The Western States Endurance Run Memorial Day training camp, the unofficial start of the race's six-week countdown, has sold out for a fourth consecutive year, with all three days now closed to additional sign-ups. The camp runs from Saturday 23 May through Monday 25 May, gathering the 369-runner field of the 2026 race on the trail's canyons section between Robinson Flat and Auburn for back-to-back-to-back long days that historically deliver more useful information about a runner's race fitness than any other test on the calendar.
Day one starts at Foresthill Elementary School with bus transport up to Robinson Flat, before runners cover roughly 32 miles back to Foresthill, taking in the Devil's Thumb climb and the Michigan Bluff aid station that will be among the most contested points on race day. Day two is a Foresthill-to-Rucky Chucky out-and-back covering the river canyon, while day three rounds out the weekend with a steady 20-mile descent into Auburn from the No Hands Bridge area. Race organisers note that more than 70 per cent of finishers in last year's race attended at least two of the three days.
This year's camp also marks the first time the field has gathered en masse since the December lottery, in which Spanish-Norwegian dual citizen Kilian Jornet, last year's third-place finisher and the 2011 champion, secured an automatic entry as a top-ten returnee. Jornet has confirmed he will run all three days, and is expected to be joined by reigning women's champion Katie Schide, defending men's champion Jim Walmsley, and a deep field of golden ticket entrants including recent Canyons 100K winners Riley Brady and Adam Peterman.
The camp has expanded beyond the elite ranks in recent years to take on the character of a small-town festival, with local Foresthill businesses now reporting that the long weekend rivals race weekend itself for visitor numbers. The Foresthill Lions Club is again running a Saturday-night dinner at the school, and the WSER board has confirmed that the cap of 600 runners across the three days will not be raised, citing trail-impact considerations and the need to keep the canyons sustainable for the runners and the volunteer community that supports them.
For runners not in the 369-strong field, the camp serves a separate purpose: it is the most reliable bellwether for the year's race-day pace. Course-record attempts in 2018, 2022 and 2024 were all foreshadowed by training-camp times, with eventual champion runners passing through Devil's Thumb at paces that local volunteers note in race-week debriefs. With Jornet again on the entry list and the women's race featuring three sub-17-hour talents, the back of the field at this year's camp is being watched almost as closely as the front. The race itself takes place on Saturday 28 June, leaving runners six clear weeks of taper and travel after the camp closes on Memorial Day Monday.