GU Gives 2027 WSER Application

Welcome to our Western States Endurance Run GU Gives Entry Application!

Western States Endurance Run (WSER) is part of GU's DNA. Laura Vaughan was training for the race in 1989 and was having stomach issues. Her dad, our founder, Dr. Bill Vaughan, set out to solve the challenge of how to eat key nutrients while running without the usual stomach issues. And a few years later, in 1993, the GU Energy Gel was official born!

We sponsored WSER from the 90s to mid 2000s, and even when we weren't officially on course, we always showed up with love and admiration of the athletes tackling this event. Then in 2021, we reunited with the race as the official nutrition partner. In 2022, our sponsor benefits included a race entry and we knew we had to bring this to life with purpose. These trails are part of our story, but we didn't know anything about these trails.

In 2022, our kinship with Rising Hearts began and through their Running on Native Lands initative, we learned that the WSER course takes runners traveling through Wašiw and Nisenan lands from Palisades Tahoe to Auburn. We provided our race entry to

The GU Energy Gel was born on the trails of Western States back in 1989. Our founder's daughter was training for the race and struggling with stomach issues, and the GU Energy Gel was

, as our founder's daughter was training for the race in 1989 and was struggling

Last year, 11,328 runners entered the Western States lottery for roughly 255 spots. That’s about a 2% shot, and less than half a percent if it’s your first year in the hat. Those odds leave a lot of incredible runners and their stories off the start line, and we want to change who gets seen out there. For the fourth year in a row, we’re giving away 2 of our Western States Endurance Run entries, and this year we’re doing it a little differently:

One Entry is for an Indigenous runner - If you are applying for this entry you are in the wrong place! Please (click here to apply for the Indigenous runner entry). Since 2022, we’ve been in kinship with our friends at Rising Hearts to support Indigenous runners traveling through Wašiw and Nisenan lands from Palisades Tahoe to Auburn. This year we’re handing the selection over to them completely. Rising Hearts will recruit and choose the runner for this entry, because they know this community best and they’ve been leading this work from the start.

We're reserving an entry for a runner of color, trans, adaptive, and beyond: anyone from a community that hasn’t always had a place on this start line, whose presence helps more people see themselves in this sport. If you are Indigenous and looking to apply for our Rising Hearts entry, please click here (link).

Since 2022, we’ve been proud to sponsor 11 athletes at WSER, including Jupiter Carera Casas, Cristina Regalado, and Tuvshintugs (Tuvshin) Sukhbaatar who we just cheered on in June. Each one has helped open the door a little wider for the next runner.

So tell us your story! Click "Apply for This Job! " by November 21.

The selected runner will receive:

- Free entry into Memorial Weekend Training Runs (May 21-31, 2027) & WSER (June 26-27, 2027)

- GU fuel for training and race day

- Coaching support

- $5,000 scholarship for travel costs

- How to phrase this - a short film documenting your journey, filmed at Memorial Day Training Camp and aired during WSER Live Stream and on GU social media and digital channels

Our GU selection committee and (x nonprofit partner) will review applications. Selected runner will hear from us by email in December, before the WSER lottery on December 5.

One of our core values at GU is love, so let’s lead with it and keep making the trail a place where everyone belongs.