the oldest 100-mile footrace in the world, western states has been the pinnacle of north american ultrarunning for decades. point-to-point from the olympic village at palisades tahoe to the final 300-meter stretch on the placer high school track in auburn, this year’s edition saw a monumental women’s course record and the fastest women’s top 10 in history. a deeply international field made the race dynamic and exciting on both the men’s and women’s side.