High-altitude training in the flatlands

By CBS News

It looks like any other high-intensity fitness class, but this one elevates exercise to a whole new level.

Once you step inside the AirFit studio at the Quad in the San Francisco Bay Area, you’re suddenly transported to somewhere like Denver, Half Dome or Lake Tahoe — the altitude many pro-athletes successfully train at. A complex air filtration system sucks some of the oxygen out of the room, so you breathe less of it.

While your heart rate goes up, the oxygen in the room goes down. As the air gets thinner, the body adapts to lower levels of oxygen by increasing red blood cells and hemoglobin, which changes muscle metabolism.

“The cool thing about this room is that we’re not obviously at 10,000 feet up in the mountains where we’d have to hike down or drive down like 5 hours to get to sea level,” Carlo Maravilla, director of AirFit, told CBS San Francisco.

Read the whole story




Brown signs bills promoting bike paths

By Patrick McGreevy and Melanie Mason, Los Angeles Times

Gov. Jerry Brown on Saturday signed into law two measures aimed at helping cities and counties expand and improve bike paths and trails, including one allowing voters to consider whether to increase some fees to pay for the work.

Local agencies, including cities and park districts, could place proposals on the ballot that, with a two-thirds vote from local residents, would impose a motor vehicle registration surcharge of up to $5 in those districts, with the proceeds going to developing and maintaining bikeway networks.

Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, said his bill will allow communities to provide a transportation alternative to driving cars on congested streets. He cited a study that found the more bike lanes provided per square mile in a city, the more commuters took bikes rather than cars.

“Upgrading bike infrastructure will help public safety, the environment and the quality of life in cities across California,” DeSaulnier said of SB 1183.

Brown also agreed to give local governments more flexibility in designing bikeways.

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Workers needed for Truckee River Day

The 19th annual Truckee River Day is Oct. 19.

Volunteers have a choice of half or full day restoration projects with different levels of difficulty. There will be 12-15 projects, including restoration in Martis Valley near Elizabethtown Meadows, seeding and mulching at Prosser Lake, removing milfoil from the Truckee River, and revegetating a recently burned area near Boca Townsite. Projects start at 9 or 11am and finish between 2-3pm.

The River Fair will be from 1-4pm at Granite Flat Campground. The fair features environmental activities for kids and adults and the annual fish release at 3pm. Food will be provided by Northstar. Everyone is invited to the fair even if you’re not involved in restoration projects.

To participate in this year’s restoration projects, go online. The deadline for registration is Oct. 10.

 




Important to get yard ready for winter

By Melinda Myers

You can see and feel the change of seasons. Fall color is starting to appear, pansies, mums and asters are in the garden center and your thoughts are turning to preparing your landscape for winter.

Those in warm climates are switching to winter annuals, while those in colder regions are fortifying their landscapes for the cold winter ahead. No matter where you live, invest some time in preparing your landscape for the change in seasons. Dedicating some time now will pay off with healthier more beautiful plants next spring.

Continue to mow the lawn high as long as it continues to grow. There’s no need to cut it short unless that is the look you prefer.

Fertilize the grass with a low nitrogen slow release fertilizer. Fall fertilization provides the greatest benefit to your lawn and gives you the best value for the time and money invested.

Those in cooler regions growing bluegrass, fescue and perennial ryegrass should make a final application between Halloween and Thanksgiving before the ground freezes.

Those in warmer climates growing centipede, Bermuda and zoysia should also fertilize around Labor Day. However, be sure to make the last fall application at least one month prior to the average first killing frost.

Shred leaves as they fall. Leave some on the lawn to add organic matter and nutrients to the soil. As long as you can see the grass blades through the shredded leaves your lawn will be fine.

Use the rest of the shredded leaves in your compost pile, as mulch on top of the soil or as a soil amendment. Just dig a two to three inch layer into the top 12 inches of annual or new planting beds. These leaves will break down and add organic matter. By spring the leaves will decompose and the garden bed will be ready to cultivate and plant.

Plant a few bulbs now for a colorful early spring display. Incorporate compost, aged manure or other organic matter into the planting area. Add a low nitrogen slow release fertilizer at the time of planting. In general, plant bulbs two to three times their vertical diameter deep. Follow specific planting and spacing directions on the package or tag.

Select animal-resistant bulbs to avoid squirrels digging up the bulbs and deer and rabbits eating the blooms. Daffodils, hyacinths, grape hyacinths and squills are a few to consider. Little Tommies (Crocus tommasinianus) tend to be more squirrel resistant than other crocus varieties.

Those gardening in mild climates need low chill bulbs that will thrive and flower after a mild winter. Or purchase precooled bulbs for winter planting and spring flowering.

Allow disease- and insect-free perennials to stand for winter. This will increase their winter hardiness and your enjoyment. The dried leaves, stems and seedheads provide beauty for you to enjoy, seeds for the birds and overwintering homes for many butterflies and beneficial insects.

Plant trees, shrubs and perennials. The soil is warm and the air is cool – perfect conditions for planting and establishing trees, shrubs and perennials. And for those lucky enough to garden in warm climates, add a few winter annuals.

Continue to water the landscape as needed throughout the fall. Be sure to water evergreens and new plantings thoroughly before the ground freezes.

No matter where you live or the size of your garden, get outdoors and enjoy the beauty of fall. And be sure to invest a bit of energy now to insure your landscape is ready for the season ahead.

Gardening expert, TV/radio host, author and columnist Melinda Myers has more than 30 years of horticulture experience and has written over 20 gardening books.




Utah ski resorts go on marketing offensive

By Brady McCombs, AP

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah officials launched a $1.8 million campaign Tuesday to market Salt Lake City as “Ski City USA” in an effort to lure skiers away from top destination spots like Colorado and earn a bigger chunk of the lucrative winter sports market.

A package of online and print advertisements highlights the benefits of Salt Lake City being a short drive from four ski resorts located in the Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons east of Salt Lake City: Alta Ski Area, Brighton Resort, Snowbird Ski Resort and Solitude Mountain Resort.

Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams said during a news conference Tuesday that no other ski destination in the United States offers the quality of terrain and proximity to a major airport and large city with restaurants, bars and night life.

McAdams was joined by other local government leaders, tourism officials and ski resort executives during the unveiling of the campaign.

“It’s about time that we all got together and realized this whole valley is the base camp for the skiing that will happen in our four ski resorts,” said Tom Dolan, mayor of Sandy, a Salt Lake City suburb that sits down the hill from the ski areas. “We all benefit from skiers who come here from all over the world.”

Visit Salt Lake President Scott Beck said the new campaign is absolutely aimed at luring skiers away from Colorado, which annually registers about three times more skier visits than Utah, according to figures from the National Ski Area Association. Last season, Utah had 4.1 million day visits from skiers and snowboarders — compared to 12.6 million in Colorado.

Vicki Varela, managing director of the Utah Office of Tourism, said her office’s research has shown that more than half of people who are shown a picture of Salt Lake City’s skyline with the mountains behind think it is Denver.

“It’s outrageous that we have the product and they have that brand,” Varela said. “This gives us the story that we deserve to have on the national stage.”

The new marketing campaign doesn’t include three resorts near Park City, Utah, also located a short drive from Salt Lake City.

Last week, Vail Resorts Inc., a ski industry titan based in Colorado, purchased Park City Mountain Resort in a move that put an end to a messy legal battle between the two major companies and paved the way for the creation of what could be the country’s largest resort. Vail also operates the adjacent Canyons ski area.

McAdams mentioned Park City by name in listing other ski towns that don’t match what Salt Lake City has to offer. But Visit Salt Lake President Scott Beck said the campaign isn’t a response to Vail’s entry into the market or an attempt to steal skiers away from their neighboring resorts.

The four resorts in this program are partners with three Park City resorts — Canyons Resort, Deer Valley Resort, Park City Mountain Resort — in another long-term plan that is being promoted by Utah ski officials. In a program being called, “One Wasatch,” a plan is being hatched to link seven ski areas with connecting lifts that would give the state a European-style experience.

If that plan comes to fruition — there is no timeline yet — it would be like “Sky City on steroids,” Beck joked.

The campaign is paid for by Visit Salt Lake, which gets its revenue from a tax visitors pay when they stay at hotels. The branding campaign won’t replace the long-running statewide slogan, “The Greatest Snow on Earth,” which is on Utah license plates and used throughout promotional materials.




USFS project limits South Shore trail access

The U.S. Forest has reduced access to parts of the South Shore for a fuels reduction and forest health project.

The work began last week off forest roads 12N15 and 12N08 (Powerline) near Trout Creek southwest of Columbine Trail near South Lake Tahoe. The Forest Service will close the areas in units 74, 1074, 199, and 1199 from 7am-6pm daily now through Dec. 1 for public safety due to heavy equipment operations and falling trees.

Hazards may be present even when operations have finished for the day and the closure is not in effect. Individuals disregarding the closure may be cited, with subsequent fines or jail time.

The forest thinning is part of the South Shore Fuels Reductions and Healthy Forest Restoration Project, which will treat approximately 10,000 acres between Cascade Lake and Stateline.

Here is a map of the area.




U.S. kids need playtime intervention

By Katie Arnold, Outside

So far this summer has been one of the wettest and coolest on record across much of North America. In Ontario, where my family and I spent a month at our island cottage, the thermometer topped 80 only a couple of times. Many days started out damp and chilly, but I’d bundle our two daughters in sweats and fleece and boat across the channel to Juniper Island for the usual morning drill: swimming, canoeing, and tennis lessons, a kind of retro DIY day camp that’s been a tradition on Stony Lake for more than 50 years.

By 4pm most days, the wind would have scrubbed the sky clear of clouds, and my daughters would fling themselves off the front dock or we’d go paddle boarding or motor across the lake to visit friends. But when the wind was blowing hard out of the north or west, sending whitecaps barreling down on our point and making it too blustery to be on the water, Pippa, 6, and Maisy, 4, took a more laid-back, old-fashioned approach to summer: They played.

A generation ago this wouldn’t have been worth noting. Playing was what kids did, naturally. But with the onset of schedules and screen time, free-play among children has been steadily decreasing since the mid-1950s. According to two studies out of the University of Michigan, as reported by Peter Gray in the American Journal of Play, children’s play time fell by 25 percent from 1981 to 1997; outdoor play has plunged by 50 percent, with kids today spending a mere 4-7 minutes per day goofing off outdoors.

Read the whole time




Interscholastic cycling league launching in Nevada

Nevada in 2016 is set to join the National Interscholastic Cycling Association, a youth development organization governing interscholastic mountain biking in the United States.

Already student-athletes from Nevada are traveling to compete in events in California, including Incline Village’s Meghan Kelley who won the 2014 California junior varsity state championship.

If there is enough interest, racing could begin in 2015. With many of the league’s participating communities located in the Eastern Sierras, events will take place during the summer and fall months to align with the region’s mountain biking season.

The Nevada League will have its headquarters in Incline Village, home to the Flume Trail, and most participants will come from the Tahoe-Reno-Sparks area. Mammoth Lakes is expected to play a key role in the league, and Susanville in the north and communities to the east have expressed interest too.




Ironman Lake Tahoe — ultimate endurance test

Dan Starkey before he begins the 2013 Lake Tahoe Ironman. Photos/Provided

Dan Starkey before he begins the 2013 Lake Tahoe Ironman. Photos/Provided

By Dan Starkey

Born and raised in the East Bay, Lake Tahoe has always held a special place in my heart for winter skiing and summer getaways. Last year, I added another unforgettable experience to my lifelong love of Lake Tahoe. On Sept. 22, 2013, I completed my first Ironman at Lake Tahoe.

This is my experience.

The conditions on race day were challenging, but they could’ve been a lot worse. The whole week leading up to the race was beautiful weather in the mid to upper 70s. Then, on Saturday, the day before the race, the weather turned awful. Cold wind and rain in the 50s, with waves crashing at Kings Beach. It even snowed in surrounding areas.

I spent the night before the race at the Resort at Squaw Creek. After a restless night’s sleep filled with anticipation, I got up at 4am to have a light breakfast of a bagel, yogurt, and a banana with a few sips of Diet Coke for caffeine. On a day that I would burn more than 15,000 calories, you would think I would eat a larger breakfast. However, I found swimming with a full stomach (the first of three legs of a triathlon) can lead to nauseousness. When we woke up on race day, the temperature was 29 degrees with a sunny forecast into the 60s. I took a hot shower to raise my body core temperature before bundling up and heading out to the bus.

Kings Beach is where the swim takes place.

Kings Beach is where the swim takes place.

The bus ride from Squaw Valley to Kings Beach was in the pitch dark and we arrived 6am. I wore sunglasses, a 49ers ski hat and closed my eyes to visualize the day. Naturally, a Blues Brothers quote struck me as we drove away from Squaw Olympic Village knowing that I would return there some 14-plus hours later to cross the finish line: “It’s 140.6 miles to complete an Ironman. I’ve got a full a tank of gas (full stomach). A half of a banana. It’s dark. And I’m wearing sunglasses. Hit it!” – Elwood Blues

At the transition area at Kings Beach, the dangerous surf from just hours before was now glassy water in one of the most beautiful mountain lake settings in the world. The sun was starting to illuminate the sky as we neared the age-group swim start at 6:40am. The water temperature was in the low-mid 60s, providing excellent swimming conditions.

At 6:45am, my Ironman experience would begin telling myself “Pace, don’t race”. The swim course is a two-lap counter clockwise rectangular 2.4-mile course. Nine hundred meters out a long straight, 200 meters to the left then back in for lap one. Lake Tahoe is a dream to swim in, compared to say the Pacific Ocean where I completed my first 70.3 triathlon. In Santa Cruz, the water has a green tint and is freezing relative to Lake Tahoe. I remember wondering if a shark was going to attack. In Tahoe, the water is crystal clear and you can distract yourself watching peaceful sandy bottom, with its occasional boulders or fallen trees.

I maintained a steady stroke and stayed wide to seek calm waters where I would get kicked/punched less by other swimmers. I did get knocked about half a dozen times, but it’s to be expected. At the far turns, you lose sight of the lake floor in depths of more than 40 feet, but you are rewarded with 360 degree views of freshly dusted mountain tops surrounding the lake now illuminated by the rising morning sun.

“I can’t believe how beautiful this is,” I said to myself. “The day is here. I’m doing an Ironman.”

On the final straightaway, I smiled when I started seeing the sandy bottom again. Approaching the shore, as you lift your head out of the water, the underwater silence is shattered with rock music blaring (mind you, it’s still only 8:15am). The crowd is roaring and a guy on the loud speaker yelling out competitors’ names as they head to the first transition (T1). A friend of mine spotted me and cheered me on. It was great to see a familiar face. I achieved my target time of 1 hour and 15 minutes for the swim and kept my heart rate in check the whole time. Good start – but there’s a very long day ahead.

En route to the changing tent, two wetsuit strippers tell you to lie on the ground and they yank off your wetsuit in an instant. This was especially convenient since our hands on this morning were nearly frozen.

The swim-to-bike transition was a challenge. With temperatures still in the 30s, everyone was doing a full uniform change. The changing tent was over capacity so many of us had to change standing up balancing on one leg with racers all around us. While T1 usually takes about 5-10 minutes, it took most athletes 15-30 minutes on this day. Unfortunately, many athletes’ days ended with the swim when they could not recover from hypothermia.

A select few have the coveted Ironman medal.

A select few have the coveted Ironman medal.

I left the warm humid T1 tent to jog out to my bike and head out on the chilly ride. The bike covered 112 miles over a 2 1/3 lap clockwise from Kings Beach through Carnelian Bay, Tahoe Vista, Dollar Point, Tahoe City, past Alpine Meadows and Squaw (I’ll see you more later, Squaw), to Truckee down through Martis Camp and Northstar back over Brockway Grade (7,185 feet) back to Kings Beach.

I elected for function over fashion and bundled up in more clothes than I’d worn in training since mid-Spring. My toes were numb for the first two hours of the bike from the wind and cold. I ate a little Clif Bar and water while I settled into my cycling stroke.

The majority of your nutrition is consumed on the bike. It’s hard on your stomach to eat much heavy food on the run. You need to hydrate well early in the race, especially being at 6,000-7,000-foot elevation. If you’re dehydrated by the time you get on the run, you’re probably not going to be able to recover. Ironman combines a physical test that you can’t cram for – and the need to game plan your exertion, nutrition and hydration in the face of extreme fatigue and the elements for up to 17 straight hours.

The first 35 miles along Highway 89 past Squaw up through Truckee are flat-to-downhill so you can maintain a brisk pace of 20 mph or more in the aero position without using too much energy. I really enjoyed the first part of the ride though reserved proper respect for the serious climbing ahead.

I anticipated that Brockway Grade on Highway 267 was going to be among the toughest sections of the entire race based on previous training rides. Martis Camp was the wild card. It was a private community adjacent to Northstar Resort that was off limits to the public prior to race day. We only knew from the course map that there was definitely climbing.

All events are on the North Shore.

All events are on the North Shore.

It turns out Martis Camp was a million switchbacks and lots of ups and downs that got you sweating, then cold on the downhill, then sweating and cold, etc. I was thrilled to see Northstar signs because it meant I was done with Martis Camp for this lap. Just past the entrance to the Ritz-Carlton was the dreaded Brockway Grade. Brockway is 2.5 miles of unforgiving uphill with grades up to 8-10 percent (that’s hard … wink!). My first ascent up Brockway actually went better than expected. At the top, I couldn’t believe I was thinking to myself that Martis Camp may have been more tiring than Brockway. As I started the 35-40 mph descent on the backside of Brockway into Kings Beach, I was already dreading those back-to-back climbs in about 45 miles.

By 11am, I was almost done with lap one on the bike under clear blue skies. I was right on pace with my pre-race target and feeling strong with nearly two hours of smooth road ahead. But before I got too satisfied, I reminded myself that I still had almost 100 miles of riding/running to go. Reality check.

In mile 60 past Tahoe City, I took my first dip into my Special Needs bag. Before the race, you can put anything you want or need into a bag that’s waiting for you halfway through each the bike and the run. My bag included ibuprofen, Tums, extra energy food and drinks, plus some fun snacks to just break up the monotony like Lay’s BBQ potato chips (tasty salt intake) and a Coca Cola (sweet tasting caffeine). I was fueled up and hoping to see my family in Truckee.

Through historic downtown Truckee, I coasted while standing up out of the saddle stretching my calves, hamstrings and lower back scanning both sides of the barricaded street for my support crew. I was so happy to spot them on the far side of Bridge Street. I stopped and chatted with everyone for a couple of minutes while the kids were jumping up and down and yelling excitedly! I shed my jacket now that it was up to 64 degrees – the ideal race temperature I never thought we’d see 24 hours before when it was snowing.

I hesitated to push off because I didn’t want to say goodbye so quickly. I got such a lift from seeing everyone that I carried with me into the mountain climbs ahead. The roads were definitely less crowded than earlier. On the second climb up Martis Camp, fewer riders nearby made the uphills feel even slower and longer. It wasn’t just a feeling. My second lap was about 1 mph slower than the first one, but I was still going steadily.

Brockway was definitely tougher the second time around. I counted down each 0.1 of a mile through the final steep half-mile section. At the top of Brockway, I stopped at the aid station to collect myself. I made a point of thanking volunteers as often as I could.

Dan Starkey all bundled up for the bike ride.

Dan Starkey all bundled up for the bike ride.

The support on this race was truly exceptional thanks to all of their help. They would hold your Needs bag for you while you picked what you needed from it. At aid stations (every 10 miles on bike and every 1 mile on run), they would take your bike bottles from you, twist off the cap, refill it and replace the cap and return it to you while you caught your breath for a moment. They would do anything that would make life easier on you in that moment.

Every gesture of kindness was welcomed on this tiring day. My favorite sign on the road was held by an 11-year-old boy: “I trained 6 months to hold this sign!” Honorable mention: “Pain is temporary. IM is forever.” I was also told, “You’re almost there!” about 12 times. Even in my poor mental state, I was onto them after the first 11 times.

Speaking of kind gestures, there were thousands of cheering people throughout the race course. It was fun to watch the reactions. There was an excitable group of twentysomething guys/girls on the left side of the road near Tahoe City at mile 95. I played along with them and waved my hand up, up telling them to raise the noise level. They ate it up and went crazy! They were as pumped for my participation in their rowdiness as I was to receive their energy. They may have been drunk.

Miles 90-110 to Squaw were pretty leisurely. I ate some Clif Bar, drank as needed and even chatted up a rider I’d seen many times on the ride. He was on his third IM and he called the Tahoe bike “10 times harder than Canada”. This sentiment would be repeated many times over. This was the highest Ironman ever held in North America and the most climbing (7,500 feet) on the bike ever.

Approaching Squaw Village for the second transition (T2), I was treated to lots of cheering family and friends. I was on a high! The swim and bike were done – and I was surprised how good I felt. In the T2 chute (like the end of a leg of the Tour de France), I yelled to no one in particular in the cheering crowd, “This is awesome!”

To make you feel like a champion, as you approach the T2, someone is waiting there to take your bike from you while you jog off in your bike shoes to go change into your running gear. I thought this only happened at Kona on TV. Nice touch.

A few minutes before 4pm, I was in my running shoes and heading off for the run – a 26.2-mile double lap out-and-back course along the Truckee River trail to Tahoe City. I saw more family as I started the run and rounded the corner through the throngs of cheering fans in the village. I actually started the run thinking that I could beat my personal best time for a marathon. This was a humorous delusion.

The first five miles of the run were good, but that’s where my feelings of “This is awesome!” abruptly came to end for good. I was having stomach pains that were aggravated with every step of running. I walked for the next five miles straight. Every time I tried to run again the pain in my gut jabbed at me. I couldn’t stomach eating anything either. No nutrition with 16 miles to go was not sustainable.

After turning around at mile 10 in Tahoe City, the stomach pain subsided enough for me to start mixing some jogging (very little … like 0.2 mile at a time) with the walking. I started extrapolating how long this marathon would take at this pace. Oh geez … this was going to be the longest 5-plus hours in my life.

Still, I reminded myself of Goal No. 1: Finish the Ironman.

I had these images in my mind of people collapsing and not finishing the Ironman. I would rather finish with a longer than expected marathon time than not finish at all.

A smile from Dan Starkey after a grueling day at the Lake Tahoe Ironman.

A smile from Dan Starkey after a grueling day at the Lake Tahoe Ironman.

This race is a test of survival. My stomach would eventually accept some potato chips (to replenish some lost sodium), grapes, oranges and cola. On my return to the Squaw Village area, more family and friends cheered me on. My wife, Erica, ran along with me for several minutes and I got emotional in her confidence that I was on my way to becoming an Ironman. I still had 10 miles of foot numbing walking/jogging ahead.

Though, the last four miles in the dark seemed to take absolutely forever. I saw my buddy Jeff Judson on the course a couple of times on the run so we pumped each other up. I also talked to several multi-Ironman finishers. I asked them all the same question, “How does this one compare?” and I always got the same answer “This is the toughest one I’ve ever done … that bike was brutal.”

After the sun went down, the temp dropped quickly. I wore a space blanket over my shoulders and a headlamp for the last 2.5 hours of the marathon. The temperature had dropped back down to 40 degrees. I tried to stay “present” enough to acknowledge the encouragement of strangers, but to be honest, even a thumbs up (frequent throughout the bike course) was too much to muster.

Within miles of the finish line, the Squaw Village lights shined brightly through the darkness and you could hear the finish line announcer celebrating each finisher’s name. As I entered the final half-mile within the village, I soaked in the crowds along the barricades and slapped five with as many kids as I could. Approaching the grandstands, I was smiling broadly and searching to find my wife and kids. As the announcer boomed “Dan Starkey from Danville, California … You Are An Ironman!”, Erica screamed out my name from just right of the victor’s arch. My experience was complete to have Erica and the kids sharing it with me.

No more than three steps after crossing the finish line, a handler puts his arm around your shoulders — probably so you won’t fall over. He was also the handler for the third place pro, who called IMLT the toughest IM he’s ever done. The best pro time in IMLT (8 hour 55 minutes) was nearly an hour longer than Kona, for example. Most of us in IMLT found this race to take at least an hour longer than expected.

Finishing time: 14 hours, 44 minutes, 0 seconds.

After my photo was taken in front of the IM backdrop and I got hugs from the family, I scarfed down about seven pieces of pizza and a plate of chicken and pasta before getting a massage in the heated medical tent. It was also amazing to stay until almost midnight and watch some of the finishers who could barely stand upright shuffle across the line to earn their medals.

The memories of completing my first Ironman in Lake Tahoe remain a daily inspiration to me. The experience profoundly embodies the Ironman motto that “Anything Is Possible”.

Note: I’m looking forward to returning to complete the Ironman Lake Tahoe 70.3 on Sept. 21.




TRTA to recognize Challenge participants

How do you sustain a world-renown trail with state and government funding down 70 percent? Ask the community to help support the trails they cherish.

The Tahoe Rim Trail Association did just that with its Tahoe Rim Trail Challenge starting in 2013. This year more 2,300 miles were traveled by 452 participants.

Participants paid for a membership that helps support the 165-mile loop, and joined friends and co-workers to see who could travel the most miles throughout the year.

During the summer, sponsors of the challenge hosted a trail day on a designated section of the loop which helps support the challengers by giving them a little bit of extra love. In the first year membership to the TRTA increased by 20 percent.

TRTA on Sept. 22 will honor the 16 sponsors and celebrate the 33-year anniversary of the completion of the Tahoe Rim Trail loop. This event is also recognized as an official Nevada sesquicentennial anniversary celebration.  The celebration will be at Coffeebar, 682 Mount Rose St., Reno at 4:30pm with light food and drinks.

For more info, call Shannon Skarritt at 775.298.4490.