Andy Tullis / The Bulletin fileBend’s Stephanie Howe is aiming to finish in the top three at the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run from Squaw Valley to Auburn, Calif., on Saturday.

No prize money is offered at the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run. But trophies are awarded to the men’s and women’s winners, and all who finish the race through Northern California’s gold country in less than 24 hours receive a handmade silver belt buckle.

What keeps the country’s top ultrarunners returning year after year to run across the Sierras is the rich history and tradition of the race that started 40 years ago.

Some of Bend’s running royalty have had their sights set all year on this Saturday’s Western States run, as both Max King, 34, and Stephanie Howe, 30, are making it their first 100-mile race.

“It’s the most prestigious, most iconic race, but there’s NO prize money,” Howe says. “Everyone is treated the same. Everyone has to pay the race fee and do eight hours of volunteer work. I love that. It doesn’t play favorites.”

It all started as a 100-mile horseback ride across the Western States Trail in 1955. In 1974, Gordy Ainsleigh joined the equestrians of the Western States Trail Ride to see if he could complete the course on foot. He finished in 23 hours, 42 minutes.

Beginning in Squaw Valley near Lake Tahoe, the Western States Trail ascends to Emigrant Pass (elevation 8,750 feet), a climb of 2,550 vertical feet in the first 4½ miles. From the pass, following the original trails used by the gold and silver miners of the 1850s, runners climb another 15,540 feet and descend 22,970 feet before reaching Auburn, a small town in the heart of California’s historic gold country.

The dramatically steep ups and downs through myriad canyons and sweltering heat (temperatures are expected to reach the 90s along the course on Saturday) take a toll on runners.

Howe admits that she is nervous, and that she is “trying to wrap her head around” how she is going run that far. She says merely finishing the race is her first goal, but believes she is capable of finishing among the top three females despite never having competed in a race longer than 100 kilometers (60 miles).

“I’ve had some success in recent races, but I think 100 miles is a whole different ballgame,” Howe says. “I’m not really sure what to expect from myself, because so much can happen. If things are going right for me, top three is an achievable goal. But never having covered a distance that far, I’m not really sure how it’s going to play out. I think everyone’s first 100 (miler) is not their best. I think there is a big learning curve.”

Howe, a three-time winner of Bend’s annual Pole Pedal Paddle multisport race, finished second in the Lake Sonoma 50-mile run in California in April with a time of 7:33:24, and she won the Mesquite Canyon 50K in Arizona in March in 4:56:40.

A professional runner sponsored by The North Face, Howe in recent weeks has been stacking up the miles on trails throughout Central Oregon and the Cascade Range. High-volume weekends have included 40 miles each on Saturdays and Sundays.

“There’s something about pushing yourself to see what your limit is, and I think that’s what’s drawn me to this 100-mile distance,” Howe says. “It’s definitely intimidating to me, but lots of people do it, so I want to see if I can do it.”

Pam Smith, of Salem, won the women’s division at the Western States last year, finishing in 18:37:21, and she returns as one of the favorites on Saturday.

In the men’s field, King is far from a favorite, but he says he hopes to finish in the top 10 of a field that includes world-class ultrarunners Ryan Sandes of South Africa and Rob Krar, of Flagstaff, Ariz. Timothy Olson, of Ashland, won the Western States last year in a time of 15:17:27, but he is not competing this year.

“Because it’s a 100-miler and I’ve never done one, I don’t know how it’s going to go,” King says. “But I should be able to compete with most of the guys in the top 10.”

King, a married father of two, on May 10 won the Ice Age 50-miler in Wisconsin in 5:41:07, crushing the 26-year-old course record by more than 12 minutes. He has been training for the dramatic elevation changes of the Western States race with long runs at Smith Rock State Park and Rooster Rock near Santiam Pass. He ran 70 miles of the Western States course in late May.

Sponsored by Montrail and working at FootZone in Bend, King started focusing on ultra runs (races longer than marathons) about six years ago. He got his start in road running and on the track, where he qualified for the finals of the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene. He was also 19th in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials (2:14:36). King has never run a race longer than a 100K.

But with no major track and field championships and no mountain running championships this year — King is a two-time world mountain running champion — he figured this was a good time to “try something a little bit different” and enter the Western States.

“I like the idea of running a long ways and that accomplishment, but I think that the more I’ve grown into this sport, the more I’ve realized that I like the shorter competitions better,” King says. “So I’m kind of planning on going back and forth a little bit (between long and short distance events). I feel like to me it’s more of a race when you are running head to head with somebody. In these longer ultras you don’t get that feeling quite as much.”

King says the heat and the drastic elevation changes are major concerns going into the Western States race. He notes that his pace could vary from 14-minute miles on the precipitous climbs to six-minute miles on the fast descents.

Running in that kind of harsh weather and on that type of terrain can be an extremely grueling experience. But the best at the longest distances continue to flock to the Western States, knowing there will be no payday.

“It’s the first 100-miler there ever was, and just the history behind the race has made it one of the most prestigious races to get into,” King says.

He knows what is at stake.

“Just a belt buckle,” he says, “and bragging rights.”

— Reporter: 541-383-0318, mmorical@bendbulletin.com.