Angeles Crest 100 opens its panic-Goober Gold Rush entry process the day after the race ends. A week later, after a cryptic “lottery,” the next year's entrants are announced. They now have a year to get their one 50-mile qualifying race done, just like in 1986. The First-time Entrants With Zero Prior Finishes compose the overwhelming majority of the field: 177 with 83 all other prior finishers. I began to wonder what are their immediate qualifications? It runs the gamut from names like Jim Walmsley [WS100] and Darcy Piceu [Hardrock 100, Bigfoot 120], to the entrant with the one recorded 7mi finish. Also noted that there were a startling number of half- and full Ironman finishers. I didn't include these finishes, because at best its a marathon. I expect yelps on that too. The stats showed that: 22% have no ultra experience whatsoever at signup, only 14% have completed a 50-miler. Entrants in the None category might not have any qualifiers; or the data may be absent,
