As 50th Western States approaches, Gordy Ainsleigh reflects on how it all began

With less than a week until the 50th Western States Endurance Run, Gordy Ainsleigh reflects on how it all began. Ainsleigh is a pioneer in the ultrarunning world, the James Naismith of trail running, as he paved the way for the sport to burst onto the international stage. He first ran the Western States Trail during the 1974 Tevis Cup on a 107-degree day, finishing in 23 hours and 42 minutes and proving a person could trek the treacherous trail in under a day. The run was not easy for Ainsleigh, who pushed his body to the limit but kept powering through, not wanting to disappoint friends riding alongside him. "I was running with riders who are by and large friends of mine. I didn't want to quit, but I was miserable," Ainsleigh said. "I was around the 40-mile mark at Dusty Corners and I thought, 'Can I make Michigan Bluff?' No, I'll never make it through those canyons so then I thought about if I could make it to Devil's Thumb and I thought there was no way. I just kind of asked myself, 'Well, what can I do?' What I came up with is I can still put one foot in front of the other, so that's what I did." Ainsleigh couldn't accomplish the feat alone. He planned to throw in the towel once he reached Devil's Thumb, but with the help of a friend, he was able to stay on the trail as she provided him with the first aid station of Western States. "I was actually going to quit because I was scared. I got to the top and my friend Dianne was there. I told her I was quitting and she told me not to and to sit underneath a tree for a little bit and talk to her friend who was just an absolutely excellent endurance rider," Ainsleigh said. "She just knew everything about how to keep an animal running and she correctly diagnosed my problem that I was low on salt and because of that, I wasn't drinking because if you don't have salt, you don't get thirsty." After a 45-minute break and some salt tablets and water, Ainsleigh was good as new and back on the trail. "At that point, I just thought there's really no reason to quit and there's no reason I shouldn't go on," Ainsleigh said. "It turned out that the worst point was actually at Dusty Corners. After that, you know, I got into the forest, and it was cooler." After Ainsleigh's successful run in 1974, there was another successful attempt by Ken Shirk in 1976. Things blew up in 1977, when Ainsleigh put out an ad about the run in Runner's World Magazine, which prompted 14 runners to set out to complete the 100-mile journey. "Andy Gonzalez ran with 108-degree temperatures and he didn't have Gatorade out there," Ainsleigh said. "I have to give them a pat on the back for having the all-time hardest Western States ever and he managed to beat my time by 45 minutes." When Ainsleigh made his second attempt in 1978, the event had grown to 4 1/2 times the size of the previous year with 63 starters and was held as an event separate from the Tevis Cup rather than alongside it. "That was huge because the Tevis Cup was the premiere and most coveted horse accomplishment for endurance riders," Ainsleigh said. "That was when I was talking to Dru Barner and I asked her if the run will ever be as big as the ride." Barner's answer shocked Ainsleigh, as she informed him she felt it would be much bigger. "For her to say that was huge because they looked at the Tevis Cup as one of the most important things in the world," Ainsleigh said. "For them to say the run was going to be much bigger and much more important was startling to me." Ainsleigh, who most recently ran the Lake Sonoma Marathon in 8 hours, 2 minutes and 50 seconds, attempted Western States for the final time in 2021 but did not finish. "I don't think I'm going to have anymore tries at it," he said. "I did a marathon this last spring and finished just above eight hours, which is not bad considering how hilly the trail is, but I'm just getting to 76 so I'm getting too old for Western States." While Ainsleigh won't be in the field this year, he will be around the festivities this weekend at the 50th running of the original ultramarathon.