George Ruiz, director of the Tahoe Rim Trail Endurance Runs, runs at Spooner Lake, near Carson City in 2017.
Thanks to people like race director George Ruiz, runners from all over the world will test themselves on Saturday during one of the world’s great endurance challenges.
The Tahoe Rim Trail Run features the 100-mile Endurance Run. The 100-mile race is run within Spooner State Park and on the Tahoe Rim Trail located within the state park and on National Forest. The 100-mile race will simply be the 50-mile course run twice.
Other runners not “up” to the challenge of 100 miles also have the option of running the 50-mile course once or a 55K race, which is obviously still challenging enough.
And there are plenty of runners who want to take on the challenge. So many in fact, organizers have had to go to a lottery registration system in which runners have to qualify for the 100-mile run. And there’s a waiting list for those who want to participate.
The Tahoe Rim Trail 100-mile Endurance Run takes place on high elevation alpine and sub-alpine forest trails and dirt roads in the Carson Spur of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The event is located on the northeast side of Lake Tahoe. All distances begin and end at the Spooner Lake State Park, which is at 7,000 feet. The highest point of the event is just below the 9,214 foot Snow Valley Peak (which also provides one of the best views on the course). The low point is at the bottom of the now “infamous” Red House Loop (A Taste of Hell) at approximately 6,800 feet.
On the Marlette Lake Trail runners climb 1,500 before descending to Marlette Lake.
Upon reaching Marlette Lake (7,823 feet) runners connect to the Tahoe Rim Trail, which features a running party at this aid station. It’s famous for great food, smoothies and a walk up bar.
The course also features spectacular views of Lake Tahoe.
The Snow Valley Peak aid station is also famous for the special care provided by Boy Scouts. The course averages about 8,000 feet in elevation.
The weather is also obviously a challenge as runners will take on above average temperatures during the day, but also still the chill of the night. The night time is when the aid stations come alive.
Each race will have its own waiting list. All racers who are selected by the lottery will receive an email from UltraSignUp notifying them of their entrance into the race and the credit card receipt.
Qualification standards for the 100-miler were completing a 50-mile race in less than 13 hours or the Tahoe Rim Trail 50-mile race in less than 15 hours; Completion of 100 kilometers in less than 17 hours; or completion of any official 100-mile race.
There are no qualifying requirements for the 50M and the 55K.
Carson City runners who qualified for 100 miler include Jason Laurie, E.J. Maldonado and John Parks.
Packet pickup will be held from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday at the Nevada State Capitol Legislative Park. There will be no race day check-in.
A mandatory race briefing will be held from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Nevada State Capitol Grounds.
Passenger coaches are provided to transport all participants from host hotels in Carson City. The coaches will have departing times of 3:15 and 3:30 a.m. Racing will begin at 5 a.m.
The cutoff time for the 100-mile event is 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon, or 35 hours.
For a complete list of the entrants for all the races, visit https://ultrasignup.com/entrants_event.aspx?did=50479. For information on the event visit http://trter.com.