 Here we are in California for the Western States 100. I'm going for my three mile, three mile jog. When you're watching this, the race has actually already started. So make sure you follow along. I'll be giving updates, Twitter, Instagram, especially a little bit on Facebook as much as possible. But of course, then editing the vlog later tonight for all of you, all of the epic footage that is captured out on the course. So it's going to be crazy. All right, let's go get three miles in. Foot's feeling good. Foot's feeling good. We're in Truckee, California right now, heading to Squaw Valley here in a minute. Here at a random field in Truckee, California. Okay, the first finisher of the Western States 100. His name is Gordy Ainsley. In 1974, ran basically, from what I understand, he did not buy a horse in the spring of 1974 to do the horse race. So he decided to run. This is like back in the early 70s when ultra running was really not a thing that you did. So he probably was looked upon as a very, very unique individual. And in 1974, it was just Gordy. There was no other runners. But then in 77, 14 runners towed the line for the first official Western States 100 race. I think, I don't quote me, but I think there was three finishers that year out of 14 starters. All right, let's go to Squaw. Did you know that the 1960 Winter Olympics were held at Squaw Valley? That's amazing. I can't imagine what this place looked like in the 60s. Probably just not much going on up here. So look at this mountain up here. Look at this. Pretty impressive on the starting line. It's basically what I pictured. The mountains in California, they're different than Colorado, that's for sure. Not as tall, but they're pretty, you know, pretty aggressive, pretty steep out here. Anyway, let's talk about the course real quick. I've got some stats on the elevation gain. I love elevation gain, just knowing what's going to happen out there for all the runners. Let's break it down. First of all, you should know that the course is 100.2 miles. That's right. They extended the course, I believe, in the mid 80s to just make sure it's over 100 miles. So it finishes in Auburn, California. So we're in Squaw Valley right now, finishes in Auburn, California, and it finishes on actually on a high school track. I have the name. I'll get you the name here in a minute. Anyway, it finishes on a high school track, which adds the 0.2 miles around the track for the finish. And as far as elevation gain, all right. So right now, Squaw Valley is 6,200 feet above sea level, or 1,900 meters for everyone outside the U.S. The highest point on the course is Watson Monument, which is 8,700 feet above sea level, or 2,600 meters. All right. Now there is a 22, no, no, no, sorry, 18,000 feet of elevation gain over the 100 miles and 22,000 feet of elevation loss, which in meters, 18,000 translates to 5,500 and then 22,000 feet translates to 6,700 meters. So there's actually more elevation. There's almost basically 4,000 feet of elevation loss over the 100 miles on this course. So it's an overall net downhill, but don't let that deceive you. It's like, even though it's net downhill, it's a very, very difficult course. So that is the course breakdown. All right. We're just getting here waiting for the, I believe there's going to be a meeting here with all of the runners here in about an hour. So we're waiting for that. Just getting shots of the start, finish line, talking to some fans, shout out to Tristan. Thanks for saying hello. He works for Sun2. That's pretty cool. I sported, I showed him the Sun2 in the Peak 3, an old school watch that I got. It's just so neat to be here, see, see these folks, man. Awesome. What's up? Nice rig. What's that? Yeah, I know. Who could afford that? Is it an Ari? Yeah. Just geeking out about camera gear with a guy. By the way, look at the size of these pine cones. All right, everybody. We're at Squaw Valley. Meet Forrest Forrest and I. Forrest is a fan of the vlog. Watches regularly, right? Absolutely. So he just came up, came up and said hello. So thanks for saying hello, man. It's going to be a fun day tomorrow. Absolutely. A ton of fun. Yeah. Epic two races, men and women. I always like to ask, do you remember how you found the vlog? Like did something? I think I was looking for a shoe. Okay. Like this shoe when it came up. Yeah. So I've been watching maybe like a year. Yep. Boom. Not every day, but I always, I think I watch every video, just catch up, you know, every few days. A year. That's something like that. So last summer. I think so, yeah. Because that's a lot earlier than a lot of folks. So that's awesome. Appreciate you. About a year. Yeah. Appreciate it. No, it's fun. Yeah. You always stay positive and that's what I like to put forward. Trying, right? Yep. It goes a long way in running, like staying positive. Yeah. Keeping that mindset. Yeah. Through the highs and the lows of training. Exactly. Injuries. Exactly. I just want to mention here at the start line real quick, both of last year's champions are back. Most of you already know that. Courtney DeWalter on the women's side. Jim Walmsley on the men's side. They're times last year. Courtney ran 17 hours and 27 minutes. And then, and that was the second fastest time ever on the Western States course behind Ellie Greenwood's 1647 in 2012. And then Jim last year ran 14 hours, 30 minutes and four seconds. So this is where it's going to go down tomorrow morning in almost 12 hours from now. A little over 12 hours. So welcome to the 2019 Western States Ignorance Runner. In the pre-race meeting, that was awesome just to see all those elite runners together in one spot clapping for each other. Just that was special in there. So, and then you see footage of, this is Gordy. So he's actually standing right behind me. He was the first runner to run the Western States course in 1974. So that's Gordy on the screen right there. You see pictures of him, but it's cool to see. He's actually pretty tall. And as you saw in the room there, so many runners. Good luck to all the runners. I just want to mention the highest finish percentage. So how many runners actually make it to Auburn was in 2012 when 316 of the 382 participants crossed the finish line under the allotted time. And so, and then also I wanted to mention, so Scott Jurick, actually I saw him in the crowd today. Scott Jurick has the most wins on the men's side with I believe it's six. I'm going to count it from 1999 to 2005. And then on the women's side of course, and Tracen. I think it's 14. I will confirm that now. Anyway, just epic this happened in here. All right. We are actually heading back to the motel to start editing this vlog so we can go to bed so we can wake up to film tomorrow for all of you. Oh, this is so cool. All right. Good times. And welcome back to the motel in Truckee, California. Here is my current status update right here. Oh my goodness. Yes. We're editing like there's no tomorrow uploading and most importantly charging. These are all the batteries that are charged right here. Moving down into the sunlight a little bit for you. So we're still charging plenty and yes, keyword is going to be cougar. Why? Because did you know that the men's and women's champion of the western states 100, they win a cougar bronze. It's amazing. Like it's a really nice, I don't want to call it a statue, but it's a trophy and it has a cougar on it. So it's really cool. So that is the keyword and the question of the day. Do you have a 100 mile race on your bucket list? And I realized this is a very strange sport that we do. I mean, who wants to run 100 miles, right? That's kind of a painful experience, but it's also a life-changing experience. So that's the question of the day. Thanks for hitting it up down below and follow along everywhere. It's just going to be amazing. All the social media. Thanks for being here. All right, see beauty, work hard. Love each other.