Orcas Island 100 Gender Split

It’s a busy weekend of trail racing as Jeffrey Stern of Ultra Running Magazine points out:

The pace always seems to pick up during fall months on our UltraRunning Calendar, and this week is no different—we have 60 events happening across the country.

On Friday I’ll be making another attempt at a 100 Miler and will be with my friend Scott Michie on Orcas Island in the San Juans of the Puget Sound just northwest of Seattle. Orcas Island is a looped course (the island isn’t that big) and much loved by the PNW running community. One of the original 100 mile races in the area and run by James Varner and his team at Rainshadow Running, this race usually is in February making it one of the more challenging races, give the weather during this time of the year. James moved the 2022 race due to COVID concerns on a small island earlier in the year. Now, in October the race is on, and hopefully for me, is one of the easier races in its history given the mild weather forecast.

The full entrants list just dropped and here’s what the gender breakdown looks like:

There are a total of 60 runners registered.

• 18 are women or 30% of the total.
• 41 are men or 68% of the total.
• 1 person let the gender field blank.

I can’t wait to leave town early tomorrow. Drive through Seattle, hop on a ferry, and spend a couple days running these twisted trails on the famous Orcas Island course. Let’s hope I finally get a damn buckle, I’m ready for it.