Tahoe Rim Insights

1. What do you like best about this course?

Almost all ultras take place in beautiful areas but Lake Tahoe is the jewel of the Sierra Nevada. TRTER offers epic panoramic views from several vantage points.

2. What inspires you to organize the race year after year?

Well as a broken down aged out ultra runner... I love the grit and determination of the runners. I never thought I would enjoy hanging out at the finish line for two days, but it was inspiring and thrilling to see runners realize their goal. Such raw emotion.

3. What is unique about your local running community?

While there are certainly more ultra runners in Northern Nevada than when I was actively participating, the race is 100% volunteer, including myself. Many and most of these volunteers are not ultra runners, it's cool to see us all band together once a year the third weekend of July every year to put on a world class ultra running event.

4.. If the course were a piece of art, would you classify it as a painting, music composition, film or graffiti? Does it remind you of any specific artistic piece/genre?

Um, that's a tough one. I'd say a painting because of the grandeur of seeing Lake Tahoe from 3,000 ft above it.

5. Think back over the years...do you have any funny/scary/interesting stories about this race you can share?

As a race director there are many scary moments you don't want to experience again. By far the scariest moment was one year we had a supercell thunderstorm hit us. It was classified as a 100 year storm by the national weather service. It caused widespread flooding in Tahoe as well as Carson City. We had runners seeking shelter up on Snow Valley Peak with lighting strikes raining down on them. No one died, but we all left with a good story! Hopefully that never repeats itself!

6.  What advice do you have for runners preparing to participate in the Tahoe50K (or longer)?

TRTER in mid-July is a hot race. Many think of Western States as a hot race and it is, but TRTER is every bit as hot, especially when runners make their way down from 8,000 ft to the hot valley below. So get used to running and suffering in the heat! And aside from the start and finish in Carson City, most of the course is at 8,000ft. So altitude and dry air is a challenge for many not from that kind of environment. 

Other than that, lots of climbing and descending to get those quads as strong as possible.