Reid Coolsaet to run Western States

The lotteries for the 2022 Western States 100 and Hardrock 100 took place this weekend, and Canadian Olympian Reid Coolsaet got his name on the Western States list. With over 8,000 applicants vying for only 340 lottery spots (221 for Western States and 119 for Hardrock), runners without automatic entry have a slim chance of having their names pulled, but 34 lucky Canadians got a spot on the start lines.

Reid Coolsaet: Lessons from an Olympic marathoner turned ultra trail runner

Western States

Of the top 10 male finishers at last year’s race, eight will be making their return to Olympic Valley, Calif., including second- and third-place finishers Tyler Green and Drew Holmen. Jim Walmsley, who won the race in 2018, 2019 and 2021 (the race was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19), has not elected to return for the 2022 race. The top three podium finishers from last year’s race, Beth Pascall of the UK, Ruth Croft of New Zealand and Ragna Debats of the Netherlands, will all be returning, as will six more of the top 10 women from 2021.

Canada’s Ailsa MacDonald received automatic entry, thanks to her 13th-place finish at the 2019 Western States and first-place finish at the 2020 Tarawera 100 Mile. Other fast runners who have received automatic entry include Sébastien Spehler (second at Ultra Trail Cape Town this year), Tom Owens (fourth at UTMB in 2019), Cole Watson (third at the Javelina Jundred), Stephanie Auston (third at the 2020 Black Canyon 100K and second at the 2019 Tarawera 100K) and Zoë Rom (third at the 2021 Rio del Lago 100 Mile and third at the 2021 Tillamook Burn 50 Mile), among others.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CS9-vbuHR5x/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Coolsaet will be one of the top Canadians in the race, despite being relatively new to the ultramarathon scene. He was given a spot as a sponsored athlete with the Canadian company Stoked Oats. In August, he won his first-ever ultra, the Quebec Mega Trail 110K, despite missing a turn and having to run an extra 10 kilometres. He will be joined by several other Canadians, including:

• Leo Fung, Calgary
• Jesse Hulley, Calgary
• Mike Jollie, Calgary
• Kevin Jansen, Calgary
• Rohan Aurora, Vancouver
• Steve Day, North Vancouver
• Adam Harris, Squamish, B.C.
• Patrick Humenny, Kimberly, B.C.
• Ricardo Tortini, Port Moody, B.C.
• Dawson Mossman, New Maryland, NB
• Aytug Celikbas, Oakville, Ont.
• Matt Lowe, Hamilton
• Derek Mulhall, Tecumseh, Ont.
• Norman Nadan, Orangeville, Ont.
• James Swartz, Toronto
• Franci Lebeau, Montreal
• Vincent Gauthier, St-Zotique, Que.
• Fanny Barrette, Calgary
• Tara Chahl, Edmonton
• Chelsey Topping, Lethbridge, Alta.
• Kelly Haston, Toronto
• Karen Holland, Kimberly, Ont.

Hardrock 100

Hardrock is particularly difficult to get into, because the only way to gain automatic entry into the race is by winning it the previous year. A unique addition to this year’s lottery: entrants who were chosen for last year’s race but were unable to travel because of COVID-19 were given automatic entry for 2022, which included 16 men and two women.

There are some big names on the 2022 start list, including Courtney Dauwalter, Sabrina Stanley, Magie Guterl, François D’Haene, Kilian Jornet, John Kelly, Luke Nelson and Jeff Browning. Canada’s Stephanie Case, who was the first woman (and third overall) at the 450km Tor des Glaciers race in Italy, will also be on the start line.

Canada’s Stephanie Case finishes as top female at 450km Tor des Géants ultra

Other Canadians who received entry into Hardrock include:

• Suzanne Johnson, North Vancouver
• Dana Samis, North Vancouver
• Joanna Ford, Calgary
• Larry Kundrik, Lethbridge, Alta.
• Ken Legg, Powell River, BC
• Randy Duncan, Victoria, BC
• Christopher Aubrey, Sherwood Park, Alta.
• Nathaniel Couture, Fredericton, NB
• Matthew Fortuna, Oyama, BC
• Leo Fung, Calgary