The Western States Lottery, Explained: History, Qualifiers & FAQs with Tropical John

Over 11,000 runners entered last year’s Western States lottery, holding more than 93,000 tickets. How did it get this competitive, and how do you make sure your entry counts?

Carrie and co-host John Trent sit down with longtime Western States board member and qualifying-race guru John “Tropical John” Medinger to cover the lottery from start to finish. They trace its history, from the 250-runner cap in 1980 to the first lottery in 1981, the days of “buddy” entries and automatic spots for two-time losers, and the 2012–13 switch from 50-mile to 100K qualifiers.

Tropical John explains how races earn qualifier status: at least 100 finishers, mostly dirt, 100K minimum, and 2,500m of climbing for anything under 100 miles. He also covers how cutoff times are set (roughly double the winning time) and how the team handles races shortened by weather or wildfire.

Carrie closes with the most common questions from the lottery inbox:

Dates: The qualifying window ends November 8. Lottery registration runs November 1–21.
No early advantage: Registering on day one doesn’t earn extra tickets.
You must enter: Nobody is auto-enrolled, so log in and click “enter lottery.”
Match your name: Your portal name should match your race results.
Don’t make a new account: If you’ve lost access to your email, contact lottery@wser.org instead.
Lottery day: It’s December 5 at Placer High, with a new overflow room. No dogs allowed on campus.