More than 1,500 racers ran, jogged and walked in the Rock Tahoe Half Marathon last Saturday, June 18 — and rocked a course that wound along Lake Tahoe. The second annual event held on the South Shore featured a field of racers from 35 different states, ranging in age from 9 to 80.

“One of my favorite things from the entire race was watching the pure joy, relief, satisfaction and excitement on all of the runners faces as they crossed the finish line,” said race director Jessica Schnoll of Epic Adventures, the event organizer.

Wade Meddles, a 23-year-old from Gardnerville, Nevada, won the overall title with a time of 1:14:48. The top female finisher was 31-year-old Kelly Booth of Granite Bay, California, who finished in 1:27:28.

The oldest competitor Saturday was 80-year-old Jim Whalen of Ventura, California, who ran the 13.1-mile course from Spooner Summit to Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Lake Tahoe in 3:13:12. Max Woelfel, a 9-year-old from Minden, Nevada, was the event’s youngest racer.

Through a partnership with local nonprofit Athletes United, the Rock Tahoe Half Marathon made donations to each community organization that volunteered during race weekend, which included events Friday, June 17.

Sierra-at-Tahoe Education Foundation, SOS, Pop Warner, Custom Ink, South Tahoe CrossFit, South Tahoe High boosters, Kaia Fit, Lake Tahoe Epic Curling and STHS Key Club hosted aid stations. Other volunteer organizations included Leadership Lake Tahoe, Rotary Club of South Lake Tahoe, Boys and Girls Club of Lake Tahoe, Whittell High boosters and STHS girls basketball.

“The [aid stations] really went all out with costumes, signs and energy to cheer on the runners,” said race director Jason Collin of Epic Tahoe Adventures. “Each station also provided a surprise goodies — from Red Vines and watermelon to jelly beans and bubbly — which were all a big hit.”

RunMC and Kaia Fit pumped the crowd up with an energetic warmup at the start that featured rocking music. After the event, racers recovered on the beach, enjoying ice-cold drinks on the shore of Lake Tahoe with local favorite Ike & Martin rocking the afternoon away.

Registration is currently open for the 2017 Rock Tahoe Half Marathon at the early bird rate of $79 for the first 500 racers that sign up — it will be held June 17. For more information and complete race results, visit http://www.epictahoe.com.