Lottery Entries
THE LOTTERY PROCESS
In order to enter the lottery, you must first meet the qualification requirements. Next, you must apply to the lottery during the registration period, which for 2025 is still pending dates. During registration, you’ll be asked a variety of questions which help us to calculate the number of tickets you’ll have in the lottery. After your application has been accepted, you’ll have a chance to review your ticket count and make sure it’s correct. You can read about the formula and how tickets are calculated below. The more years that you’ve applied without success, the higher the number of tickets you have in the lottery.
we’ll conduct the lottery drawing. The drawing happens live at our annual party and is also live streamed. Successful applicants are sent a registration link and 100 runners are added to each waitlist. Successful applicants have 72 hours to complete their registration before the spot is given to the waitlist. Anyone who doesn’t complete their registration is unable to enter the lottery the following year.
THE LOTTERY STRUCTURE
Our lottery is divided into two pools, male and female. Transgender and non-binary runners are more than welcome to apply, and can read about the process here. To determine pool size, we take our entry cap and subtract the discretionary entries. Then we take that number and split it in half. If it’s an odd number, than whatever pool has more applicants gets the extra spot.
THE FOUR VARIABLES
The lottery uses four variables to calculate the number of tickets. Each variable has its own set of rules, which you can read below. The four variables are:
Previous lottery applications, not counting this year, since last reset (variable N).
Weighted previous official finishes (variable K).
Volunteer hours at Freestone Endurance events (variable V).
Extra trail work hours (variable T).
When combined together, the formula looks like this:
Tickets = 2^(previous unsuccessful applications + weighted finishes+1) + 2ln(additional trail work shifts + volunteer points+1)
OR NUMERICALLY:
Tickets = 2^(n+k+1) + 2ln(v+t+1)
LOTTERY RULES
You must meet the qualification requirements, no exceptions
Incomplete applications (such as not providing a qualifier) are removed
Your ticket count will reset when:
You are selected to run via the lottery
You are offered a spot off the waitlist (whether you accept or decline doesn’t matter)
You don’t apply for three years
If you are selected to run via the lottery and you don’t complete your registration, you are ineligible to enter the lottery for one year
Lying in your application results in a minimum one year ban
Any athlete who has been convicted by a governing body for doping is unable to enter the race
TRANSPARENCY
The code that we use to perform the lottery was written by Garret Christensen and is publicly available. The code is run in R and the outcome is determined by generating a 9-digit seed. To set the seed, we roll 10 sided dice and we flip a coin to determine if it’s positive or negative. The resulting seed is then entered into our lottery portal to determine who runs, who is waitlisted, and who is unsuccessful. The entire process is verifiable, repeatable, and as randomized as humanly possible.
Discretionary Entries
HOW DISCRETIONARY SPOTS WORK
Discretionary spots do not go through the lottery. Since we want to be transparent and fair, we have limited the number and type of discretionary entries and listed them below. Each type of entry has its own set of rules for who can get the spots (read the fine print here). The names of all discretionary spots are listed here.
VOLUNTEER SPOTS
These spots are discounted entries given to volunteers or leadership team members . There are 14 volunteer spots (7% of the entry cap). These spots are divided into two buckets:
General: open to anyone who volunteered at the previous edition of the race (10 spots)
Leadership: limited to eligible aid station captains, assistant directors, or directors (4 spots)
General spots are raffled away at two times, and folks who volunteer more have better odds in those raffles. The leadership spots are open to leadership team members who have been in their position for multiple years, and must be claimed a year in advance. If not all leadership spots are used, the extras go to the general volunteers. The purpose of this policy is to encourage prospective runners to be a part of the race outside of racing while also providing dedicated volunteers a better chance of entering the race.
SPONSOR SLOTS
These spots go to our major sponsors or non-profit partners. There are 6 sponsor spots available each year.
RACE DIRECTOR SPOTS
Race Director (RD) spots are entries that are at the discretion of the race director. These spots are intended to be used for the betterment of the entry field. There are eight spots available each year. For 2025, the RD has elected to reserve half (four) of these spots for free entries for BIPOC/LGTBQ+ runners.
PROFESSIONAL SPOTS
These spots are for the entry of six PTRA members, three in the female pool and three in the male pool. To inquire about receiving a spot, please email the RD. The purpose of the spots is threefold. First, to allow professional athletes a predicable entry process into the race. Second, to provide a consistent competitive field. Third, to provide an alternative premier race to Ironman/UTMB events.
LEGACY RUNNERS
There are a very few runners who have been a regular participant of the event prior to the race becoming a lottery. These runners represent part of the race’s legacy, and they are all deeply involved in the race. These runners lose their eligibility if they miss a year, or DNF twice in a row. These runners and their accomplishments are:
Jon Davis - has started and finished every High Lonesome 100
Kevin Cannaday - has started and finished every High Lonesome 100
Silke Koester - has started and finished every High Lonesome since 2019, has the most female finishes in race history
Jim Skelding - has started and finished every High Lonesome since 2018
SAWATCH 50/50 WINNERS
Freestone Endurance has back to back 50k races in September, and competing in both is called the Sawatch 50/50. The winners of the three divisions (male, female, and non-binary) earn a lottery bypass into the following High Lonesome. This is the only competitive way into the High Lonesome.
PREVIOUS YEAR’S HILO WINNERS (Begins in 2025)
This entry method will begin in 2026 once the race reaches the maximum entry field of 250 runners. Therefore the winners of the three divisions (male, female, and non-binary) in 2025 will earn a lottery bypass into the 2026 High Lonesome.
NEW CHILD POLICY DEFERRALS
The only way for runners to defer their entry is through our New Child Deferral Policy. The number of runners using this process varies each year.
THE FOUR VARIABLES - THE FULL DETAILS
N = Previous unsuccessful applications:
Since you were last picked in the lottery, offered entry off the waitlist, or otherwise had your tickets reset, how many times have you entered the High Lonesome lottery, NOT including this year? Note that previous lottery entries do NOT need be in successive years, but they reset to zero after you are picked in the lottery or have not applied for three years. N is equal to your previous unsuccessful applications, as defined above, with no maximum.
K = Weighted previous finishes:
How many times have you finished High Lonesome 100? We will award previous finishers a boost until they have finished High Lonesome three times; then the boost decreases. We love returning runners, but after a while, it’s cool to give others a chance. K is defined according to the following rule: k = 0 if you have 0 finishes, k = 0.5 if you have 1 finish, k = 1 if you have 2 finishes, k = 1.5 if you have 3 finishes, and k = 0.5 if you have 4 or more finishes.
V = Volunteer shifts (OPTIONAL):
This is an optional way to boost your tickets by helping us at our races. How many volunteer tickets did you receive at the previous running of High Lonesome, West Line Winder, and/or Sawatch Ascent? V is the number of tickets for your approved volunteer shifts. Approved shifts means that you volunteered in an official capacity at a sanctioned Freestone Endurance task…think aid stations, course marking, etc. Things this doesn’t include is trail work, pacing your friend, helping out for a bit at an aid station while you were waiting for a runner, or other informal means. The maximum amount that can be claimed is 30.
T = Extra Trail work hours (OPTIONAL):
This is an optional way to boost your tickets by doing extra trail work. In 2023, how many EXTRA hours of trail work did you do? Your total number of hours is divided by 8 (a standard trail work shift). You may not use any hours that you've already used for some other race credit (that includes work done for the High Lonesome 100). You must also provide a trail work form for all the hours you are claiming and each shift will be confirmed manually. If you were paid for the work, it also doesn't count. Please don't lie, it's shitty. The maximum amount that can be claimed is 10. This is NOT the same thing as the trail work REQUIREMENT that all runners must do if they get into the race.
