyone - if you can get me some info I'll make it so (you can email me at notthatlucas@gmail.com).
That's it - move along…
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