After completing a five-day, 205-mile run around Lake Tahoe, Jenny Darrow of Peterborough described her experience in one sentence.
“This was the most primal adventure I’ve ever been on; the 200 miles are just epic!” she said.
Hosted by Destination Trail, the Tahoe 200 is a 40,000-foot ascent and descent along the Tahoe Rim Trail. The annual run started Friday, June 17, at the North Lodge at Homewood Ski Resort in California and ended after 100 hours on June 21. The 205-mile trail included 14 aid stations and five sleeping stations that provided food, shelter and medical service for runners. The trail is normally a loop, but was rerouted this year to and out-and-back trail due to the 2021 Caldor Fire that burned more than 220,000 acres of the Eldorado National Forest and the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range in California.
Darrow, 55, was the second-oldest woman to cross the finish line at this year’s Tahoe 200. After five days of solo running and sleeping a total of five hours, Darrow, the director of digital learning at Keene State College, finished with an official time of 94 hours, 55 minutes and 53 seconds, beating the 100-hour time limit with five hours to spare.
Meghan Gould, 43, from Hancock also took on the Tahoe 200. Gould is a yoga instructor and running coach for women interested in running their first 50K race. Her official time was 96 hours, 57 minutes and 24 seconds. After five sleepless days, Gould took her final steps on the course with three hours remaining in the run.
Darrow and Gould have run in the same races in the past, but never introduced themselves until the day of the race.
“I was surprised to know we live so close,” said Darrow. “The fact that two women from the same area completed it, it’s a big deal.”
Both Darrow and Gould started cross-training in the fall of 2021 in preparation for the race after being selected to participate via a lottery system. Half of Darrow’s training routine involved high-elevation climbs at Mount Monadnock and Mount Washington, averaging about 13,000 feet in elevation each week. The remaining days were dedicated to full-body strength training with the help of personal trainers at Keene State’s Bodyworks Program.
Gould stuck to a similar routine, incorporating strength-training workouts and functional mobility into her weekly running program.
The Tahoe 200 was Darrow’s second 200-mile race. In 2019, she ran the Bigfoot 200, a 209.5-mile course that runs through the Cascade Mountain Range in Washington State. Darrow said her previous 200-mile run was preparation for the Tahoe 200.
“I knew that based on my experience at Bigfoot, I need to be as strong and endurable as possible,” said Darrow.
An avid biker, runner and hiker, Darrow said she has always been a fan of the outdoors. She said she couldn’t have attempted the race without help from her husband David Saxe and son Bennett Saxe.
“Both of them are incredibly supportive, I’m pretty lucky,” said Darrow.
On June 17, the day of the run, more than 200 athletes stood at the starting line overlooking the 9,000-foot summits surrounding Lake Tahoe. Gould said she was prepared for the run from the start.
“I was excited to get going,” said Gould. “No turning back, I was just ready to go.”
The five-day adventure presented problems for both women beyond just physical exhaustion. By mile 100, Darrow recalled her experience of looking up at the California sky late one night and seeing stars scattered across the horizon. After regaining her senses, Darrow was frustrated to discover the stars were actually runners ahead of her climbing the 7,000-foot Heavenly peak with their headlamps.
Darrow’s hallucinations intensified by mile 175, making the last 30 miles the biggest mental challenge.
“The hardest part was mile 175. I had to talk to myself that the faces and trees were hallucinations,” she said. “My brain was just so tired… the lack of sleep definitely affected me.”
During the last six miles, Darrow was greeted by another runner, who she embraced with open arms after crossing the finish line. She said completing the 205-mile race was hard to put into words.
“I felt just relief. I can’t help but feel some pride in myself,” said Darrow. “The woman I only knew for the last six miles whispered in my ear ‘I didn’t want you to finish alone.’ It’s an amazing community.”
Gould’s running experience was different compared to Darrow’s solo run. Gould ran alongside her pacer Frank Reinhold and finished the last 10 miles alongside her husband and crew member Adam. The team completed their mission to cross the finish line under 100 hours, and after experiencing harsh weather, cold temperatures and high elevation climbs, Gould said the feeling of finishing was like no other.
“It was surreal,” said Gould. “I was in disbelief it was over but was excited I had actually accomplished my mission. If you had asked me back when I ran my first 50K that I would run 200 miles, I would say you’re out of your mind.”
Despite experiencing trouble with eating, sleep and hallucinations, Darrow has a message for all people age 55 and older who feel stuck in their fitness goals.
“At age 55, I’m really excited I can do hard, hard and extremely mentally challenging things,” she said. “You don’t have to stop moving when you’re 55.”
Gould said she couldn’t agree more.
“If Jenny and I are proof of anything, you can do it,” said Gould. “Ride the wave, there is going to be highs and lows. If someone wants to do this, they have to love the process.”
The next step for Darrow is completing the Destination Trail Triple Crown, three 200-mile races on the West Coast. She plans to run the final 240-mile race in Moab, Utah.
As for Gould, her next big feat is uncertain, but she said her running journey is far from over.