Popular Rock Tahoe Half Marathon returns for 3rd year

Epic Tahoe Adventures (ETA) is bringing the third annual Rock Tahoe Half Marathon to Lake Tahoe on June 17, 2017. 2,000 runners are expected for the event that takes participants from Spooner Summit to Stateline along Highway 50, past some of the best scenery around.

Over 3,000 family members and friends are expected to join the runners in town for the unique "Run, Rock and Recover" event.

Race weekend begins at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, June 16 with a Pre-Race Expo inside the Revolution Ballroom at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Lake Tahoe. The expo features both local and national sponsors and is open to the public.

Race day begins at Spooner Summit on Saturday, June 17 with the high-energy Run MC’s and Kaia Fit getting runners warmed up and pumped up at the start line. The race features two start times – 7:00 a.m. for walkers/joggers and 8:00 a.m. for runners.

With seven aid stations on course, the event is fully prepared to meet racers’ hydration and nutritional needs. The aid stations are all hosted by local organizations and also serve as rally points along the 13.1 mile course.

“The volunteers at the aid stations do so much more than hand out water and food,” said Jason Collin, ETA’s Chief Officer of Awesomeness, “They create the vibe and keep the energy high out on the course. We couldn’t put on a race like this without the amazing support of our volunteers.”

While runners finish their 13.1 mile adventure at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Lake Tahoe, the fun is actually just getting started. The finish line festivities, known as the Rock Tahoe Recovery Zone, will feature Sierra Nevada Brewery, Rocket Vodka, Lake Tahoe Yoga, Bodhi Tree Massage School, along with other numerous expo vendors. New this year is the addition of several food vendors such as Salsa Girl Salsa, Fire on the Mountain Pizza, Tahoe Pan Ice Cream, Jamba Juice, and more! The Rock Tahoe Recovery Zone is open to the public as well as participants and is a
great place to celebrate with runners at the finish line. The festivities, which start at 8:00 a.m. and go until 2:00 p.m., also include a pool party for participants and their guests with local favorites Ike & Martin playing live on the poolside stage.

Last year’s field, which drew runners from 35 states and five countries, was 73% women. The largest number of participants were between 34-44 years, with the youngest competitor (Max Woelfel) just 9 years old and the oldest (Jim Whalen) being a spry 80-years young. Winning times for 2016 were 1:14:48 (men’s course record) by Wade Meddles and 1:27:28 by Kelly Booth. Awards are given to the top three men and women, along with the 1st-3rd spots in each age/gender group.

The Rock Tahoe Half Marathon will also be bringing back the award-winning Pic2Go
photography package. Thanks to a partnership with Tahoe South, the photo package is completely free for runners and allows them to have their on-course and finish line photos automatically uploaded to Facebook. In the first two years using Pic2Go, Rock Tahoe race photos have generated over 1.2 million impressions!

“We couldn’t be happier with the response we’ve had to the event.” said Jess Schnoll, ETA’s Queen of Everything Epic. “Our goal was to create a locally grown, world class event in Tahoe and we’re doing just that. We are so grateful
to all the racers, the volunteers and the community for making the event the success that it is.”

Registration is still open for this year’s race. Visit epictahoe.com for more details.