Photos and Words By Bleu Cord, NWCA Ultrarunner
Race Stats:
- 205 miles around Lake Tahoe
- 40,200 feet of ascent
- 40,200 feet of descent
- Mostly at 8,000 feet or higher.
- Finish: 87:35:21
- Sleep time was the most I’ve ever taken: 11 hours! Made a big difference in performance. Time lost was time gained.
The first 2 days of the race I had difficult stomach issues. Not sure if it was the altitude or a bug that had me throwing up literally anything I drank or ate. I could feel my body consuming fat for fuel. Coke was the only thing that I could tolerate.
Mile 103 at Heavenly aid station I was ready to accept defeat and say to hell with running and to hell with this bullshit Triple Crown nonsense! The wind was ferociously howling as I reached Heavenly aid. Luckily the sleeping quarters were inside the ski resort. I recognized that lack of calories and sleep is what was telling me quitting is the only option. “There’s no way in hell you can go another 102 miles!”- I told myself. The only thing I could do was stagger into the sleep station and pass out knowing this would by me some time from those demons telling me to give up, hopefully when I wake up they will be gone.
Sure enough when I woke up 2 hours later I had some space in my head to at least consider another 20 miles to the next aid. After reluctantly eating and drinking all kinds of food available I checked out and started for the immediate climb into the darkness, before falling to the ground and puking 4 huge rounds of all I had just ate. I told the people who had to witness that: “sorry.” I took my foot and scuffed sand over the mess and staggered towards the trail head with blurry tear filled eyes.
Day 3 was starting to turn out pretty great, my feet were in pristine condition, my quads were on the mend from being completely useless the day before, my stomach was feeling better which I now realize was altitude sickness. My friend Marv came down to crew and pace some which was so nice!
The rest of the race went really nice now that I was able to keep food down. I felt all kinds of energy and at times felt superhuman. Nothing hurt and I was running again!
Mile 175 the prevailing storm we were all anticipating came rolling in with buckets of rain which turned to hail then snow. I had all the proper gear on hand to deal with the snow storm which gave me peace of mind and allowed me to sit back and enjoy what Mother Nature had to display. Coming into the aid station just shortly after the weather shifted for the worst, my friend Marv had a warm car ready for me. I felt so spoiled climbing into the back of the vehicle cowardly seeking shelter! I made the decision to wait out the storm for the next 3 hours and sleep, while others kept going. I knew I had plenty of time to finish still, getting a faster time vs. 3 hours of comfort and sleep. I chose sleep. After waking up, I quickly got back to the task at hand: moving forward.
The last day I was moving at a really good pace, my new buddy John and I were running all the ups and downs passing at least 10 people, some some of whom kept going when the storm came in. We had lots of laughs and stories told.
Just after midnight on Tuesday we came flying down the steep ski resort into the finish line together. My sister and her husband were at the finish to surprise me and my friend Marv was there to shake my hand.
Tahoe was a lot harder than I was expecting, having just finished Bigfoot 200. I thought it would be easy – was I ever wrong. Next stop in 3 weeks is Moab 240 for the final chapter to be part of the Triple Crown family.
Going Into Moab I feel strong and confident. At Bigfoot and Tahoe I had no blisters, no black toenails and no chafing . My secret is lots of sock changes every chance I can get, as well as keeping baby powder on hand to absorb sweat to keep feet dry. Any time there was a small creek or large puddle I took the time to build a bridge for myself and for all the other runners. Keeping your feet in good condition is very important in these long distances, otherwise it makes for some long miles of discomfort.
