After 36 hours on my feet, I awoke from a solid sleep to a honking horn. I was confused as I tried to understand the empty road between me and the traffic signal. I had fallen asleep while driving home from the Tahoe Rim Trail Endurance Runs (TRTER,) and I hadn’t even run the race.
The Diamond Peak Aid Station at TRTER is a huge event within the event. Nearly 500 runners in the 100-mile and 50-mile races pass through at mile 30 mid-day on Saturday. The 100-miler pass through again (mile 80 for them) at all hours of the night. It is one of the few opportunities that crew and spectators have to see their runners.
When Donner Party Mountain Runners were offered the chance to take over the aid station, I didn’t hesitate to say yes and offer myself as captain. It feels like coming full-circle to the event that was my first ultramarathon (it was called a 50k back then, but we all knew it was 55k,) and then my first 100-miler. And I’m not alone in the DPMR family in feeling this way!
I can’t name every DPMR who was out there on the TRTER course or helping in other capacities, as I would certainly miss too many, but I want to take a moment to highlight a few of our Board of Directors who displayed exceptional performances.
Lesley Dellamonica, our steadfast Secretary, helped setup Diamond Peak on Friday, then returned at 6am on Saturday. By 6am on Sunday, after 24 hours on her feet with no sleep, we experienced our only major hiccup, and I had to send her out to sweep 11 miles of the course, including the huge climb up Diamond Peak itself!
Diane Frederic and her husband Mark spent Friday driving around begeebies to pickup runner drop bags and a trailer with 500 pounds of ice. This was after they ensured that our new wagon wheel sticker looks amazing on the gear trailer. Diane spent the rest of the weekend on her feet helping runners as well.
Carol Lindsay, club medical director, took all of our blankets to the laundry mat to wash off any possibility of spreading poison oak from the last race we helped with! Carol helped set up and tended to runners’ needs all day as well. The entire medical team was delighted with the new cots that DPMR supplied to the aid station.
Renee Jacobs shared a shift of her time despite an already jam-packed schedule. Another volunteer commented that Renee surely PR’d her “step count” for the day, as she was constantly in motion to serve the runners.
Special mention to JP Prince, who put in a solid 24 hour shift and was hallucinating himself by the end. (Who says you have to run 100 miles to hallucinate?!)
And I can’t forget our board member runners, each finishing the 100-miler in time to earn the sub-30-hour buckle: Jenelle Potvin finished her 5th TRTER 100-miler, earning the spectacular 500-mile belt – how will she fit 5 buckles on it?! Sean Flanagan chalked up his second TRTER 100-mile finish, despite throwing out his back last month.
I also want to mention that our 2020 spot running the TRT Endurance Runs goes by raffle to Jesse Ellis, who lives out of the area now, but came up to Tahoe just to volunteer with us overnight Saturday. He is beyond ecstatic to have won the “opportunity” to dig deep into the 100-mile territory.
That’s a wrap for 2019. We can’t wait to go back and be part of this very special race next year – hope to see you all there!
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