The USFS has increased our entry cap!

We are pleased to announce that after several years of conversations with the Salida Ranger District we have received approval to increase our event to 250 runners! The increase will happen in 25 runner per year increments starting this year, with full capacity reached by 2026. We’re grateful to the Salida Ranger District for their continued trust in and support of our event. The additional 25 runners for this year have already been selected from the waitlist, bringing our total of 87 women and 88 men, for a total of 175 runners.

The increase in our runner cap will allow us to offset some of the popularity of the race and allow us to share the Sawatch with even more people. We are grateful for opportunity to continue to expand the amazing community that has grown around the race. Lastly, it will also provide the race with a stronger foundation to weather the financial and commercialization challenges that the independent ultra-racing scene faces.

The four year ramp to 250 runners will likely play out as shown below, as based off of our current system. Note that we do regularly evaluate our entry process, so changes to this are possible over the next several years.

Entry into the High Lonesome can happen through two processes: the lottery and discretionary entries. The lottery is split into two pools, men and women with trans runners registering in the pool of their gender identity and NB runners under their sex assigned at birth pool. The number of discretionary spots is subtracted from each pool, with the remainder being the amount of spots to be filled through the lottery. If the entry cap is an odd number, the extra spot is given to whichever pool has the most applicants.

Discretionary spots are entries which occur outside the lottery. The runners receiving these spots are published, allowing full transparency into the process. The various types of discretionary entries are listed below, as well as a note as to whether the process has changed as a result of the increased runner cap. A breakdown of the entries is shown below.

Volunteer slots: [NO CHANGE] discounted lottery bypasses to the next year’s race are raffled off to the current year’s volunteers. This is our way of thanking the people who help bring the race to life. Max of 5% of cap, rounded up.

Sponsor slots: [NO CHANGE] As part of our sponsorship and charity packages, certain sponsor tiers are allotted an athlete entry. Max of 3%, rounded up.

Race Director (RD) slots: [NO CHANGE] To allow flexibility to the lottery process and to provide entries to directors and aid station captains, the RD is allowed a limited number of lottery bypasses. Max of 3%, rounded up.

Legacy slots: [MODIFIED] Given to select runners who have supported the race from the beginning. Historically limited to four runners who attended every race. New for the 2024+ race year, gender specific rules apply for legacy status. Limited to a max of six, with less likely as runners lose their status.

Sawatch 50/50: [MODIFIED] 2021-2022 Sawatch 50/50 winners received a lottery bypass. At the 2023 and later Sawatch 50/50’s, the overall winners (M/F/NB) and one randomly selected runner will receive a bypass. Winner bypasses are passed down to second and third as needed. Max of four runners.

HiLo winners: [NEW] Starting with the 2023 High Lonesome, the men’s and women’s winner will receive a lottery bypass to the proceeding High Lonesome. The bypass is passed down to second and third place if needed. Max of two runners.

See you in the Sawatch!

Caleb, Kelsey, and the High Lonesome 100 team