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Western States 100 rerouted

Steve Yingling

Anyone running in the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run on June 27 must be thankful race organizers aren’t adhering to the regular course.

With the upper elevations of Squaw Valley, the starting point, covered by up to 20 feet of snow, the runners would probably need snowshoes and an extra day to make the rugged journey to Auburn, Calif.

“They’ll fall so much and posthole that it will really slow them down,” said Helen Klein, the race’s co-director, and regular entrant.



To reduce some of the burden of running in the snow, Klein and her husband, Norman, will have participants follow the 1995 course. Although more snow fell that year, not as much remained in late June as this year.

“This year, the Duncan Canyon aid station is buried under snow,” Klein said.



The course will remain the same for the first 24 miles, but runners will bypass Robinson Flat because of deep snow and the runoff that has turned a little creek into a raging river. To avoid the snow overload runners will follow Mosquito Ridge Road to N44 and proceed to Duncan Canyon. The course will be unaffected from Duncan Canyon to Auburn.

Because of the rerouting and difficulty of running the opening 24 miles in snow, the Kleins have given the runners an additional two hours to complete the 100-miler. Runners normally have 30 hours to finish the race.

Four hundred competitors are expected, including nine-time defending women’s champion Ann Trason and four-time overall winner Tim Twietmeyer. Starting time is 5 a.m.

Tahoe Daily Tribune E-mail: tribune@tahoe.com

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