The 2024 Tahoe 200 with Lulu Martinez Guillen
The Tahoe 200 is a race that takes place in the largest Alpine Lake in America, traversing forests, meadows, and over 9,500 foot peaks. The race happens every June and due to fires in the area it has seen different iterations of the course throughout the years. The most current course is over 200 miles, more than 36K feet of elevation gain, and starts and ends in Heavenly Stagecoach Lodge.
I registered to run the 2023 race, but record-breaking levels of snow forced the date to be moved from June to July and I couldn’t make the new dates, so I deferred my entry to 2024.
I had no previous experience in mountain races and I knew I needed a new approach to training, so I decided to work with Coach Elizabeth on this project. We started training in late 2022, but when the race date moved I deferred my entry and took a break to move cross country and picked back up in October 2023. All together we trained for over a year and had several races throughout to test our overall strategy, including nutrition, gear, hydration, sleep deprivation, etc.
The goal was to get to the start line healthy and without any injuries and there was a lot to get done since Tahoe was not only my first 200 miler but also my first mountain race. The training had a lot of different components which I believe allowed me to sharpen my skills while also have a lot of fun. We had strength sessions at the gym that focused not only on building strong legs but also core and upper body, mobility and stretching to allow for recovery, cross training that included swimming and Peloton bike classes, incline training sessions using the treadmill to build speed, trail running days with elevation gain goals, and a lot of power hiking to learn how to move swiftly on the trails.
I believe this holistic approach to training was the perfect recipe for me. I credit my success at Tahoe to the way we trained, it allowed me to get to that finish line without any injuries.
The race itself was as magical as it could be! Tahoe is a stunning course and the lake views are breathtaking. Coach Elizabeth and I had a race plan and though we knew anything could happen and plans always go out the door we wanted to be ready for every possible scenario.
My crew consisted of my husband, Joe, who has completed the Triple Crown of 200s and was also coached by Mountain Peak Fitness, and Coaches Joe and Elizabeth from MPF, who drove all the way from CO to help me achieve my dream.
The first 63 miles are an out and back from Heavenly to Housewife Hill and crew access is not allowed. These miles get you to the highest point of the race and often have snow on the course. From the moment the gun went off I paired up with another runner, Danni, whose strategy was like mine and we decided to stay together until we were back at Heavenly. During the snow crossings we met another runner, Steven, and the three of us remained together for 80 miles.
I started developing blisters at mile 30 and they only worsen as the miles went by. The Destination Trail medical team helped me drain and tape my blisters at the aid stations and I was lucky that they never got to a point where they were unbearable or cause for a DNF.
I picked up my first pacer, Joe, at mile 63, Heavenly, and continued together until Village Green, mile 100. Once there, Coach Elizabeth jumped in to pace me until Tahoe City, mile 132. This section of the course has the infamous Powerline climb, a very short and steep section that climbs over 1K feet in about a mile. Elizabeth and I arrived at Tahoe City on my third night out there. I once again switched pacers and Joe and I began making our way to Heavenly.
Sleep eluded me most of the time. I tried to take naps both at the aid stations and on the trail, but my brain wouldn’t stop, and I was unsuccessful in my sleeping attempts. Overall, I slept less than 2 hours throughout the race, which meant that on the second night out there my tired brain started playing tricks on me and the visual and auditive hallucinations began. I continued like this until I finally slept once the race was done. The hallucinations worsen at night.
I crossed the finish line in 102:02:21, happy, healthy, and very tired. Tahoe for me was a dream race. I still look at the photos and relive all the emotions I experienced those 5 days in the mountains.