The Power of the Golden Ticket

When the WSER Golden Ticket races were announced last year back in June there was much to be said about what races were included, and why. Folks ‘had their opinions, especially about the omission of any race on the East Coast (in previous years Grindstone was a qualifier). And increasingly it became clear that sponsor Hoka wanted events that were Hoka sponsored races – which makes sense.

But what this year is showing (especially with what seemed like the curious addition of the Chianti race) is that these Golden Tickets seems to really be big draw for top runners. Maybe it’s a funny correlations, but when the Chianti event was added to the UTMB calendar it felt like one of those “filler events”. Now, only in its second year running as official UMTB event, and first year as Golden Ticket race, the line up seems to be stacked. For weeks now folks have been talking about a possible showdown between Jim Walmsley, Kilian Jornet and Vincent Bouillard. All three are signed up, and are certainly not the only top runners registered. Kilian specifically has said that he’s interested in trying to get a Golden Ticket for Western States. The interest by elites to run Canyons seems to be of similar nature, especially after Canyons lost its UTMB Major status, but kept the Golden Ticket designation.

What do we make of this?

I think Western States still has an incredible draw, especially for elites runners. It’s a fantastic showdown And the Golden Ticket qualification system is a really brilliant idea to engage with elites, especially those who are a bit more spontaneous. It’s also a great media play, as it’s very transparent, limited, and a simple process to follow for everyone. Whoever thought up this idea had a great one.