The Top 10 Things We Loved About the 2025 Western States Endurance Run
Spoiler: Number 1 is that Abby Hall won the race.
The other day I checked the Rabbitwolf DMs and saw that we had been issued a threat by a man named Trevor Leach. It read: “Make me Reader of The Week or else.” I don’t care to learn what “or else” means so Trevor is now Reader of the Week. Congratulations Trevor.
Stephen: Hello, Ryan. Once again, it’s time to entertain our base.
Ryan: They are insatiable. Despite our pleas to unsubscribe, they keep coming back for more.
SK: What do we have for them this week?
RS: Sorry! It's more Western States content! This time in the form of a top 10 list like we're Buzzfeed. Are they still around?
SK: Buzzfeed got taken with the rest of the Good Internet many years ago. All we have now are Get Ready With Me videos and other sinister stuff.
RS: Awful. But we can't look away.
Anyway. Without further ado we'd like to present: The 10 Best Things We Saw At The 2025 Western States Endurance Run.
10. The Chicken Cutlet Sandwich from Ikeda’s
SK: On our way out of Auburn on Sunday, after Golden Hour had passed and we left our melted hearts on the Placer High track, we hit up the local larder Ikeda’s. After surviving for the past several days on poorly timed Clif and GoMacro bars, this Chicken Cutlet Sandwich made me feel like a person again.
RS: It's hard to eat anything at normal intervals when you're covering ultras. Ikeda's was the first real meal we had that weekend, nearly 36 hours after the race started. I think everyone in the crew ate three hamburgers on race day that were given to us for free. So Ikeda's, an Auburn institution, was our oasis in the desert. Did you like your sandwich? Or was it good because of the circumstances?
SK: I don’t want to sound like a romantic, but I think circumstances always color our experience. Being on the precipice of complete failure, this sandwich quickly became the best thing I’d ever eaten and I’m not sure I could ever divorce the sandwich from how much better it made me feel. Ergo it was the best thing I’ve ever eaten. You know?
We’ve spent too long on this one. NEXT!
9 - Company Jogs
RS: A thing we like to do when we're together is go for these little jogs. We upload them to Strava and title them "company jog." We only did one on this trip and it really was awful. Type 2 fun.
SK: We jogged independent of one another one time — you to your beloved Olympic Valley bike path, me to gather my lifeforce: vert — but our company jog was pure bliss. Fueled off of four hours of sleep from midnight to 4 a.m., we set off for No Hands Bridge at 1 p.m. on Sunday. It was 95 degrees out and I had been telling you the route would be five miles when I damn well knew it would be closer to seven. This is the first I’m telling you of this.
RS: WOW. You know, the fucked up part is I knew you were lying to me. But I didn't know to what extent. I figured it would be closer to six, but the fact that you were trying to sneak in more than that is a real betrayal.
SK: The joke is that we ended up running about three miles. So who cares.
RS: You made me bring a water bottle. You knew I was in for it.
8 - The Creative Diaspora
RS: Anyone that was tuned in to the ultra running Instagram ecosystem probably saw that anyone who was anyone made the pilgrimage to Western States. The number of other photographers, videographers, general creatives, friends and enemies that we saw throughout the weekend was a real highlight for us.
SK: It’s astonishing how big Western States has become in terms of media coverage. There are people who are very upset with the change, but I find it hard to sympathize with that point of view. Fans of this sport generally try to shoot themselves in the foot any chance they're given when it’s about growing the sport, and we refuse to do that! Mostly because it’s great to see friends and colleagues throughout the day. Getting hotter and dustier with every passing mile. The enemies and ops exist too in this ecosystem but all they do is fuel me to be better, Ryan.
RS: I agree, Steve. I mostly love coming to these things. It feels like everyone you've ever met that sits in the middle of the media/running Venn diagram is there. And despite some complaints of unsustainable growth, this more or less felt the same to me since the last WSER I went to back in 2021. Mostly because of the people. The crowds were probably bigger but it still had the same ~ vibe ~ and we spent most of the time we weren't filming shooting the shit with our friends. It was bliss.
7 - Scenic Viewpoints
SK: We shot the start of the race and then planned to hightail it in our rented Nissan Rogue (with CarPlay) to Robinson Flat, which would mean leaving the beloved mountains for the canyons. As we made our escape, the sun was coming up and really just making some beautiful light all over that big, beautiful granite. I became batty for b-roll so I executed what would be the first of a few driving faux pas over the weekend and pulled over on the side of the highway to bust out the sticks and roll on the mountains a bit.
Once we had enough, we packed up the car and drove about two hundred meters down the highway to a beautiful “Scenic Viewpoint” pullout that offered a much better view of the exact crap we had filming.
We didn’t stop. We had made our own scenic viewpoint surrounded by trash and broken glass.
RS: And let's not forget about the enormous semi trucks, rattling the car as they blew by us.
6 - Brand Recognition
RS: Seemed like a few fans of the newsletter were out at WSER as well, which was nice. At one point, Stephen was interviewing an old man who told us he had seen the Adam Peterman series we did for HOKA a few years ago. And towards the end of the race as I was exiting a public restroom, a man who I could not identify stopped me and said he liked Rabbitwolf's stuff. It was jarring and flattering at the same time.
SK: I’m in disbelief anytime someone says anything nice to us. My favorite moment came when a guy walked by me, my media badge proudly displaying STEPHEN KERSH, and he said “Hey Ryan.”
Your brand? Strong.
RS: We're all wondering whether or not Stephen still works here.
5 - Volunteers!
RS: Hey Steve, a quick question: did you get a sunburn at WSER this year?
SK: I did, but much less burned than I should be. The backs of my knees and my chest where I had popped open a few buttons on my shirt got fried. Otherwise I’m pasty as ever.
RS: And why is that?
SK: It’s because the volunteers consistently and reliably supplied us, non-runners, with the sunscreen we had failed to bring for the event where we would spend literally all day under 90-100 degree heat.
RS: And who helped us eat real food on race day after you only purchased various seeds and small pieces of fruit for the entire crew?
SK: The volunteers did. I was able to eat two cheeseburgers for free on race day because of these people.
RS: The last cheeseburger I ate on race day was at roughly 11 p.m. Some 70-year-old guy had been out there for 12 hours just flippin' patties.
SK: A quick call back. Did you like your burger? Or was it good because of the circumstances?
RS: The burger itself was not a good burger. It was cold. But at that point I hadn't eaten in about 10 hours so I stood in a parking lot and gnashed at it like an animal caught in a trap. 10/10.
4 - Golden Hour
SK: Ryan, in my five previous years at Western States I had never been to the track at Golden Hour (for the uninitiated, this between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Sunday as it denotes the 29th hour of the race before the 30 hour cutoff time). But this year, I finally made the pilgrimage to the track to see the final finishers and it was beautiful.
RS: What did it make you feel?
SK: In what could be the most earnest thing ever written in Content Farm, it made me feel very proud to be a little part of this strange community. The track was more full than it was for the elite finishers, and the folks wrapping up their races under the 30 hours were doing something much more difficult. It was pure will for those final few. It was crazy to see.
What did you think about it all?
RS: It's hard to put into words. But it is one of the coolest things you can probably witness at a sporting event.
SK: And guess what? It’s completely free.
RS: Exactly. And performed by amateur athletes. We're not talking Lebron in Game 7, we're talking about Jane Doe from Jiminy Cricket, Minnesota. Throughout the weekend you and me were doing this little rip off of the speech Ken Chlouber gives at the beginning of the Leadville 100, but it really is just an entire morning of watching a whole lot of grit, guts, and determination on display.
3 - Our Crew
SK: Where do we begin?
RS: We begin by admitting to our audience that we had to pull some favors for the crew to make it out to this race. We pitched this project to a few brands and each of them said "please leave us alone." We told our sound guy Nelson Klein and our big brain camera man Kirk Horton that we didn't have any money but that we'd like to do it anyway. And they said "we don't give a shit, get us to states." We are forever in their debt.
SK: I think in the end it really showed the dirty little secret that we never want to get out to people that pay us: we’d gladly do this for free. We have high hopes of recouping some of our expenses on the back end, of course. We aren’t lunatics. But it felt nice to just go do something with your friends in the woods. Like a rave without the molly water.
RS: To Nelson and Kirk: thank you. We'll feed you better the next time we work together.
2 - Carl Koopmans’ Parents and Dog
RS: This is the one I am most excited to talk about. Steve, tell us who Carl Koopmans is and how we ended up at his parents’ house?
SK: Carl Koopmans is more than just a great name, he’s my dear friend and training partner in Seattle. I met Carl only a year ago, if you can believe it, and now we are basically lifelong friends with his parents Paul and Judy.
We ended up sheltering in place at Paul and Judy’s home because they conveniently live one block away from Mile 99 on the Western States course. Our project this year really hinged on being able to be at Mile 99 quite a bit over the weekend and while we should have planned months ago on finding accommodations closer to Mile 99, we obviously didn’t do that. I texted Paul on Thursday to see if Nelson and Kirk, two people he didn’t even know existed before he received my SMS message, could crash at their house. He enthusiastically agreed, proceeded to grill them steaks, and turn myself and Ryan green with jealousy. So jealous, that we would end up staying at the Koopmans’ house Saturday night. If you’re keeping track, that is four 30-year-old men under one roof.
They hosted us with aplomb. Granting us access to a beautiful pool and really going out of their way to make sure we were taken care of. The prime example of this being Paul making us coffees and walking them up to us at 6 a.m. while we were filming at Mile 99.
RS: It was a level of hospitality that I have never previously experienced. I was in awe for 48 straight hours, while Stephen constantly told me it was okay to have nice things and let these people do as much for us as they were.
SK: This is something we talk about often. Being okay with help and nice things.
RS: Walking four cups of coffee up a hill to hand deliver to us was insane, as were the steak and eggs he made all of us for breakfast after that.
SK: Do not get me started on the steak and eggs.
1- Abby MF Hall
RS: Last but certainly not least is watching our dear friend (both personally and of the company), Abby Hall, cross the finish line as your 2025 Western States Endurance Run champion. She essentially led wire-to-wire and Stephen and I were constantly looking at each other saying, "I can't believe Abby is going to win Western States."
SK: It was the best part of the weekend: seeing a dear friend realize a dream. Watching her turn towards the final straightaway of the track was surreal and I shed a tear. I admit it. I cried.
RS: This guy cannot go to WSER without crying. But it really was tremendous. Again, something I don't have the words for. Maybe I need to do some soul searching and mine my feelings a bit more.
SK: We, Rabbitwolf Creative, are very proud to be friends and collaborators with Abby Hall.
RS: Alright, this is probably the longest newsletter on record. Text me if you made it this far: 612 418 7109.
Bye now.