So I’ve decided to celebrate my 30th birthday by running the 50 miler at Tahoe. I wanted to see if anyone has run, or plans to run, any of the races (50k/50/100). If you have any training advice for an ultra newbie who is not accustomed to altitude (7,000-9,200 feet) that would be greatly appreciated. Also, any insight into the logistics, where to stay, where to eat ect. would be welcome.
I crewed and paced for some friends doing the 100 at TRT a couple of years ago. The course is beautiful, but the trails are very runnable and not very technical. It is definitely on my short list of races to do.
My one piece of advice is to train for the downhills. The Ultra gang that I train with focus on running hard downhill in training. We will do long (4-6 mile downhill repeats, dropping 2-3000’).
It can also be fairly hot in Tahoe that time of year, so do some heat training.
Good Luck and Have Fun.
Dave
Thanks for the insight, especially the downhill training comment. I did a trail half marathon this summer with around 3,000 feet of gain and 4,000 feet drop. I hammered the down hills out of the gate and by the half way point couldn’t believe how bad my quads were. Hopefully I can exercise a little more restraint come July.
A good friend of mine has done the 100 mile there the last two years, as well as assorted other ultras. Check out his blog for thoughts and insight into the races. You should be able to find his race write-ups and training if you go through old posts.
http://pointpositivecoaching.com/
If you have any questions send him a note via the contact link. He’s a very friendly guy, provided he’s not grumpy from overtraining. 
J