All this talk about the new IM race in Lake Tahoe has got me thinking back to my first ultra distance race in 1992. Who else on this forum did the old World’s Toughest Triathlon? It was based in South Lake Tahoe and was something like a 2 mile swim, 100 mile bike and 18 mile run. I think the bike included I think 3 of the 5 passes of the Markleville Death Ride and was followed with a trail run. Participation was limited maybe 200 racers? I recall 1992 had hail and snow on Luther pass in August! I also remember it was the first time I met Cowman. Good memories, maybe I will race Tahoe in 2014.
The same thought occured to me when they announced IM Lake Tahoe. I participated in 1991 and 1992.
Raced it in 1993, but no snow and hail. I remember reading about the 1992 event. It sounded so Epic that I wanted to race it. Toughest race of my life. That race was like “races are meant to be”. To bad that WTC is fixated on distance, otherwise they could go with a slightly shorter (in distance), but same length (in duration) and go with a really tough course. I am sure no one would complain!
Raced it in 1993, but no snow and hail. I remember reading about the 1992 event. It sounded so Epic that I wanted to race it. Toughest race of my life. That race was like “races are meant to be”. To bad that WTC is fixated on distance, otherwise they could go with a slightly shorter (in distance), but same length (in duration) and go with a really tough course. I am sure no one would complain!
If that worked, then folks would not have bitched about Brads race in Auburn. It was a little shorter than a Olympic, but about the same “time” as an Olympic because it was so hard.
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I did the race a couple times in the late 80’s, and it was the distance you raced. One year i got caught with 3 miles to go on the run, the other i got DQ’ed while leading the bike for rolling a stop sign. That was the fate of many back in the day, but a couple actually lost $10 grand for those pesky stop signs…
Just a note, the original course was a 3 mile swim, 120 mile bike, and 27 mile run. Usually a nice cold lake at 6k+ ft. altitude, bike ride went over 4 mountain passes up to 8500ft, and the run was a combo of trail and road that had climbs where you had to pull yourself up by tree roots. It really was the worlds toughest triathlon. And Scott Molina won that 1st race, which is fitting as he was the worlds toughest triathlete…
did it in 1993, same year as paul.
Fun times
Just a note, the original course was a 3 mile swim, 120 mile bike, and 27 mile run.
Thanks for that distance — I thought it was longer originally than what Dev noted. I did it as an individual I believe the 2nd year … Scott Molina was there and Greg Lemond rode the bike leg on a relay. Most everyone did the relay and only a handful did the full … when I finished they told me I was the 40th finisher of the full event (in 2 years time!). It was a real killer course … took me like 2 days to get out of bed afterwards and I had coca cola urine for 2 days … now I know that is from rhabdmyolysis!
Dave
'89, '90 & '91
Which proves that I’m 3x more stupid than the average person. I got slower each year. Mostly because I was getting into a career and training less. I also met a girl - who would become my better half. She approved of my stupidy then, so, she’s not surprised about it now.
For me, never really a race, more about survival.
If any “normal” person asks, I just say that it was a tough day at the office.
One of the reasons I race was the “Triathlon Magazine” coverage (this was before Triathon and Tri-athlete merged) of the Lemond vs Molina smackdown. The media made a big deal about how close Molina would be to Lemond’s relay split. It was almost blown up as much as today’s Lance threads. Back then, Molina was winning all the USTS races and every other race outside of Kona. Lemond was fresh off a 2nd place finish at the Tour. I don’t believe he had won his first tour “yet”. The year was 85 if I have the timing correct as it was the first year I was doing tri and got totally stoked about this race in Tahoe because of Lemond and Molina (who said pros don’t matter). It was on my to do list for several years. By the time I did it, seriously thought I was going to do die on the Monitor Pass descent! I was just glad they shortened it to 2/100/20. I thought that race distance was actually perfect for this hard course, and would have been much better as the “standard” Ironman course. Swim is 10 min shorter, bike 30-40 min faster, run 50-60 min faster. Overall this distance would be 90-120 min faster for most of us. As I said on another thread, this race took me 10:39 given the climbing and altitude, which was slightly slower than my Ironman races back then.
I had forgotten the previous editions were longer and run as relays as an option. I DNF’ed about mile 75 in 1992, I was sick of being wet and cold. Took a ride back in the bed of a pickup truck with a few other racers. If my memory is correct Cowman may have been with me with a bike mechanical.
I came back and finished the race in 1993 just because it was a monkey on my back. Maybe 2014…
Maybe we should just get a group of alumni together and do the 2-100-20 on the orginal course as a group workout. Probably much more fun than doing it as a race! Although I don’t think I could do the original run course. I don’t have enough balance on my left leg to stay up on anything but pavement or really flat trail. Sucks to have nerve damage in the leg, but I’m OK on pavement.
What happened to this race? What was the last year it was held?
Paul that is a really crazy stupid idea. I now live in Texas but we have a family vacation to South Lake Tahoe in August…
I believe the last year this race was held was 1995 they moved it out to Kirkwood ski resort. swam in Caples Lake, rode down Carson Pass to Monitor & back to Kirkwood with the run being around the Kirkwood meadows, Cowman raced that year also because I ran the last lap with him.
I’m pretty sure race director Charlie Lincon still lives & works in town.
What happened to this race?
As someone pointed out, it was owned by Charlie Lincoln, and i’m guessing he just got tired of losing money, or barley breaking even. In its heyday they had some big casino sponsors i believe, and they would put up the big $10k 1st prize money. Over the years the course just got too tough for most and the numbers fell off, not that they were big to begin with. It will be interesting to see what the ironman moniker does for the race. I see in ST. Geroge that the course difficulty is most likely the reason that the numbers declined and the race now cancelled. I have to tell you guys, Tahoe is waaaay harder than St. Geroge. Double the climbing, swim at altitude, in fact do the entire race at very high altitudes. I guess i should wait to see the course 1st, but i did a lot of training up there in my day, and unless you go around the lake, there is no easy course. Even around the lake is harder than virtually every other ironman.
I hope it survives, the course was iconic in our history and would be a shame it it bit the dust a 2nd time, just because it was too hard. Out of the million+ triathletes out there now, surly there are a couple thousand that still seek an adventure and a tough course?
Wow, that sounds pretty intense. I hope to be able to complete a similar tri one day.
What happened to this race?
As someone pointed out, it was owned by Charlie Lincoln, and i’m guessing he just got tired of losing money, or barley breaking even. In its heyday they had some big casino sponsors i believe, and they would put up the big $10k 1st prize money. Over the years the course just got too tough for most and the numbers fell off, not that they were big to begin with. It will be interesting to see what the ironman moniker does for the race. I see in ST. Geroge that the course difficulty is most likely the reason that the numbers declined and the race now cancelled. I have to tell you guys, Tahoe is waaaay harder than St. Geroge. Double the climbing, swim at altitude, in fact do the entire race at very high altitudes. I guess i should wait to see the course 1st, but i did a lot of training up there in my day, and unless you go around the lake, there is no easy course. Even around the lake is harder than virtually every other ironman.
I hope it survives, the course was iconic in our history and would be a shame it it bit the dust a 2nd time, just because it was too hard. Out of the million+ triathletes out there now, surly there are a couple thousand that still seek an adventure and a tough course?
Monty, the year I did it in 1993, I think there was 200 between the full race and the sprint. Hard to make money off that. I think the race also suffered from a lack of active marketing. The marketing was huge in the days of Lemond/Molina and then declined somewhat. There were also around 20 Kona slots in 1993. Don’t know when they lost their Kona slots, but that probably did not help. The reality is that the course was too tough for all but the few that wanted adventure. I hate to say it, but even back in 1993, a lot of people did not want to go “THAT” far and not get “credit” for doing a full Ironman even though it was tougher than most. While the older generation looks down at the bucket list crowd today, “we” were no different back then. Everyone want to go do Roth and “get a fast time”. I actually had 1993 lined up to do both Roth and WTT. I wanted to get a “fast time” at Roth like everyone else and I wanted to just accomplish a finish at WTT and cover both ends of the spectrum…alas, a 2 flat day at Roth derailed going sub 10 (keep in mind there was no Arizona or Florida then to get “fast times”…it was Roth or nothing).
With WTT lined up in the week before IMC, most folks from California were going to IMC even in 1993. There were more people at IMC from California than there were at WTT. At IMC, California was the biggest contingent of athletes from any US state or Canadian Province (it was like a home course event for people from California). Not like IMC was an easy course, but it appealed to a lot more people as “doable” vs slogging through a survival run at Tahoe. I don’t think that climbing and descending Monitor Pass was for the rank and file athlete. You’d have to be pretty hard core to relish the pain and the risk associated with that. It is not something that has mass appeal. I would not send most of the athletes in my training group to do the old WTT…they simply would not be capable.
Even the new Tahoe course, I would be reluctant to recommend it to half of my athletes, because they’d be in over their heads due to lack of fitness at altitude, but the other half could easily do it. Only the pointy end of my group could do the WTT and walk on Monday.
1992: I think I was about 8 years old and could have done this race no problem!
well there’s always Norseman:
or the Norseman clone, Celtman:
I read your post and my ego was inflated, for a minute.
Lots of todays people could do the old WTT.
Non-standard distance makes comparing times impossible - add to that no Kona slots.
Thrown in with the above; in todays climate of: It’s too cold, cancel the swim, the hills are too steep, blah blah the one percent (which are usually woefullly unprepared) that will sue the RD, wrecks it for the rest of us. For the individual RD there is no economy of scale that makes the BS worth it.
The above, equals no more race.