Searching for redemption - and the perfect race - at Western States

CurraNZ athlete Nancy Jiang returned to the Western States Endurance Run in June for a repeat attempt in the legendary event that attracts the best ultra-endurance runners on the planet.

This year, she delivered a brilliant performance to finish 14th female home and 36^th overall in a time of 20:17 – almost four hours faster than her debut in 2023.  

Here, (pictured below with her pacer) she reflects on 100 miles of running, hurting and hunting for her ‘perfect race’.

Reflections on WSER, take two:

Nancy writes: “After every race I think, ‘never again’ - yet a few weeks later I’m signing up for the next one. Either the dehydration and exhaustion of running an ultra causes short-term memory loss or perhaps there is another reason why we keep signing up for more.

It is because I am trying to figure out how to execute a perfect race. The more I run them, the more I think that the outcome is a complicated mathematical equation, rather than a test of pure fitness. Especially in a race like Western States, where the terrain and temperature are very different across the 100-mile distance.  

The High Country:

The race starts at altitude, with the biggest climb of the whole race - and then traverses through Granite Chef Wilderness and remote ridges that get very little foot traffic prior to the race.

I needed to keep my effort in check with the relentless climb up the Escarpment into the Hill Country. You do not win Western States on the Escarpment - but you can lose the race on it. I learnt this the hard way two years ago, when I wanted to run with the fast ladies and completely blew up before I made it out of the High Country. So, this time, I stayed in true Zone 2 and didn’t get sucked into the excitement and hype at the start of the race.

The Canyons:

This section gets talked about a lot. It’s like entering a roasting oven and, combined with a lot of descending and climbing, it can be nasty. Another big lesson I took from my first attempt is to take care of my feet. Last time, I had two very angry big black toenails at the beginning of the Canyons section and I spent 30 minutes in the Last Chance Aid Station medical tent having my toenails poked with a needle to drain the fluid so I could descend the Canyons. My race deteriorated from this point, I could not move properly through this section and ended up with severe pain in my knees when I eventually crawled out the other side. This time, I paid particular attention to my feet at the aid stations leading up to the Canyons.

I also spent a good two weeks of heat and altitude acclimation training for the conditions I’d experience in the High Country and Canyons. I vividly remember thinking it felt like I had just run into an oven when I started my descent down El Dorado Canyon - but it felt familiar after all my afternoon training runs in the Utah heat. I knew it was going to be okay if I kept cooling off with water and ice – and knowing how much I needed to drink to offset my sweat loss.

The Last 60km:

This is the most runnable section - but only if you have good running legs. I kept remembering how terrible I felt two years ago – and realise I was dealing with residues of my last Western States trauma. I was adamant to get through feeling like I was in control and determined to cross the Rucky Chucky river in daylight.

At this point, my pacer and I realised I was showing symptoms of hypernatremia (high levels of sodium in the blood) as we ran along Cal St. I had to stop and pee a few times, I had fluid sitting in my stomach and I was starting to feel nauseous. Trouble-shooting on the fly, I figured out that while the sweet stuff wasn’t sitting well, I could consume broth at aid stations and sucked on the salt of potato chips.

It felt like I nailed 80% of the variables this time round. Neglecting my sodium intake affected my gut and how much calories I was taking in during the last 60km of the race. Like a car, you can’t run on empty. But I can happily say that this time round I did not finish with a death march, but with positivity and energy and that is kind of a win for me.

 I do not believe there is a magic super pill you can take which will change your physiology without you putting in the work to make the change. I believe it takes dedication, commitment to consistent training and hours invested in heat training. For me, this is where CurraNZ comes in. It is not a magic pill, but an aid that helps the body absorb and adapt to training stimulus and the stresses we put on ourselves.

Maybe I will give Western States another go again one day, because it is still true that I have not found my perfect race.