Tahoe Rim Trail Record Broken!
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Man completes loop of Tahoe Rim Trail in record 38 1/2 hours
Lake Tahoe Marathon winner serves as early morning pacer
Man completes loop of Tahoe Rim Trail in record 38 1/2 hours
Lake Tahoe Marathon winner serves as early morning pacer
By Gordon Wright, Special to the Tribune
TAHOE CITY — Just after dusk Tuesday night, heralded by a squadron of pacers and mountain bikers, trail-running sensation Kilian Jornet of Spain ran into town, completing a stunning circumnavigation of the 165-mile Tahoe Rim Trail in 38 hours, 32 minutes.
Jornet, the two-time defending champion of the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc, had come to North America for the first time to challenge Tim Twietmeyer's estimable 1995 record of 45 hours, 58 minutes.
“I feel great, but I feel better now that I can stop running,” Jornet said.
His journey wasn't without difficulty. He took a nearly two-hour nap Monday night, and he and pacer Sean Meissner got lost at 2:30 in the morning.
“We went a good two and half miles off track, and I was absolutely horrified,” said Meissner, who won the Lake Tahoe Marathon just two days before beginning his pacing duties. “But he didn't even blink. He just grabbed me by the shoulders, laughed and said, ‘More kilometers, more fun, Sean!'”
According to Jornet, the most difficult part of the endeavor was near the end: the last six kilometers from Echo Lake to Barker Pass.
“The trail was just more difficult than I had imagined,” he said.
Mark Kimbrough, the executive director of the Tahoe Rim Trail Association, not only presented Jornet with a framed special edition of the Association's TRT completion certificate, but also mustered the sort of quiet, unheralded support that made the journey a special one. TRTA members, in small groups or often alone, provided extraordinary and vocal support at some of the loneliest spots on the course.
The Tahoe Rim Trail run is part of Jornet's Quest at salomonrunning.com , a globe-spanning journey of personal trail- running expression supported by Salomon. His earlier Quest attempt, on the notoriously difficult GR20 trail traverse of Corsica, resulted in similar results: He pulverized the record for the 120-mile trail with a time of 32 hours, 52 minutes.
Kilian's journey along the Tahoe Rim Trail took him through a 165-mile loop wrapped around the largest Alpine lake in North America. The trail is comprised mostly of multiuse single-track, connecting the peaks along the ridge tops of the Lake Tahoe Basin. The trail ranges in elevation from 6,240 feet to 10,338, with a total elevation gain of more than 21,000 feet.
When Jornet was asked if he would consider running the trail again, he jokingly replied, “Yes, tomorrow we'll run it but go in the opposite direction, and loop twice.”
21-year old running phenom, Kilian Jornet, completed the 165-mile loop in 38h:32m as night fell on Tuesday, September 30th.
TRTA staff and volunteers were at the finish line, where Mark Kimbrough presented Kilian with his 165 Mile Club Certificate (#967). For a direct link to the Killian's website - visit http://www.salomonrunning.com/livekilian/