WSER 2021 - the Last Chance signs

In 2011 I decided to volunteer at the Western States 100. I would have volunteered the previous year, but I thought a prank was being pulled on me that there was such a thing as a 100 mile trail race.

I didn't know much about what to expect, but I knew one of the runners in the race - Sam from Brazen Racing. By blind luck, I happened to be parked just outside the aid station and my back window was covered in dust. So I made my first "sign".

Sam actually saw this and wrote "thanks!" My day was made!

The following year I decided to up my sign game. After you leave the aid station, there is a small hill you have to get over. The sights and sounds of the aid station are well behind you and you are still getting used to the ice and food you just loaded up with. I figured this would be a perfect place to post a few encouraging signs for the runners I knew in the race.

The view in 2018.

In following years I started adding more general purpose signs so that all the runners would have something to read. This year I ended up with around 40 signs. Some were made by Oscar, some were suggested by Mandie, but most were for people I knew in the race. (I always offer to add signs for others if they would like - this generally leads to some puzzled looks as runners try to work out who made that sign and put it there.)

Here are the signs for 2021.

In 2019, I wanted to create a set of signs along the lines of the Burma Shave signs from the past, and put them before the aid station. This year I added a second set of signs to this area.

As you get close to the Last Chance aid station.

This first set was in honor of Tony, whose dream had been to run this race for many years (he volunteers at the Rucky Chucky crossing). He is known for telling very bad soda-based jokes when he gets to aid stations, so I thought I'd tell it before he had a chance to.

Sadly, Tony didn't make I this far, so he didn't get to see these live. Even more sadly, several runners told me they thought they were funny. (So long as they don't tell Tony that.)

Here is the original set of entry signs.

Much better than the soda signs.

Now here are the signs that appeared after you left the aid station. (Sadly, more than once a runner has completely missed seeing their sign.) 

A side note - the signs on this hill actually make an appearance in the Billy Yang film Life in a Day (about the 2016 edition of the race)! Go to about the 34th minute - Devon is in a low point but sucks it up and heads out. Then sees the signs. Wonderfully (and not by my doing), there is a sign for her. This is what makes me keep doing this - hopefully I can perk someone up with some dumb random sign. 

(I do worry that someone may end up disappointed not to see a sign for them. I stopped adding bib numbers and started only using first names once it occurred to me that there may be multiple people with the same first name, and possibly someone might think a sign is for them when it's really for someone else. Or I might be over-thinking this a bit.) 

Josam did not get a silver buckle, but did get a bronze one and has confirmed that silver tequila goes nicely with it too.

This is an Oscar sign. I didn't know Jack, but he managed a fine finish of the race.

This one is more confusing than necessary, but I wanted to tease him that Stephanie has a WSER Cougar trophy and he doesn't. On the flip side, he hurdled a police motorcycle on his way to winning the SF Marathon a few years ago, and I don't think Steph has ever done that.

I have lived in Redwood City for over 30 years. I was stunned that three runners were also from Redwood City. And that I knew none of them. (One finished, one made it past this point, and one didn't quite make it this far.)

This was suggested by Mandie - Katie is one of my new favorite runners who ended up finishing fifth!

A general sign. That is the lousiest outline of a buckle ever. I'm curious how many people work out that that's what it is.

I don't do many signs for the elite runners since I don't know many of them. I don't really know Kaci, but she is always a blast when she comes through and she is from Nebraska - I was born in Kansas so that makes us cousins of some sort I think! She is my perpetual favorite runner here.

This is the same Sam from the original dust sign. Happily, he got to see this sign, but unhappily, he did not finish. 

I can't imagine going for eight years of lotteries and not getting in - every year you have to run a qualifier. Daigo aced this race (as I knew he would!).

An Oscar sign. Oscar did not know Joe, but was set to pace him later in this race. So he took the opportunity to have this sign for him. This was a case where Joe was extremely puzzled how this sign  happened. (He had a fine finish too!)

An Oscar sign. Some lucky people got two signs!

This was another Mandie suggestion. Jackie had not finished a 100 mile race yet, and Mandie was pacing her later on. (She has now finished a 100 mile race!)

An Oscar sign. Josam is now up to two signs!

I just marveled at all the people that finally got into the race with 128 tickets! All but one of these finished (and that's the same Calvin as on the Redwood City sign).

This general sign has been around a while. It still makes me smile.

An Oscar sign. Ram finished in fine style.

I got my start in San Jose Fit. I don't actually know Satpal, but Georgianna does and suggested he get a sign. Fun thing about this sign - it's the first one to do a lap around the track at the finish line!

Mike lives on Oahu, and I mostly know him from the HURT 100 race there. He got to see his sign, but was not able to finish.

An Oscar sign. Josam is up to three signs! A new record!

Another general sign. The mosquitos are way more terrifying than any dragons would be.

Sadly, Tony did not get to see this sign either.

A general sign from the first year I started this. (Yes, I thought stars looked a lot like snow flakes.)

This was for Dwight, the Stevens Creek Striders Last Chance representative this year. Sadly, he did not get to see this sign. (Or the fine antelope-looking thing that stretched my drawing skills.)

Actually, in the canyons, I hear it can be a muggy heat.

Another Sam sign. (He's a popular guy!)

This was a Mandie suggestion. Apparently Matt shares my issues with poison oak. Unfortunately, apparently you can't outrun poison oak and Matt did not finish.

Mandie belongs to this SWAP team that weirdly talks about running like a T-Rex with a herd of cats chasing you. Or something like that.

An Oscar sign. Sadly another one Tony didn't see.

In 2019, Loren was very close to the top of the wait list, so he showed up at the start, ready to go, just in case someone didn't show up. Everyone showed up. He finished this year though!

This one is just as you are about to leave the aid station. It's heartbreaking when we discover that a runner has left something behind.

And a final general sign. I don't think Karl has ever seen this or it might have been destroyed. But it cracks me up.

And that's it for 2021! It's a fair amount of effort making these, putting them up, then taking them all down, but it makes me happy. If anyone ever wants their sign, let me know. (I have a box full of the previous signs that takes up a lot of room in the garage.)

That's it - move along…

PS:  You can read my general thing about Last Chance this year here.