Within the next few miles, the trail became more technical as it ascended to a rocky crest that overlooked Loon Lake. As I was approached Loon Lake, the skies overhead started to darken and I knew I'd probably get rained soon. Light rain began to fall as I ran on a single track along the eastern shore of the lake. I quickly put on my rain jacket to try and keep dry.
To my surprise, it was a smaller aid station than I had expected. The cots that were set up were already occupied
by exhausted runners. I wasn’t tired enough to sleep. All I wanted to do was to fuel up,
change clothes and be on my way. I remained in the aid station about 23 minutes,
before I headed back out. I was 4 ½ hours ahead of the cutoff, so I knew
I had plenty of time. Shortly after I had left the aid station, I made my way onto the
Bloodsucker Trail and crossed the South Fork of Silver Creek, which would be
the widest and deepest creek that I would traverse along the course, which would put my Injiji
socks to the ultimate submersion test. They seemed to pass, for now.
At about mile 46, I joined up with the Lyons Creek single
track trail and continued for another 2 miles until the Lyons Creek Trailhead.
From here, I was on a paved road for another 4 miles and started to head south towards Highway 50. I was within a couple hundred feet of the highway before the course turned
east and what seemed like the longest 4 ½ miles of my life, before I finally
crossed the highway at just about sunrise.
I had almost a 10k left before I would see Julie again
and have her pace me to Housewife Hill at mile 70. However, these last 6 miles into Sierra at Tahoe took me almost 3 hours to complete due to
the fact that the gain was nearly 1,800’ in total ascent!
When I arrived at Sierra at Tahoe, around mile 62.9 and
a little over 24 hours into the race, I was so relieved to see Julie and to
know that to me this was a milestone on the course, where I had the chance to
pick up a pacer for the rest of the run. At this point, Julie took my hydration
pack and told me to head inside. I spent nearly 2 hours here, where I fueled
up, hydrated, changed shoes, socks and even brushed my teeth. Soon after, Julie
and I were headed back out on the course a little after 11am. The course
would then take us south of Highway 50 and towards Lake Audrain, where it would re-connect to the TRT near Echo Summit.
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| Me and Julie at Echo Summit |
We didn’t stay long on the TRT until we veered off onto a paved road, then down a steep 2 1/2 mile single track into Housewife Hill.
Here, I met up with my next pacer, Sarah, and friend and co-worker Scott who had brought me a
Subway sandwich, which was just what I needed. Also, I ran into my friends
Annette and Roland who were helping out to man the aid station. At this point, I
had felt some hot spots on my feet, so one of the medical staff here quickly
applied some leukotape, which helped my feet tremendously. After about 45 minutes,
Sarah and I were on our way to Armstrong Pass, a long stretch of 18 miles. As
we began a slight ascent up the trail, a strong hailstorm suddenly hit us, during which I
joked to Sarah, “This is exactly why you wanted to pace me, right”.
She just laughed. Before long, the hailstorm stopped and we re-connected up
with the TRT again, just north of Round Lake. I knew that, after a short, steep
ascent, we would crest the ridge that would lead us to a rather long, gradual downhill
into the Big Meadows Trailhead. We arrived at Big Meadows at around 6:10pm. After
a restroom and snack break, we were once again back on the trail. At around 79
miles into the run and about half way up a long 7 mile climb, I witnessed my second sunset. Sarah and I would run just a few more hours before I became a “walking
zombie”. She and I tried everything we could just to keep me awake. We finally
reached Armstrong Pass at about 11:30pm, where I saw Julie once again and met
up with my next pacer, Dan. I was about 6 hours ahead of the cutoff. I knew I
still had plenty of time, but I desperately wanted to sleep. I was extremely tired. I
had been up for nearly 40 hours! So, I climbed into the back of Julie’s van,
took off my shoes and got some much needed rest. However, I was back on the
trail only after about two hours.
Dan and I left the Armstrong aid station at
around 1:45am and headed back up to the pass and towards Heavenly, but soon
after the pass, I started to dry heave for the first time on the course, which would eventually
get worse later on. I had never experienced anything like this before, so it made me nervous so
early in the race. After my stomach settled, we steadily made our way up and over the Freel Peak saddle,
as we headed towards Star Lake. We passed the lake at about 5:15 in the morning.
The trail continued downhill, and then gradually rose to Monument Pass, where I
witnessed my second sunrise.
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| On my way to Heavenly |
We
arrived at the Heavenly Aid Station and mile 103.1 at around 9am, which had an 11am cutoff, which
made me a little nervous. Again, I didn't want to stay here long. As I approached the patio of the lodge, I saw
Julie once again, another running friend Lauren, who volunteered to help crew and my next pacer, Shannon.
After I changed, fueled up and re-hydrated, Shannon and I were headed back up
the trail and on our way to Spooner Summit. Soon after we began however, Shannon told me that there would be a change in pacers at Spooner, as one of my original pacers was a no-show. A few miles later, we crossed Kingsbury Grade at
around 10:46am. From here, it would be about another 15 miles of single track before we would reach Spooner Summit. I felt pretty good as we steadily made our way up the trail and passed the Castle Rock junction. For the next 10 miles, the trail ascended about 2,000' as
we approached the South Camp area and "the bench”. I knew I wanted to stop and
witness in my opinion, one of the most beautiful views on all of the TRT. Located about 5 miles south of the Spooner Summit trailhead, this majestic spot is a pretty rocky
stretch of the trail, but it opens up to an unbelievable view of the lake and
even has a wooden bench to relax on.
After awhile, Shannon and I eventually arrived at the Spooner
Summit Trailhead and mile 123 1/2 a little after 4:00 in the afternoon. We were greeted once
again, by my fearless crew leader, and now next pacer Julie and my other crew member Lauren. Not long after I arrived, Julie took
my pack and told me to head across the parking area to where my cot and sleeping bag were
setup in the trees. The plan here was to get at least 45 minutes of sleep
before I headed out back on the trail. I found it difficult to sleep due to the beating down of the sun’s rays onto the cot. At about 5pm, my
crew came over and told me it was time to go and to get my butt off the cot. However, before Julie and I were ready to leave one of the race staff
had to re-set my SPOT device, due to it being inadvertently powered off.
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| Julie and me at Spooner Summit |
Not long after Julie and I started back on the trail, we crossed Highway 50 at around
5:30pm and started the ascent towards Snow Valley Peak, about 5 miles away. During this long stretch up to the peak, Julie had pushed the
pace and had made me a deal. That was, if I were to pass her 10 times on
this section that I would get dinner. I came nowhere close, as she continued to
tell me “to move” in her stern, yet beautiful voice. She also played the game
“Marco Polo” to make sure I stayed within shouting distance of her. It was about a
mile before Snow Valley Peak, when the sun begun to set.
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| Sunset over Tahoe |
We continued on the trail past Marlette Lake to the
Marlette Lake Campground where we arrived around 9:30pm. We briefly stopped to
rest before we headed back out. The course continued along the TRT passing Twin
Lakes, before it turned left down the Tunnel Creek Rd. From here, it was about a 3 1/2 to 4 mile stretch down a winding dirt road, before we would finally arrive at mile 140 1/2 and the Tunnel
Creek Café. Running down the road and just a few miles from the cafe, Julie and I witnessed our first wildlife sighting as glowing eyes appeared just to the left of the trail. It turned out to be just a deer as I saw its
silhouette through the trees, created by the waning gibbous moon, which had for
the past hour or so, lit up the clear, night sky. We arrived at the Tunnel
Creek Café at just after 1am, 5 hours ahead of the cutoff. As we made it
into the aid station, which was located behind the café, my next pacer Jack, greeted us. On the way down the road, I had told Julie that I thought this might be a
sleep station. It turned out that it wasn’t. I told Jack that the plan here was for me to sleep for about an hour, before we head back out. Fortunately, one of the aid station
volunteers had improvised "a sleeping area" by providing me a pad to sleep on. At least, it was
something. After a little over an hour of having slept on the not so
comfortable pad, I was ready to go. Jack and I readied our gear and just before
3am, we were on our way down the bike path through Incline Village towards the next aid station at mile 155 1/2 and Brockway Summit.
For the next 3 ½ mile section, we had increased the pace to
under 20 minutes/mile. The cool stillness of the air and silence of the bike path
created an ominous feeling as we passed million dollar properties. Just as we
approached West End Park near Tahoe Blvd, I heard a noise from across the street
and heard Jack exclaim, “Do you see those glowing eyes? It turned out to be 2
bears. The only bears I would see for the entire race.
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| Bears in Incline |
After our little encounter, we continued on and began a rather
extensive uphill climb, first for about
a mile or so of pavement, then onto a single track called the "Power Line" climb,
which took the runners up nearly 1,500’ over the next 1 1/2 miles. It reminded me
of the Diamond Peak climb during the TRT Endurance Run. At one point during the
climb, we came to an open area where a few other runners decided to rest. I
told Jack I need a break, so I sat down and experienced the worst dry heaving
episode of my life. I felt so miserable.
 |
| Not feeling good |
After a few minutes, my stomach felt much better after I managed to down a
power bar and hydrate some more. We were soon headed back out on the trail towards Martis Peak. I witnessed my third sunrise as we continued to climb on dirt roads and eventually re-connect back up with the Tahoe Rim Trail. It was about another 4 miles before we would reach the
Brockway Summit Aid Station.
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| Jack and me at the Brockway Summit Trailhead |
We arrived at the aid station around 9:15am, where Julie
and my next pacer GN, greeted us. We had gained almost 2 hours on the overall
cutoff time, so the plan was to rest for about an hour before GN and I headed
out. My feet felt good and my energy level was stable, but I still needed some rest.
 |
| Julie and me at the Brockway Summit Aid Station |
After about an hour, GN and I left the Brockway Aid Station around 10:20am, with the plan
to run this section around 7 to 8 hours. For the next several miles, GN kept me at
a decent pace as we approached Watson Lake. We arrived at the lake at about
1:15pm. We stopped briefly to rest and hydrate, but not long before we were
back on the trail.
 |
| Trudging along |
 |
| Watson Lake |
During the next several hours, we traded stories of past and
future runs, fuel and hydration. Later, I told GN about the hallucinations I
had been having about trucks in the trees, bears ahead on the trail and faces in the dirt.
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| A view of Lake Tahoe |
At
about 6:30pm, as we passed Thunder Cliff and approached the Tahoe City North Trailhead, we heard thunder and saw lightning in the distance over the lake. A few hundred feet before we would reach the trailhead sign, however, a massive downpour started. All we could do was to
take shelter under the 4’ wide kiosk. After about 5 minutes, GN and I joined up with a few other runners and braved the elements and started to head towards the Tahoe City Aid Station and mile 175 1/2. We arrived at the aid station, located just across Fancy Bridge at around 7pm. It was dark and still raining as GN tried
to get a hold of Julie. The
cutoff here was 12:30 in the morning, however, I knew I needed more sleep. After awhile, we eventually found Julie who had told us, that
everything that she had set out for me in the parking lot was soaked. We'd just have to make due with what wasn't wet. A few minutes later and just
as I was about to settle into Julie’s van to sleep, I once again saw Dan, who would pace me for a second time during the next section. He enthusiastically came towards
me with the large slurpee that I had requested just a few hours before. He was so
excited to see me and the progress that I had made up until now. I told him that I felt good,
despite the downpour. The plan here was to get some rest before heading out around 10pm. For the next 2 hours I slept and after the rain had dissipated, Dan and I were back out on the trail.
The thunder and lightning continued, as we made our way
towards Paige Meadows, located just before Ward Creek Canyon. Light rain continued as we began our ascent up the canyon and towards Stanford Rock. As we ascended, somewhere along the way, we started to see headlamps start to come back down the trail, which was odd. As we got closer, we had noticed
another runner who had an apparent ankle injury, being helped down the
mountain. A few miles later, we eventually made our way to the trail junction between Twin Peaks and Stanford Rock at about 8,500’. The course
then veered left and took us down a very long descent, dropping more
than 2,000’. Dan
and I would reach another bike path along West Lake Blvd around 4:45 in the morning. We remained
on this path for about 2 miles before the course turned right onto Grand Ave, which would lead towards the Stephen Jones aid station and mile 195. The next 2 miles or so would be partially on pavement, then onto a single track. Shortly after we started on the single track trail, we approached
a female runner who had stopped and thought she saw a bear up ahead on the
trail, even Dan was scared. All 3 of us didn’t know what to do at first. Even though my headlamp had faded, I apparently was the only one who had the nerve to see
what it was. As I slowly moved forward on the trail, I noticed that all it turned out to be was a burned out stump next to the trail. I
guess this is what you get when you’re 193 miles into a trail run!
I witnessed my fourth and final sunrise as Dan and I eventually emerged from a gradual ascent from the single track and onto a dirt road. We crossed a bridge over Blackwood Creek within a few miles of Stephen Jones. We arrived at the aid station around 6:15 in the morning. Julie greeted us again, however, my last pacer Heidi, was nowhere to be found. I still had plenty
of time before the final race cutoff, so I knew that I could get some rest
before Heidi and I tackled the last section. As I laid down and after awhile of anxiously and patiently waiting,
Heidi finally arrived. I rested for about 45 minutes before Heidi
and I were eagerly headed towards the finish line just after 7am. We climbed nearly 2,000’
over the next 5 to 7 miles where we once again reached Barker Pass at about 8:30 in the morning and
re-connected up with the Ellis Peak trail where just 4 days
ago, I began my journey.
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| My pacer Heidi and me |
The last 6 months of training was about
to pay off. As Heidi and I approached Lake Louise and the top of the Homewood chair
lifts, I was so surprised and excited to see Julie once more, who had hiked all the way up from the bottom of Homewood to greet and run with me into the finish.
 |
| Lake Louise |
 |
| Approaching the Finish |
At this point, all I needed to do was to continue to move forward. It was just a matter of time before I would eventually finish the biggest challenge of my ultra running career.
About a half mile from the finish, with Lake Tahoe as the background, I could finally see
the finish line in sight. I knew I was going to do this.
 |
| The Finish |
After descending a few switchbacks, I emerged from the trees and approached the last rocky descent. I started to hear cow bells and cheers from the spectators, who
were there to greet the runners, as I approached the finish line area. As soon as I rounded the last turn, I became so emotional as I saw my mother, who
had driven all the way from Reno just to see me finish. For me, that was a very
special moment and emotional part of the race. I crossed the finish line and saw Julie once more. We embraced in a celebratory hug. For her to be there by my side the entire time, I couldn't ask for anything more.
I finished just after 11am, with an offical time of 98 hours, 6 minutes and 51 seconds. A few moments later, as I was recovering around the finish line area, my friend Ernesto, who was crewing another runner, came up to me and congratulated me on my finish. That was a nice surprise. For the next several hours, I watched the remaining runners finish their incredible journeys. I was really hoping to see a lot more people that I knew along the course, but to have my crew and pacers who did help me along the way, I can't thank you guys enough. It was a physically demanding and emotional journey to get through my first 200 mile race, but worth every step along the trail.
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| A celebratory hug |
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| Julie and me at the finish |
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| RD Candice Burt and me |
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| The souvenir glasses |
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| The Buckles |
At the post-race awards ceremony around 5pm that evening, all the runners received a pasta dinner and a 2017 Finisher's print. Also, the Top 3 Men and Women were presented with overall awards.
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| The Top 3 Men |
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| The Top 3 Women |
Official Race Stats:
Time: 98 hours, 6
minutes, 51 seconds.
DNS’s - 14
