Tahoe Rim Trail Race Report 2016
This is my first blog, I read plenty of them so this should be a exercise in subtle plagiarism right? I am not David Foster Wallace by any stretch of the imagination, but if you think I am, feel free to get in touch with me and sign me to a big literary deal and pay me a large advance. PS: I'm going to end sentences with prepositions, deal with it!
Tahoe, first off one of the most incredible places I have ever been, the views, the people, the mountains, the personality of the whole place beams with adventure. It's adventure in its most elemental form.
We flew into Reno from San Diego after being there for a week(Altitude training philosophy: train low, race high, check the results...) Geographically, Lubbock is very similar to Reno, San Diego, Tahoe ect.... in that it is on planet Earth, this is where the similarity ends.
The Sierras loomed in the west like sentinels, guarding the richness beyond their peaks. It was amazing and unlike anything I had witnessed before, it was becoming difficult to pilot the rental car while attempting to absorb everything we had laid out before us (we did not want to guilty of taking this for granted).
We pulled into Carson City and headed to the state capital for registration, we did this out of sequence and more than anything to ease the anxiety I have developed with somehow sleeping through an entire day, getting in a car wreck, or robbed by highwaymen and somehow being prevented from picking up my bib and missing the race, call it unreasonable, call it crazy, it doesn't help. I am fixated on this task a week out, scrutinizing every air carrier and weather pattern and wondering why we couldn't drive 18 hours with two kids under 5.
Ok, so TRT has rad gear, all Patagonia, and the people in Carson City are really welcoming, that place is a sleeping giant... seriously. After getting my bib in my hand and having nothing standing between me and the race (other than sleeping in or 18th century highway robbers) we headed to Incline Village to check into the hotel.
Race briefing was great, George Ruiz is one of the coolest and most kind RDs I have encountered, a great man and a great RD, he stayed to talk with anyone who had questions and was helpful to everyone he conversed with after the briefing.
That night of course our crew meeting ran long and we didn't head to bed until 9:30, my pacer/coach Quent and I went to bed around 10:00 because sleep is important right? 11ish I finally nodded off. Alarms were set for 3:30, of course I was up at 3:15 and there was no going back, highwaymen be damned we were racing a 100 today!!
We got to Spooner made sure my pack and other gear was in order (Hoka Clayton, Injinji, North Face better naked shorts, Asics singlet(Ultimate Endurance branded!), bandana(Tesoros Austin)), and a Salomon S Lab 5 something(Not the biggest not the smallest, the sonofabitch was blue, pretty sure it was for the ladies but it worked like a damn dream!), and Julbo Venturi(So awesome)
It was cold, some had jackets others had arm sleeves, this being the first ultra (real ultra being a 100) start that I actually had someone with me so I shed my jacket slightly before the start (Salomon). The first climb out of Spooner was the typical ultra start; The lead runners took off and the runners at the front of the start line headed out with them, then the rest of us skeptical of our ability and voracious readers of race reports formed into a giant worm. As the giant annelid moved along the trail we peed, we stopped, we damn near ate it passing people, some people had mini races those first 5 miles(I didn't see those guys again... and they weren't in front of me)
Towards Marlette Lake we began to spread out a little bit as the trail opened up into a fire road, I started chatting with a few guys from Ashland, OR (Yes, I asked them if they knew Hal Koerner) we talked about The Canyons and some of the other races that we had done, they being locals had run Pine to Palm a few times as well as Cascade Crest. They reemphasized the tried and true maxims of taking time the first half or 100k and then hammering out the remainder if the body and more importantly the mind was willing.
We got to Hobart and immediately made use of the Porto Johns located there, immediate kinship and camaraderie through bowl evacuation. Hobart aid was awesome as we would find out the rest of the aid stations were as well. They have smoothies that will save your life, other aid stations will have them but none are as good as Hobart.
From there we could climb up top to the best view of the entire race, overlooking Marlette Lake and Lake Tahoe, unreal beauty... following the meandering trail through the alpine grasses the trail is nice and the climb is actually enjoyable. After appreciating the view, its back into the woods and on to what I would call a net downhill which is great going towards Tunnel Creek, you can really motor on this section of trail, just watch your step and don't superman like I did the first time through. This section of trail is nice as well, and is what about 80% of the course is after Hobart, Rocky outcrops and switchbacks, but well groomed runable trail, as long as you occasionally pay attention to the rocks jutting out of the earth.
We got to Tunnel Creek, another great aid station, they are awesome and they were blaring 90s hip hop, 2pac will always go hard, plus it was uncensored which I completely respected, no homogenized family friendly gangster rap here!!! This should give you an idea of the Tunnel Creek aid volunteers, awesome people, no bullshit either, I love this aid station!
Red House loop; Ok, so its getting a little warmer and you're descending to the lowest point of the race, you will drop down then climb out, make a loop and climb up the initial descent which is painful to traverse if you're trying to save quads like I was. There is runable uphill on the climb to the Red House aid station, depending on what you're trying to do, I say run it. After aid you climb the hill you bombed down earlier (maybe) to get to the looped portion, depending on where you are in the race, you will be passing racers from the other distances as you ascend(going the other direction), this hill will be a hiker, if you're me, and not an elite (or not from the flats) runner.
Back to Tunnel Creek, here I encountered Mom(not my real mom, thats just what I called her, she was everybody's momma!!) and Brooke the drop bag helper, these ladies were awesome and upbeat, I believe George Ruiz, this may be one of the greatest aid stations in ultra running(disclaimer: I limited experience and always believe RDs, this claim has actual merit I assure you!)
Up to Bull Wheel, this is rolling a little, and has runable sections, beautiful views as well as you are basically climbing up the other side of Diamond Peak(this will be nothing like actually climbing DP at mile 30) They have always told me Bull Wheel would have limited supplies(just water) to my surprise the guys at Bull Wheel had watermelon, electrolyte, gels, and some other food items, pretty good surprise and the guys running the aid station were great and on top of things.
Descending from Bull Wheel to Diamond Peak is one of the longer stretches without aid during the race, get your water(they are going to tell you this when you get to the race). It is MOSTLY downhill, not all downhill, but the biggest stretch of downhill will be following the left turn to the Tyrolian downhill. Don't take for granted the buttery single track (now this is a trail running blog) because you will catch a toe and bust your ass.. or face. As you get to the bottom you will start to see houses, you are in town now and not far from Diamond Peak.
Diamond Peak is a legit aid station, and one of the nerve centers of the race. Be careful fueling up too much here the climb up Diamond Peak is tough and your HR will be way up, especially if its hot (it was) I saw tons of people losing said fuel and a lot of others talking about that climb making miles 30-40 really difficult (yours truly included). Diamond Peak sucks, if you don't know how to power hike it really sucks and you will lose some serious time here. Flatland Ultra verified....check the splits.
After DP, straight to Bull Wheel, still good, then back to Tunnel Creek, now most of the trail is downhill, watch out for runners coming the other way depending on how fast you are, try not to get run over by a bike or an aggressive hiker, heave a Clif Bar at them and run away! At Tunnel Creek I met with crew and we chatted for a bit, I told them I would see them at Spooner, at this point doubting a little the optimistic 9 to 11 hour 50 mile splits I had planned.
Tunnel Creek back to Hobart to prep for the climb to Snow Peak, now I began to climb the downhill which had been so fun heading the other way. Now we get to see Tahoe and Marlette again, and hammer the switchback dropping into Hobart. I grabbed a smoothie some Tailwind and water and headed out for Snow Peak, terrified it would be similar to the Diamond Peak slog I was just now recovering from... A left turn out of the main trail out of Hobart and we are Snow Peak bound, the hike is not half as bad and there are plenty of flats and transitions to run. Then I found myself in a high mountain meadow, the single track snaking through the tall grass to Snow Peak aid and the ever vigilant Boy Scouts. At this point deciding I needed to bank some calories I delighted in a turkey sandwich with mayonnaise....mayonnaise....in moniker alone should be banned from being at an aid station towards the end of the day, bad choice, really bad. as I politely spit out my sandwich as not to offend the Scouts, and certainly not in their presence. and began the descent back to Spooner, or Stonehenge.
I saw crew and picked up a pacer at Stonehenge, I felt fine and put down some quesadillas and a smoothie. As we climbed out of Stonehenge, my tummy was not ok, 8 slow slow miles later, and a little puke and rally, I finally started to feel a little better coming out of Hobart. Since we've gone over the course I'll hit the high notes since its a looped course and I already feel like this is running a little long.
Hobart to TC started moving a lot better through here, beauty and downhill are an excellent combination, saw the crew, feeling good feeling strong, got that ice bandanna (this originally auto corrected to ice banana, I thought that was funny) flowing right!! So we ran some portions of what I walked the first time around to make up the time lost climbing out of Stonehenge.
Red House loop, we tried to save a little quad through here, we start to pass a few folks who passed us out of Stonehenge and passed me at DP the first time around. Now its starting to get dark, time to get to those headlamps at TC. We pound some uphills and I further demonstrate my complete lack of power hiking ability(anytime I attempted to "power hike" people pass me, very sad)
TC to Bull Wheel, its dark now, watch out for those rocks, at this point I started to get a little tired and keep yammering on about a left turn, the turn to the Tyrolian downhill, those miles dragged on and on, finally we turn left and hammer(or what I think is hammering at this point, 70 miles in) down to DP.
Diamond Peak, we shake out shoes and resolve that there will be no breakthrough montage(like Rocky IV) instead we resign to just make it to the top so we can actually run downhill. We only get passed by a total of three people, pretty good compared to around 10 or 12 the first time around!! We get to Bull Wheel and their lights are off, but they are still taking care of runners!! There are tons of people headed from TC to Bull Wheel, you can't help but feel dread and sadness for them, like a friend with a really bad hangover, you know they got themselves into this but you also know there is a light at the end of the tunnel even though the tunnel is long and uphilll and filled with playground sand.
TC to Hobart ok, so now what I said was runable and power hikeable now hurts like hell and at altitude I am sleepy....or I'm just tired not sure which at this point. Its dark and a little chilly so no view, and no pleasant warm meadow to journey through. We land at Hobart and its a ghost town, one runner is wrapped up like a mummy under the tent, voices are whispering around us, we've got to get the hell out of here!
Hobart to Snow Peak, ok, this part is a little sad and pathetic, I am sleepwalking and moving terribly slow until....THE SUN!!! I wake up and look to see a runner and her pacer gaining on us, we start moving fast at this point, hiking as fast as a shitty hiker hikes. We promise each other no water no stopping at aid, max out on Coke and run like the dammed for the bottom and hope that the sugar runs out before we do.
I let out a primal scream to warn the wildlife that we will be sliding down the mountain like an avalanche from the heavens, I tell Quent (my pacer) we are going to hammer this downhill!!!! We promptly hit a hill and I start walking, I burst out laughing so hard it hurts. Ok.... now let's take that hill, off we go, we combo run and hike the rest of the way to the finish, we never really did figure out what the actual distance was, questioned our watches (his said 52 mine said 124, pretty sure that wasn't accurate...or was it? No... it was not...come on you know better!)
As I hit the finish line of my first 100 miler, I was happy, I was content, I was tired, I was...amazed.... at myself, at my crew, at the mountains, at all the other runners still on the course, and at the runners locked into repose trying to comprehend the same things I was, I was done.
Bottom line: This race is legit, its hard it will test you, people will help you, you need your crew, you need to love something to finish it, I love this race and I love these people and I love this sport!
First and foremost thank you to the volunteers, they are amazing... they pulled us all out of so many dark spots, they deserve every bit of praise and own a significant piece of every buckle handed out on Sunday. Thank you to George Ruiz as well, you are awesome, a truly good guy with a pure love for the trails and this community, this race and its volunteers should be honored to have you lead them!
Thank you to Andrea, Chris, Quent, and little Caroline and Margaret...#thecrew... I could never have done it without you, you are my fuel, my drive and my heart.
Andrea, you're my everything and best damn crew chief I could dream of, I can't wait to face the next challenge together!!
Mom,(my real mom) this is for you, thank you for always believing I was something better than even I knew I was...thank you for protecting me from above.
Chris
Tahoe, first off one of the most incredible places I have ever been, the views, the people, the mountains, the personality of the whole place beams with adventure. It's adventure in its most elemental form.
We flew into Reno from San Diego after being there for a week(Altitude training philosophy: train low, race high, check the results...) Geographically, Lubbock is very similar to Reno, San Diego, Tahoe ect.... in that it is on planet Earth, this is where the similarity ends.
The Sierras loomed in the west like sentinels, guarding the richness beyond their peaks. It was amazing and unlike anything I had witnessed before, it was becoming difficult to pilot the rental car while attempting to absorb everything we had laid out before us (we did not want to guilty of taking this for granted).
We pulled into Carson City and headed to the state capital for registration, we did this out of sequence and more than anything to ease the anxiety I have developed with somehow sleeping through an entire day, getting in a car wreck, or robbed by highwaymen and somehow being prevented from picking up my bib and missing the race, call it unreasonable, call it crazy, it doesn't help. I am fixated on this task a week out, scrutinizing every air carrier and weather pattern and wondering why we couldn't drive 18 hours with two kids under 5.
Ok, so TRT has rad gear, all Patagonia, and the people in Carson City are really welcoming, that place is a sleeping giant... seriously. After getting my bib in my hand and having nothing standing between me and the race (other than sleeping in or 18th century highway robbers) we headed to Incline Village to check into the hotel.
Race briefing was great, George Ruiz is one of the coolest and most kind RDs I have encountered, a great man and a great RD, he stayed to talk with anyone who had questions and was helpful to everyone he conversed with after the briefing.
That night of course our crew meeting ran long and we didn't head to bed until 9:30, my pacer/coach Quent and I went to bed around 10:00 because sleep is important right? 11ish I finally nodded off. Alarms were set for 3:30, of course I was up at 3:15 and there was no going back, highwaymen be damned we were racing a 100 today!!
We got to Spooner made sure my pack and other gear was in order (Hoka Clayton, Injinji, North Face better naked shorts, Asics singlet(Ultimate Endurance branded!), bandana(Tesoros Austin)), and a Salomon S Lab 5 something(Not the biggest not the smallest, the sonofabitch was blue, pretty sure it was for the ladies but it worked like a damn dream!), and Julbo Venturi(So awesome)
It was cold, some had jackets others had arm sleeves, this being the first ultra (real ultra being a 100) start that I actually had someone with me so I shed my jacket slightly before the start (Salomon). The first climb out of Spooner was the typical ultra start; The lead runners took off and the runners at the front of the start line headed out with them, then the rest of us skeptical of our ability and voracious readers of race reports formed into a giant worm. As the giant annelid moved along the trail we peed, we stopped, we damn near ate it passing people, some people had mini races those first 5 miles(I didn't see those guys again... and they weren't in front of me)
Towards Marlette Lake we began to spread out a little bit as the trail opened up into a fire road, I started chatting with a few guys from Ashland, OR (Yes, I asked them if they knew Hal Koerner) we talked about The Canyons and some of the other races that we had done, they being locals had run Pine to Palm a few times as well as Cascade Crest. They reemphasized the tried and true maxims of taking time the first half or 100k and then hammering out the remainder if the body and more importantly the mind was willing.
We got to Hobart and immediately made use of the Porto Johns located there, immediate kinship and camaraderie through bowl evacuation. Hobart aid was awesome as we would find out the rest of the aid stations were as well. They have smoothies that will save your life, other aid stations will have them but none are as good as Hobart.
From there we could climb up top to the best view of the entire race, overlooking Marlette Lake and Lake Tahoe, unreal beauty... following the meandering trail through the alpine grasses the trail is nice and the climb is actually enjoyable. After appreciating the view, its back into the woods and on to what I would call a net downhill which is great going towards Tunnel Creek, you can really motor on this section of trail, just watch your step and don't superman like I did the first time through. This section of trail is nice as well, and is what about 80% of the course is after Hobart, Rocky outcrops and switchbacks, but well groomed runable trail, as long as you occasionally pay attention to the rocks jutting out of the earth.
We got to Tunnel Creek, another great aid station, they are awesome and they were blaring 90s hip hop, 2pac will always go hard, plus it was uncensored which I completely respected, no homogenized family friendly gangster rap here!!! This should give you an idea of the Tunnel Creek aid volunteers, awesome people, no bullshit either, I love this aid station!
Red House loop; Ok, so its getting a little warmer and you're descending to the lowest point of the race, you will drop down then climb out, make a loop and climb up the initial descent which is painful to traverse if you're trying to save quads like I was. There is runable uphill on the climb to the Red House aid station, depending on what you're trying to do, I say run it. After aid you climb the hill you bombed down earlier (maybe) to get to the looped portion, depending on where you are in the race, you will be passing racers from the other distances as you ascend(going the other direction), this hill will be a hiker, if you're me, and not an elite (or not from the flats) runner.
Back to Tunnel Creek, here I encountered Mom(not my real mom, thats just what I called her, she was everybody's momma!!) and Brooke the drop bag helper, these ladies were awesome and upbeat, I believe George Ruiz, this may be one of the greatest aid stations in ultra running(disclaimer: I limited experience and always believe RDs, this claim has actual merit I assure you!)
Up to Bull Wheel, this is rolling a little, and has runable sections, beautiful views as well as you are basically climbing up the other side of Diamond Peak(this will be nothing like actually climbing DP at mile 30) They have always told me Bull Wheel would have limited supplies(just water) to my surprise the guys at Bull Wheel had watermelon, electrolyte, gels, and some other food items, pretty good surprise and the guys running the aid station were great and on top of things.
Descending from Bull Wheel to Diamond Peak is one of the longer stretches without aid during the race, get your water(they are going to tell you this when you get to the race). It is MOSTLY downhill, not all downhill, but the biggest stretch of downhill will be following the left turn to the Tyrolian downhill. Don't take for granted the buttery single track (now this is a trail running blog) because you will catch a toe and bust your ass.. or face. As you get to the bottom you will start to see houses, you are in town now and not far from Diamond Peak.
Diamond Peak is a legit aid station, and one of the nerve centers of the race. Be careful fueling up too much here the climb up Diamond Peak is tough and your HR will be way up, especially if its hot (it was) I saw tons of people losing said fuel and a lot of others talking about that climb making miles 30-40 really difficult (yours truly included). Diamond Peak sucks, if you don't know how to power hike it really sucks and you will lose some serious time here. Flatland Ultra verified....check the splits.
After DP, straight to Bull Wheel, still good, then back to Tunnel Creek, now most of the trail is downhill, watch out for runners coming the other way depending on how fast you are, try not to get run over by a bike or an aggressive hiker, heave a Clif Bar at them and run away! At Tunnel Creek I met with crew and we chatted for a bit, I told them I would see them at Spooner, at this point doubting a little the optimistic 9 to 11 hour 50 mile splits I had planned.
Tunnel Creek back to Hobart to prep for the climb to Snow Peak, now I began to climb the downhill which had been so fun heading the other way. Now we get to see Tahoe and Marlette again, and hammer the switchback dropping into Hobart. I grabbed a smoothie some Tailwind and water and headed out for Snow Peak, terrified it would be similar to the Diamond Peak slog I was just now recovering from... A left turn out of the main trail out of Hobart and we are Snow Peak bound, the hike is not half as bad and there are plenty of flats and transitions to run. Then I found myself in a high mountain meadow, the single track snaking through the tall grass to Snow Peak aid and the ever vigilant Boy Scouts. At this point deciding I needed to bank some calories I delighted in a turkey sandwich with mayonnaise....mayonnaise....in moniker alone should be banned from being at an aid station towards the end of the day, bad choice, really bad. as I politely spit out my sandwich as not to offend the Scouts, and certainly not in their presence. and began the descent back to Spooner, or Stonehenge.
I saw crew and picked up a pacer at Stonehenge, I felt fine and put down some quesadillas and a smoothie. As we climbed out of Stonehenge, my tummy was not ok, 8 slow slow miles later, and a little puke and rally, I finally started to feel a little better coming out of Hobart. Since we've gone over the course I'll hit the high notes since its a looped course and I already feel like this is running a little long.
Hobart to TC started moving a lot better through here, beauty and downhill are an excellent combination, saw the crew, feeling good feeling strong, got that ice bandanna (this originally auto corrected to ice banana, I thought that was funny) flowing right!! So we ran some portions of what I walked the first time around to make up the time lost climbing out of Stonehenge.
Red House loop, we tried to save a little quad through here, we start to pass a few folks who passed us out of Stonehenge and passed me at DP the first time around. Now its starting to get dark, time to get to those headlamps at TC. We pound some uphills and I further demonstrate my complete lack of power hiking ability(anytime I attempted to "power hike" people pass me, very sad)
TC to Bull Wheel, its dark now, watch out for those rocks, at this point I started to get a little tired and keep yammering on about a left turn, the turn to the Tyrolian downhill, those miles dragged on and on, finally we turn left and hammer(or what I think is hammering at this point, 70 miles in) down to DP.
Diamond Peak, we shake out shoes and resolve that there will be no breakthrough montage(like Rocky IV) instead we resign to just make it to the top so we can actually run downhill. We only get passed by a total of three people, pretty good compared to around 10 or 12 the first time around!! We get to Bull Wheel and their lights are off, but they are still taking care of runners!! There are tons of people headed from TC to Bull Wheel, you can't help but feel dread and sadness for them, like a friend with a really bad hangover, you know they got themselves into this but you also know there is a light at the end of the tunnel even though the tunnel is long and uphilll and filled with playground sand.
TC to Hobart ok, so now what I said was runable and power hikeable now hurts like hell and at altitude I am sleepy....or I'm just tired not sure which at this point. Its dark and a little chilly so no view, and no pleasant warm meadow to journey through. We land at Hobart and its a ghost town, one runner is wrapped up like a mummy under the tent, voices are whispering around us, we've got to get the hell out of here!
Hobart to Snow Peak, ok, this part is a little sad and pathetic, I am sleepwalking and moving terribly slow until....THE SUN!!! I wake up and look to see a runner and her pacer gaining on us, we start moving fast at this point, hiking as fast as a shitty hiker hikes. We promise each other no water no stopping at aid, max out on Coke and run like the dammed for the bottom and hope that the sugar runs out before we do.
I let out a primal scream to warn the wildlife that we will be sliding down the mountain like an avalanche from the heavens, I tell Quent (my pacer) we are going to hammer this downhill!!!! We promptly hit a hill and I start walking, I burst out laughing so hard it hurts. Ok.... now let's take that hill, off we go, we combo run and hike the rest of the way to the finish, we never really did figure out what the actual distance was, questioned our watches (his said 52 mine said 124, pretty sure that wasn't accurate...or was it? No... it was not...come on you know better!)
As I hit the finish line of my first 100 miler, I was happy, I was content, I was tired, I was...amazed.... at myself, at my crew, at the mountains, at all the other runners still on the course, and at the runners locked into repose trying to comprehend the same things I was, I was done.
Bottom line: This race is legit, its hard it will test you, people will help you, you need your crew, you need to love something to finish it, I love this race and I love these people and I love this sport!
First and foremost thank you to the volunteers, they are amazing... they pulled us all out of so many dark spots, they deserve every bit of praise and own a significant piece of every buckle handed out on Sunday. Thank you to George Ruiz as well, you are awesome, a truly good guy with a pure love for the trails and this community, this race and its volunteers should be honored to have you lead them!
Thank you to Andrea, Chris, Quent, and little Caroline and Margaret...#thecrew... I could never have done it without you, you are my fuel, my drive and my heart.
Andrea, you're my everything and best damn crew chief I could dream of, I can't wait to face the next challenge together!!
Mom,(my real mom) this is for you, thank you for always believing I was something better than even I knew I was...thank you for protecting me from above.
Chris
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