Salomon Stage 2 Preview:
13.3 miles/21.4 kilometers
3,200 ft/975 m elevation gain
Two Checkpoints - Mile 1.7 and Mile 5.3
Starting from Vicksburg, not far from the turnaround of the Leadville Trail 100, you will start climbing gently on gravel Forest Service Road. The first Checkpoint is at only 1.7 miles at the Sheep Gulch Trailhead, where you will enter the singletrack and start climbing steeply for about 2.5 miles to the summit of Hope Pass at over 12,500 feet. After this outstanding photo opportunity, you will descend toward Twin Lakes. The trail is steep and technical until the aid station at 5.3 miles, and then descends more gradually down to the altitude of the lakeshore at about 9,200 feet. From there it is a beautiful rolling singletrack trail on the south shore of the lake and through the historic village of Interlaken. The last few minutes are on a dirt road to the finish. Remember to bring enough water for the entire stage, since supplies are limited at Checkpoint 2.
Weather Forecast:
Expect partial clouds early, with a high of 69°and a stray thunderstorm in the afternoon.Winds will be out of the ESE at 10-15 mph and overnight lows will be 42°.
WTF: Who is That Face
Luann Park
is a 58-year-old
retired art school teacher from Redding, California. She lost her entire neighborhood in the Carr Fire, which has scorched 207,162 acres in northern California and is still raging. Luckily, her house survived, but everything around her is now gone. This race is on her bucket list and coming to run it took on a deeper meaning after witnessing so much tragedy in her hometown.
"The show must go on," she said charging up a hill around mile 7. "We didn't lose our house but we lost our neighborhood but we're coming back and you just have to keep going. When you are going through hell you have to keep right on going."
Park has been running competitively her entire life, racing everything from the quarter mile, to marathons, to finishing top 5 in Western states several times and says that running is her therapy.
"You always feel better when you go out for a run. Just knowing that keeps me going out the door every morning and I can face whatever is going on that day."
Today, Luann won her age division at TRR 2018 Stage 1. We are excited to see her wear the leaders jersey tomorrow.
