Tony Johns Western States 100

My buddy Tony Johns ran Western States in 2021 and I was a part of his crew and I paced him for the last 22 miles. Tony brought his GoPro to record his day, then I edited it together with video from the rest of the crew.
CHAPTERS
00:00 - Intro
00:45 - Start video
01:37 - Getting ready
04:04 - Race start
08:31 - Aid 1: Lyon Ridge
11:10 - Aid 2: Red Star Ridge
13:50 - Aid 3: Duncan Canyon
16:51 - Aid 4: Robinson Flat
19:25 - Aid 5: Miller’s Defeat
20:18 - Aid 6: Dusty Corners
23:02 - Aid 7: Last Chance
27:24 - Aid 8: Devil’s Thumb
29:41 - Aid 9: El Dorado Creek
30:29 - Aid 10: Michigan Bluff
31:58 - Aid 11: Foresthill
35:56 - Aid 12: Cal 1
38:15 - Aid 13: Cal 2
40:11 - Aid 15: Rucky Chucky
44:10 - Aid 17: Auburn Lake Trails
46:43 - Aid 18: Quarry Rd
48:53 - Aid 19: Pointed Rocks
50:27 - No Hands Bridge
51:39 - Aid 20: Robie Point
54:08 - Finish
56:22 - Awards ceremony
Music from Artlist.io
"Ashes" by C3NC
"Confession" by C3NC
"Borderline" by C3NC
"Eden" by C3NC
"Rise & Rise - Song of Breakthrough" by C3NC
"Seventh March" by C3NC
"Zephaniah" by C3NC
"Dawn" by C3NC
"So Be It Pure Praise" by C3NC

[@stevebrown714]

I have never seen so much of the actual course. Awesome job all around!!!

[@wplate]

Thank you! I agree with you, and I love that Tony shot so much while he ran so that we should share this. Thanks for watching!

[@michaelalexmorales6153]

Yes, I love running on my TM watching the course!

[@alesiabock9305]

I found this extremely inspiring. Even more than watching the professional ultra runners - thanks for the excellent video! 💝

[@wplate]

Tony is inspiring! When I met him in 2014 he had already run a few 100s, I was so impressed. Tony helped inspire me to do ultras, he showed me it was possible.

[@mulchies]

Quarry road AS kept it litty! Congratulations Tony!!! Awesome video guys.

[@tonyjohns1802]

Thanks! It was a great experience

[@wplate]

It was such a treat to crew and pace for you, and I'm glad we got to make this fun recap for you to enjoy over and over and over. Congrats again my friend!

[@Joeely618]

Tony, mega-congrats to you. Way to persevere through the heat of late-day Saturday in the canyons, figure out your stomach issues and make relentless forward progress. The way you came through the night and into dawn/morning was awesome...you looked terrific. Congratulations!!!!

[@drybrain9179]

Perfect Christmas gift, another Wes Plate Masterpiece. Thanks!

[@wplate]

Happy Holidays! Thank you for watching my videos this year.

[@shawnr.9681]

Capturing the very essence of a very hard race! Congratulations Tony! Awesome production.

[@wplate]

Awesome comment. I'm so happy you enjoyed. Thank you for watching Shawn!

[@lucaspetersen]

Incredible work, Tony!!!! Thank you for this video, Wes.

[@wplate]

Thanks for watching Lucas!

[@markhall3735]

So inspirational! One of the most enjoyable Western States videos I’ve seen. Great stuff Tony and Wes.

[@wplate]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@PodgyAsthmatic]

Outstanding film!!!! Thank you.

[@wplate]

I'm so glad you enjoyed it John!

[@mikes7654]

THIS !!! was an incredible video. I felt a lot of Tony while he was on the course. I actually teared up a little when he was approaching the track. I could see / feel his excitement and happiness when he touched the track. Looked excellent the whole race. I know we only saw 58 minutes of it, however, the later miles he still looked great ! I’d say he dialed everything ( nutrition, Training, race tactics, etc.) in. Heck of a crew he had to 👍. Congratulations Tony 🙂🏃‍♂️👍,,,,, A Buckle well deserved sir 👍. Thank You Wes for this video. Very inspirational 😀🙂.

[@wplate]

Thank you Mike!

[@c-beam3670]

Really enjoyed this. Wonderful to see the course and the views in such detail!!!

[@wplate]

Glad you enjoyed it Marc, Tony did a great job shooting his adventure.

[@tbheady73]

Thanks so much for an awesome video recap of the race! I’m running it this year and this video was super helpful in showing so much of the actual terrain for those of nervous about what our feet will see when we get there! Also kudos to Tony for a super solid race! Seemed like he really kicked it up in the second half!

[@wplate]

I’m happy this will help you! Tony did a great job documenting while he was running and sharing how he was feeling, that’s tough to do. 🙌🏼

[@SeeChadRun]

Well done Tony!!! Loved this film! Thanks Wes!

[@wplate]

I'm glad you liked it Chad! I appreciate you. I hope you have a great year.

[@Ultrarunningamber]

Congrats. I love the rawness of the race. Ups and downs and you kept pushing one. Great job on the video.

[@wplate]

Thank you for watching!

[@daigleson]

Awesome seeing all of you guys running together in the end - great "movie-ending". Great vid Wes!

[@wplate]

That last mile was truly special, I'm glad you connected with that. Thank you for watching!

[@GFitz22]

Congratulations on a great race, thank you for sharing.

[@wplate]

Thanks for watching!

[@ffr3ak]

Epic film man! Nice coverage of the race and it's course. Great job for filming this and Tony for finishing it!

[@wplate]

Thank you for watching, so happy you enjoyed it.

[@atrain6852]

Awesome job Running!!! Crew and filming was on point 🤙🤙🤙🤙

[@wplate]

Thank you for watching!

[@user-io5sc6tn6e]

Your channel is great. Working my way through your videos. It's good motivation for my first 100 miler later this year.

[@wplate]

Which 100 are you training for?

[@jasonlackey1960]

This was awesome and inspiring, wasn’t expecting that 1 mile out mark to hit me so hard in the feels but it did, great job!

[@wplate]

I'm so happy you enjoyed this video and it touched you!

[@toneyhutchens]

Nice film! Down to earth and relatable for all us average runners!

[@wplate]

Thanks Toney! I'm glad you enjoyed watching.

[@timwatsonexsci]

Another great film Wes. Well done Tony!

[@wplate]

Many thanks for your comment and for watching!

[@johansauser2661]

Great video, keep 'em coming !

[@wplate]

Thank you for watching!

[@franzellecarmon3550]

Great job on all fronts. Thank you all for your efforts from wy.

[@wplate]

Hi Franzelle, thank you!

[@gregnewman6953]

Found this while trying to do some recon on aid station access and setup for my crew. This video was fantastic. Thanks for sharing and congratulations.

[@wplate]

Glad you found this Greg! Good luck!

[@debbiebrown381]

Congratulations Tony!!! Your journey running Western States was inspiring!

[@wplate]

👍🏼

[@michaelthiem7429]

Love your work!

[@wplate]

Thank you Michael!

[@jacksmit6474]

So many amazing runners there. Very impressed by your friend. Great vid

[@wplate]

Glad you enjoyed it Jack, thank you for watching!

[@freddyabc123]

Excellent...inspiring!

[@wplate]

Thank you for watching!

[@michaelalexmorales6153]

I’m inspired! I’m running this years WS2022 and I’m watching every race recap I can find while running on my TM. This one was awesome! Great job Tony!

[@wplate]

Congrats on getting in! I hope you have a wonderful experience. Good luck!

[@Joeely618]

Just an awesome video to capture WS. The key, as you noted, Wes, was ALL the great video and commentary from Tony on the course as he went. Most WS videos are more about the crews and the Aid Stations because that's where the video is shot. You resisted that and had mostly the course. It was an excellent story of the course and just how difficult it really is. Thanks Wes for all the editing (excellent background music choices!!). Congrats to Tony for a fantastic run. Awesome crew...who did so very much to help Tony get to Auburn. A great film, thank you for adding it to the WS lore!!!

[@wplate]

Right on, Joe, I'm glad you enjoyed it! If you like focusing the course and the experience of running it, you might enjoy some of the other videos on this channel. Tony is in the Moab video, you'll enjoy that one.

[@lmbraga]

Very inspiring. I signed up for my first 100 miler this year. I'm literally heading out for a training run after watching this. Great moral booster.

[@wplate]

That is awesome! Good luck with your training, have fun!

[@samwingender]

I would love to run this course one day. I'm running the Bandera 100 in a couple weeks. Thank you for sharing, Wes. Great job, Tony.

[@dewknow1315]

Me too can't wait it be my second 100k .

[@samwingender]

@@dewknow1315 You're doing the Bandera 100k?

[@dewknow1315]

@@samwingender yes 👍😎 I hope to get finished in under 17 hours if not just finish .

[@samwingender]

@@dewknow1315 Right on. Me too. I hope to see you out there. Sam from Missouri

[@dewknow1315]

@@samwingender see you out there 👍😎

[@NikitaBorisov]

Great video! Definitely get the sense of the struggle of the heat and the canyons, even if you didn’t get to capture any on-campera boofs 😛 Running the last mile with the crew just looked like such an amazing experience. Thanks for sharing!

[@wplate]

Thank you Nikita! Tony did a great job sharing his struggle, I’m glad you were able to feel it from him. Thanks for watching!

[@Ecoroof1986]

Brilliant video. Watched it last night while running in the gym, very inspiring. I have my first 100 mile race in July. The Lakeland 100 in the Lakedistrict UK.

[@wplate]

Thank you watching. Good luck at Lakeland 100, a first 100 is so exciting! 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

[@josepablogonzalez9047]

Good stuff man! Congrats

[@wplate]

Thank you Jose!

[@RunRideHikeThrive]

Freaking awesome work! 👍 💪 #stayhard 🤙

[@wplate]

Thank you for watching!

[@davidfecteau2966]

Another great story Wes.

[@wplate]

Thank you David!

[@beachalldayguy3997]

GD INSPIRING! Thank you.

[@wplate]

Glad you like it!

[@paintrain5285]

I just saw this video. The “thank you” to your wife(?) when you met her at the top of the hill speaks volumes to how its not only the runner participating in the training and race. Very inspirational for us regular folks.

[@wplate]

The crew knew Tony’s wife was flying down to surprise him, I was so excited for him as we climbed that hill!

[@jacobjmiller]

awesome videos Wes

[@wplate]

Thank you!

[@simonbrown8230]

Well done Tony 🙌

[@wplate]

🙌🏼

[@snowlillybernal9201]

Good run man!

[@wplate]

Thanks for watching!

[@philliptunney3152]

What a brilliant film. Well done Tony and crew. One of the best Western States films I have seen (and I must have seen most of them). Great shots of the course and descriptions of the terrain - right about where I would be hoping to finish (6th year in the lottery this year - fingers crossed for 2023)

[@wplate]

From friends' experience, seven years seems about normal. 😧 Thanks for watching, I'm so thrilled you enjoyed it. Tony's an inspiring runner and did job shooting his race.

[@philliptunney3152]

@@wplate I got in via this years lottery - so stoked - I will watch this film another 50 times between no and the race 🤣

[@punchypizzainpizza6616]

WOOO!

[@wplate]

Thank you for watching!

[@leonardogalasso6904]

grande 👍

[@wplate]

Thank you! 👍🏼

[@JROPDX]

Thanks for sharing. Don't miss out on the Gorge Waterfalls 100k in April, only a few spots left, I will be doing the 50k.

[@wplate]

I am signed up for the 100k! Good luck in the 50k, maybe I’ll see you there.

[@a.j.neufeld1587]

Great film and great run, Tony! But....was that Hal Koerner filling Tony's bottles at the Quarry Rd aide station?? If not, pretty good look alike!

[@wplate]

yes, the legend himself! That aid station was so fun.

[@a.j.neufeld1587]

@@wplate That's awesome. I love seeing the greats at aid stations or pacing. That's a cool feature unique to this sport. Could you imagine Michael Jordan or Larry Bird handing out Gatorade at a Rec league game?? Ha!

[@user-pr1cw6kd8r]

✌🏻👍🏻

[@wplate]

🙏🏼🙌🏼

[@normannadon7312]

thanks for the updates at each aid station. I've taken notes because I'll be running WS100 this year. Just curious how many years did it take you to get in?

[@wplate]

Thanks for watching, good luck this summer. I forwarded your message to Tony so he can answer your question. :)

[@wplate]

Tony says he was lucky and got in on his third year.

[@malpeacock1]

That's some impressive recording and commenting from a miler runner, nearly impossible to do! Congrats..

[@wplate]

Agreed, he did great. Thanks for watching.

[@thedogoftears]

may i suggest sun glasses for next time? great work and great doc!!

[@wplate]

Thank you for watching!

[@mpelletier62]

Wes how many time did YOU race WS?

[@wplate]

I haven't run it! In fact this was my first time being at Western States. I do hope to get in to run it some day.

[@philliptunney3152]

Hey Wes. What camera was Tony using to film this?

[@wplate]

Hi Philip, he used a GoPro Hero 8 Black

[@drybrain9179]

Hello Wes, do you have any other races on the calendar that will eventually be new films??

[@wplate]

Yes, I hope so! my website has my plans :) wesplate.com

[@drybrain9179]

@@wplate thanks Wes!!

[@Trail-Bear]

Hi Wes , when is your new film out, hope all is well mate. Al

[@wplate]

Hi! Soon. I’m going to try to finish this weekend. I’m in the final fiddly phase now, tidying up edits and making and remaking and reremaking graphics, then audio mix… the last 10% takes 90% of the time.

[@jeanbelanger1467]

Thanks for showing the terrain, I hope I can do this one day.

[@wplate]

I enjoyed looking at all of Tony's footage, before I didn't feel like I had any understanding of the terrain. I'm glad you liked seeing it too.

[@TexasCountryLiving]

Tony is a Baptist 25:06

[@wplate]

My favorite part is just after he dunks and gets on the bridge. As Tony moved the camera to the left at 25:49 you can see other runners getting into the water. The way they move, from a distance, I have always thought they looked like zombies. I love that shot.

[@mpelletier62]

33:25 whar the hell is happening in the background lol

[@wplate]

I didn't see who it was, but someone was shouting "Buckle!" as they came down from the Foresthill aid station. Someone excited to get to the finish? :)