Hardwear Sessions

For the first time in its history, the Western States 100 has been cancelled. (Montrail, Mountain Hardwear's sister company, sponsors the Western State 100.) The organizers cancelled the race for 3 reasons: "1. Proximity of the fire to the race course...2. Air quality deterioration...3. Safety of our runners."

This photograph, by Kari Niles, a Western States 100 volunteer, gives us some idea of the air quality in Auburn, California. You can't see the smoke here, just haze, but you can see that the particulates have shifted the light, transforming the sun into a reddish disk.