At the midway point of the Tahoe Rim Trail Endurance Run 100 Miler, Jesse Haynes didn’t look like he had much left in the tank. The second half of the race was a different story.

“I didn’t even think he was going to go on,” said race director George Ruiz. “His wife talked him into going in as far as he could and just see what happens — six miles later he was in the lead, and he held that throughout the whole second 50 miles.”

Haynes finished in 19 hours, 38 minutes, to win the 100-mile race held over two days July 16-17. By the time the 43-year-old from Capistrano Beach, California, reached the finish line at Spooner Lake, it was past midnight on Sunday morning.

“His second 50 miles was just a fantastic performance,” Ruiz said. “He did it on his own and he was awesome in that second half.”

Haynes won by more than an hour over second-place finisher Adam Zastrow of Oakland, California (20:43:03), and raced without a pacer. The 100 Miler’s top female finisher was Roxanne Woodhouse of Weaverville, California, who completed the course in 23:38:57 to become a four-time champion in the race.

The group of 155 finishers also featured a first in the 11-year history of the race. Chet Fairbank from Washoe Valley, Nevada, became the first 10-time finisher at that distance, completing the course in 32:46:31 to finish 110th and earn a 1,000-mile buckle.

The event put on by Tahoe Mountain Milers also featured 50-mile and 55-kilometer races. Chris Streeter of Auburn, California, won the 50 Miler with a time of 8:54:00 while South Lake Tahoe’s Ryan Weibel won the 55K in 5:19:08.

“Ryan is a very talented runner, he knows our course well and he basically ran unchallenged all day,” Ruiz said. “He ran away from everyone.”

The top Tahoe finishers in the 100 Miler and 50 Miler races were both women. Truckee’s Jenelle Potvin finished 11th (24:29:36) in the longer distance while Stateline’s Lyndsey Bednar placed seventh (9:38:17) in the shorter race.

“We had a lot of local runners this year, a lot of people from Tahoe, Reno and Carson City,” Ruiz said. “Even though it’s our biggest local race, we don’t have a lot of local runners in it — this year we did and they all did great.”

The 100-mile course encompasses both the 50-mile and 55-kilometer routes, and is highlighted by seeing Lake Tahoe from above on the Tahoe Rim Trail. In the 100 Miler and 50 Miler, Ruiz said the defining stretch comes when runners branch off to the Incline Creek Trail and drop 2,000 feet over 4.5 miles into Diamond Peak Ski Resort — then climb Crystal Ridge ski run before connecting back with the Tahoe Rim Trail.

“That whole loop is really what separates the prepared runners from the unprepared runners,” Ruiz said.

The 50 Miler and 55K races are in their 16th years while the 100 Miler started in 2006. The 2016 event featured 418 finishers between the three distances, and Ruiz called the operation a “well-oiled machine” from course logistics to volunteers.

“From every angle, everything went just about perfectly,” Ruiz said. “It was really an excellent year.”

The 2017 Tahoe Rim Trail Endurance Runs are scheduled for July 15-16, and the lottery opens Dec. 4. For more information and complete results, visit http://www.tahoemtnmilers.org/trt-endurance-runs.html — more photos are available from Facchino Photography at http://www.backprint.com/FacchinoPhotography/138191.