My friend and pacer from the 2005 Western States 100 miler, Paul Fejes, called me one February morning and asked if I would want to run a very challenging new 100-mile race-The Tahoe Rim 100 Mile Endurance Run. It was scheduled for July 15th and was to be run in conjunction with an existing 50K and 50 mile race that is already run on the Tahoe Rim Trail. Anyone who knows me can guess my immediate answer…”Yes!”

When I went to the website and began to review the course, I started to wonder what Paul had gotten me into. The race started at 7400 feet, near Spooner Lake, in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The race followed the Rim Trail over several impressive peaks, including the 9200-foot Snow Valley Peak, which would be crossed twice. The course had almost 20,000 feet of climb, and remained at an average elevation of 8000 feet for the entire course.

Melanie, my wonderful wife, agreed to crew for me, and a new runner to ultra’s, Sharon Fager, would fly out to pace me. I must tell you-I had a fantastic support team!

Melanie and I flew out to Reno a few days before the race. Sharon flew out on Friday morning. Before we drove to the airport to pick her up, we drove to the start of the race, Spooner Lake, so we could more comfortably find it in the early dark hours of race day. The race starts at 5:00 AM.

It was early, about 7:00 AM, and to our surprise, we were not the only ones checking the starting line out. A young brown bear cub was foraging around, destroying a stump looking for termites and upsetting trashcans. We were able to capture several wonderful pictures before it scampered away.

As we all gathered at the starting area, everyone was visiting with old friends and making new ones. I met up with Jaret Seiberg, a runner with the Virginia Happy Trails Running Club who I worked with as a volunteer at an aid station at Massenutten this year. He looked upbeat and ready for a good day on the trail. I also visited with my friend Paul. He was nervous, but looked ready to finish his first 100 miler. Paul’s wife was his crew and would spend a lot of time with Melanie and Sharon during the day. She also took care of one of my cravings… I had asked her to get me a couple of McDonald’s cheese burgers and have them ready in case I was hungry for them when I saw them…And I was!

Because of the elevation, I ran the first mile very slowly and went to a walk for the first long climb. The course was almost entirely single track, with the exception of some connecting jeep roads that totaled no more than 3 to 4 miles. As I went slowly towards the first aid station at Hobart Road, I was worrying if I might be going out too slow. Everyone seemed to be running away from me up a long gradual ascent. I decided to hang back with the few stragglers and keep my pace. The race had a 35-hour cutoff and I was sure that extra 5 hours was being provided for a reason.

The aid stations were very well organized and run by the friendliest people that Nevada and California could find. When I entered the Hobart Road aid station, I felt very good, but could see some other runners already looking a little out of breath. I cleared the station fast and headed out for a beautiful section that took me over Marlette and Herlan Peaks. These mountains provided an incredible view of the Tahoe Lake and Marlette Lake, and a little snow field to play in. (Later my pacer would make a snow angle in this snow field to amuse the other runners.) In this area I started to notice the rocks were granite and the soil was course granite. This was the running surface for the remained of the race, unless we were crossing snow!

I arrived at tunnel Creek aid station and then had to do the Red House Loop. It was a steep drop on a course sandy road/trail, dropping a thousand feet in just a mile or so. Then the trail began a relentless climb back out of the canyon to Tunnel Creek. On this ascent, I passed Paul and did not see him again until the Mount Rose Aid Station (mile 26).

After leaving the Tunnel Creek Aid station I headed towards Tahoe Meadows and the Mount Rose Aid Station. It is along gradual climb most of the way, but with incredibly beautiful granite rock formations and views of snow capped mountains and flowering meadows. I was waiting to hear Julie Andrews start to sing!

At Mt. Rose, I saw Melanie and Sharon there and told them to head back to the start/50 mile point to meet me. I was having a blast and feeling very good.

I arrived at the 50 mile point at 6:08 PM. I had run the second 25 faster than the first and had arrived at the start/finish area before Melanie and Sharon. It would be getting dark by 9:00 so I wanted to have Sharon come in. I had to ask an official if I could go off course and look for my crew and pacer. I walked up a hill toward the parking lot and spotted them heading towards me. (Yes..After running 50 miles, I had to walk up an extra hill!) Sharon knew they were in trouble…but everything was Ok and I teased that we had to get moving. At the moment we were leaving Gordon Ainsleigh yelled some encouraging words to me. I stopped and introduced Sharon to him. She nearly floated away…

As the day gave way to twilight, we climbed …mountain and Sharon and I had a view of Lake Tahoe and Marlette Lake that few pedestrians have ever seen. The sun had already set, and the water was tranquil. Stars were starting to emerge as the amber sunset slowly faded. As darkness settled in on us, our running became more of a fast walk, with tree roots and rocks difficult to discern through the dust on the trail. On one notoriously steep section know as Red House Loop, Sharon pulled out her MP3 player and hooked it up to a speaker and started playing one of my all time favorite running songs.. Manfred Man’s Blinded by the Light…you know the one that goes..”Just another runner in the night”…. It was Great! And then a .72 waning gibbous moon rose above the eastern ridge. What a spectacular night we were having!

We entered the aid station at the 65 mile point I found myself being questioned about my cheering attitude. One of the aid station volunteers was concerned that I seemed too perky and happy! But my happiness was dashed when I noticed my buddy Paul, sitting in a chair and looking gray. Although he lives in California, he was having problems with the altitude and his breathing. I would soon learn that many others were having similar problems with the altitude.) His pacer, an experienced ultra runner, was concerned for him and was trying to give him some time to see if he could get the condition under control or have to withdrawal. Soon after we left the station, Paul withdrew and was taken immediately to a lower elevation.

We departed the Tunnel Aid Station at around 1:30AM and headed, towards Melanie and the 76-mile aid station. Lead runners started to come pass us, usually yelling encouragement as they went by. This was a difficult section of trail, with many twisting climbs. Along this section, we met a runner named Vince, from Denver who joined us. We enjoyed hearing about his ultra experiences, especially Leadville.

We arrived at 76-mile point and had a wonderful greeting by Melanie, who had worked at the aid station much of the day and all of the night, Tom, another volunteer, and Gordy Ainsleigh! Melanie looked tired, but was happy to be working with Gordy! Gordon had been helping runners with blisters and muscle problems all night. Sharon was in awl, seeing the legend again. I was having a bit to eat and asked Melanie for our camera. I was watching Sharon for any signs of fatigue. She was looking very strong, but had complained about some tightness in her calf. I felt she could continue with me and I certainly would enjoy her company.

I asked Gordy if he would mind taking a picture with Sharon. He was wearing flannel shirt and joked that he wasn’t in the proper in uniform for a running photo. At 4:45 AM, July 16, 2006, as Gordy moved beside her for the photo, Sharon Fager defied gravity and began to float…

At this station a volunteer asked my wife if I’m always in this good of mood. She said yes, most of the time. I was having a blast! Everything was working and I was on course to finish in approximately 32 hours.

Sharon’s feet came down to the earth again and we departed on our final section. The morning twilight was making it easier to travel and we began running again. On our first steps from the aid station, Sharon announced that she was about to run further than she had ever before! Previously she had only run up to a marathon distance.

We passed through the Tunnel and Hobart Aid stations, taking time to sincerely thank those folks that help make this run possible. The temps were climbing reached in to the 90’s, with little breeze. We headed for the final major station, high on Snow Valley Peak. It required a climb of over 1000 vertical feet. The view is now one of my favorites of all time and cannot be captured in any single photo! In one direction you see the desert area near Reno and Carson City, then the snow capped Sierra Mountains and then the Tahoe, Marlette and Spooner lakes.

As we arrived at the summit and the aid station, a handsome young man asks us if want some ice cream to help cool us. Sharon said yes, but I had different plans. I said to forget the ice cream. “We have a mission” as I kept repeating to myself..and sometimes Sharon…the lyrics of country song..., “Get er Done!” The aid stations volunteers had a good chuckle as I dragged Sharon a way from empty bowl about to be filled by the handsome young Boy Scout and headed down the trail. We had 6 miles to go and I could taste the finish line.

The next few miles were the longest, hottest miles of the race. The sky was crystal clear and the temps were rising. I was baking as we descending the mountain above tree line. With only 3-4 miles to go we entered a small canyon or ravine and the temperatures skyrocketed. It was like we were breathing in the air from an oven. And then I started to feel nauseous and could not run, only walk. With 1.7 miles to go, we came to a aid station that had Coke and Ginger Ale. I think they have handled these races before! I took two cups of ginger ale for the trail and slowly started to feel better. Also, as we neared Spooner Lake, a breeze began to filter in through the trees. With about a half-mile to go we started to run again. I had lost some time and wanted to try to finish strong. Sharon took the paper cups from me and held them in her hand. As I spotted to finishing line I heard a distinctive wax paper cub crushing sound, as if a 125 pound lady fell on top of paper cups and skidded along a gravel road. I looked back and saw Sharon laying face down on the road. I looked ahead and saw the finish line so I figured I might as well finish, and then see if she needs my help. I finished in 32 hours 17 minutes, 10 seconds.

I finished 39th!

Thanks to the race directors, David Cotter and Kevin Bigley for organizing a great race!

And thanks to my friends that supported me with this race. I could not have had a better crew, pacer or running partners (Marcia Peters, Carol Varano, Ellen Sigl and Sharon Fager) for the running and preparation for this event.

Post script: Jaret had to withdrawal at 50 miles due to altitude sickness. Out of the 89 starters, 40 runners had to withdrawal for various reasons.