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“If you build it, they will come”

A line made famous in the movie Field of Dreams. And here we are – exactly 12-months after announcing the cancellation of TRTER 2020, we have the pleasure of announcing the 20th edition of the Tahoe Rim Trail Endurance Runs is calling all lottery winners to toe the line on Saturday, July 17, 2021!

[Drum roll please]

We have another huge announcement: We are introducing a new course with the start/finish in Carson City, Nevada! Yes, you read that correctly. I know the traditional TRTER course is beloved and legendary. However, we have outgrown our footprint Spooner Lake Nevada State Park, and this summer some major remodeling is scheduled to take place at Spooner, thus limiting us even further. I have been dreaming of this course revision for quite some time and this is the year to introduce it. While we’ve built some new routes into the courses, the Tahoe Rim Trail is still in the spotlight.

The start and finish will be at Western Nevada College at 2201 W College Parkway, Carson City NV 89703.

This allows us to have ample parking and eliminates the need for busing runners to the Start, and for shuttling runners from the off-site parking to the State park and back.

Many from outside of Western Nevada do not realize that Carson City is literally a few miles from Spooner Lake Backcountry where the TRTER takes place. Some of my favorite runs were running from Carson City to Chimney Beach. No, you are not running to the beach, but you will start off climbing up Ash Canyon to Snow Valley Peak – a 4,400-foot climb to start your day off. A full course description is available on the TRTER website. We are working on new pace/cutoff charts and getting the course profiles and gpx files accessible.

If you are familiar with our Aid Stations, you’ll be happy to know that none of the major aid station are moving, Tunnel Creek and Hobart aid stations will continue to be major hubs on course, and Diamond Peak and the slightly stupid climb X2 are still part of the course. As I mentioned, full course descriptions are available on the website. I am working on updating the pace chart to the new course. The course is bigger and a little more taste of hell – the 100 mile will be approximately 104 miles and 21,863 feet of elevation gain. The mile 50 will be approximately 55 miles and 12,800 feet of elevation gain and the 55K will remain at 34 miles and 8,000 feet of elevation gain. Because of this, for the first year we are increasing the 100-mile cut-off to 36 hours – 5 pm on Sunday. The 50-mile and 55K will increase by one hour to 18-hours.

So, hoist a cold one and celebrate the fact TRTER is moving on. TRTER race management and staff of amazing volunteers are excited to host this race again for the 20th year. Some of them, mainly the captains of Hobart Aid Station, Kevin and Tammie Bigley and 50-mile Stonehenge captain, Carol Nageotte have been involved for all 20 years, plus! A special thank you to them and all of our volunteers – you are what makes this race as awesome as it is! And a special thank you to all our sponsors that have stuck with us during our COVID blackout.

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Hello Tahoe Rim Trail Endurance Runners

I hope this finds you and your families healthy and well. Since my last statement three weeks ago we’ve witnessed unprecedented historic times in our country and our lives. Beyond our wildest imaginations.

Times of uncertainty are an understatement. But it’s this uncertainty that is the reason why I’m announcing 2020 Tahoe Rim Trail Endurance Runs will be cancelled. This decision was very difficult to make as we took into considerations from Federal, State and local governments as well us USDA Forest Service and Nevada State Parks.

While COVID-19 is the most obvious health concern, I am concerned about you as an entrant, and our volunteers taking care of runners in close proximity. I also know that in many parts of the country there are strict orders to not even go outside, or travel, so training and preparedness for this difficult race is also a big question.

As this pandemic winds down and the country opens up, what is going to be the new normal? No one can answer this question with certainty. The USDA Forest Service which issues our permits to operate within the Tahoe Basin does not know, nor does Nevada State Parks. Currently National Forest land in the country is closed until the Federal Government opens it back up.  These agencies are likely to have restrictions in the future about crowd sizes.

I realize this is extremely disappointing to many of you that have made this your focus race. I know there are many that are probably relieved to hear this for fear of traveling or being amongst large crowds. I feel especially bad for our many international runners that have been living with far more restrictive living conditions than we have and have already made travel plans. I would have liked to wait longer to make this decision but it’s unfair to you all to delay the inevitable.

As stated on our website, TRTER will refund 75% of your entry fee. This will come via a check from sent to the home address you had at the time you registered for the race. For those of you that have changed their mailing address I urge you promptly to go to your account on Ultra Signup and update this. I’m asking for your patience with this process. I hope to have the check in the mail in approximately two weeks.   

There will be No Rollovers, virtual race or shirt and finisher awards mailed out. These will all be used in next year’s race. Our lottery is not the same as Western States or Hardrock where a very small percentage of entries get into the race. It’s anyone’s guess how next year’s registrations will look with so many races rolling over to next year, I anticipate most will get in depending on our size restrictions going forward. So do not fret about the no rollovers, the registration opening for 2021 will be December  6^th for two weeks closing December 20^th.

I know some may not agree with this decision but with the uncertainty in this country and what the new normal will be going forward it just seems right to hit the reset button, get past this Pandemic and start planning on a much brighter and clearer TRTER 2021!

TRTER is a 501 3c nonprofit, none of the volunteers or race management team receive monies from this event. Anyone feeling like they would like to donate their entry fee to charities like the Food Bank of Northern Nevada and the Dream Center in Carson City, please email me directly. Any donations will go to helping those in need during these uncertain times.

Thank you for understanding this difficult decision. Please stay safe and healthy and we will see you in 2021.
George Ruiz – Race Director