Sweeney leads field of 50-milers on Tahoe Rim Trail

Naturally, Paul Sweeney was a little tired at the end of his 50-mile race during the third annual Tahoe Rim Trail 50-Mile/50K Endurance Run on Saturday. But not too tired to walk the short distance from the finish line to take a dip in Spooner Lake, and then the 37-year-old Tahoe City man remembered he had some unfinished business to take care of.

"I'd better go to the car and get my wallet," Sweeney said, flashing a smile. "I still haven't paid my entry fee. I didn't preregister and when I showed up this morning, I didn't have the money with me to pay for the entry. I didn't have enough time to go back to my car before the race started, so they were nice enough to to tell me I could pay afterward."

Sweeney didn't waste a whole lot of time, either, because he finished the 50-mile route in a time of 8 hours, 30 minutes and 49 seconds to post his first victory in three appearances at the Tahoe event, also billed as the Nevada state 50-kilometer and 50-mile trail run championships.

Sweeney was 16 minutes slower than his time in 2001, when he finished second behind David Melkonian' record of 8:06:50 on a trail course that extends from Spooner Lake State Park to a turnaround point near Mount Rose -- peaking at 9,214-foot Snow Valley Peak.

"I heard someone out there today say that I had a chance at the course record, but I thought it was too hot for a record," Sweeney said. "For me, the toughest part was up by Snow Valley Peak, where you have about a 1,000-foot climb somewhere between miles 39 and 43."

Even though the last seven miles were all downhill, it was far from easy.

"Those last seven miles were brutal. My legs felt like noodles," Sweeney said.

This was still an improvement from last year, when Sweeney finished 20th in the 50K race at Tahoe.

"I had a rough time last year," Sweeney said. "I had just done Western States (100 miles) and I was injured a little bit."

This is turning into a pretty successful summer for Sweeney, who won the Bighorn Trail 100-Mile Endurance Run in Wyoming on June 19 (22:53:58). He also ran part of the Hard Rock 100 last week in Colorado.

"One thing I think helped, last week I went out to Colorado and helped a friend of mine run (and win) a 100-miler," Sweeney said.

Chase Duarte finished second overall in the Tahoe 50-miler in 9:02:55. Mike Miller was third overall and first in the masters age category in 9:17:48. Kitty Marcroft, 41, of Hailey, Idaho, was the first woman in a time of 9:50:44.

Seven minutes separated the top three finishers in the 50-kilometer race won by 32-year-old Matt Leffert in 5:04:48. Alex Wilcox, 18, a recent graduate of Coronado High School in Henderson, was second in 5:10:51. Chris Luberecki of Tahoe City ran 5:11:52 to finish third overall for the second year in a row.

Laura Shackelton, 22, of Reno, ran 5:35:06 to finish as the first woman, while Judy Anderson finished second in 5:55:26. Tina Ure, 43, of Mount Shasta, Calif., was third and first among the masters in 6:03:09, followed by Jackie Taylor, 47, of Stateline, in 6:10:35.

An unofficial field of 262 runners entered the event, which is co-hosted by the Tahoe Mountain Milers and Sagebrush Stompers running clubs. Among the entries were four members of the Dutton family from Dayton: Calvin and Donna, along with their daughters, twin sisters Kristal and Kristy.

"We did this last year and it's just awesome," said Calvin Dutton, who finished the 50K in 7:28:28. "We ran together and have a great time. And these guys do such a freakin fantastic job putting this race on. I'm really impressed."

The aid stations were especially appreciated on a day that was noticeably warm even for the 7,000 to 9,000 elevation. Bill Griffin, 59, of Gardnerville, even had aspirations of turning into a world record long jumper when he stood at the top of the course.

"I was thinking, if I could have dived into Lake Tahoe from the top of Snow Valley Peak, I would have taken it," said Griffin, who finished the 50K in 9:19:35.