Lake Tahoe Marathon runner breaks Guinness World Record

(SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, California) ­ South African Johan Oosthuizen, 33, broke a Guinness World Record of ³Fastest Aggregate Time - Three Marathons in Three Days² at the Tahoe Triple, which concluded at the Lake Tahoe Marathon Saturday, October 1. Oosthuizen¹s official time was 8:10:70, breaking the Guinness World Record, which was held by Raymond Hubbard of the United Kingdom (8:22:31) since 1988.

³To run three marathons in three consecutive days is an incredible feat,² Les Wright, Lake Tahoe Marathon race director, said of the race that took participants completely around the lake. ³To do it as quickly as Oosthuizen did is truly amazing.²

Sean Meissner, of Sisters, Oregon, four-time Tahoe Triple champion, chose to participate in this year¹s first 72-Mile Ultra, which had runners starting at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday and finishing up with the marathoners at Pope Beach in South Lake Tahoe, California. Meissner¹s official time was 10:27:48 and he averaged 8:44 per mile for the entire race. In the early morning hours, he ran with a headlamp. The race started in South Lake Tahoe and went counter-clockwise around Lake Tahoe through Tahoe City, California and down the West Shore, finishing at Pope Beach. More than 25 ultra runners participated in this first-time event at Lake Tahoe Marathon Week.

Tony Torres, 36, of Cedar Glen, California claimed the 2006 marathon title with an official time of 2:42:37. Torres caught the lead women marathoner, Lisa Butler, 33, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, (who with the other elite women marathoners was given a 30-minute head start, the difference of the course record between the men and women). Unlike other marathons, the Lake Tahoe Marathon pits man vs. woman with the first to cross the finish line receiving $1,000 and the second winning $500. Spectators always look forward to this footrace and whether or not the women runner can hold off the man. Butler¹s official time was 3:25:01. She was using the race as a warm-up for the Chicago Marathon.

Most participants reported the Hill from Hell, a 520-foot, 1.55-mile climb at Bliss State Park on the West Shore as the most difficult part of the race.

The Lake Tahoe Marathon hosted a number of events in addition to the ultra runs and marathon. The winner of the half marathon was Duane Penner, 29, of Boise, Idaho with a time of 1:34. Karen Aeberli, 36, of Atlanta, Georgia, won the women¹s half marathon title in 1:40:07. Nathan Bristow, 26, of Truckee, California won the 10K with an official time of 34:02. Deb Hamberlin, 38, of Tempe, Arizona, claimed the women¹s title for the Tahoe Triple with a three-day time of 14:22:36. Ryan Fletcher, 28, of Oakland, California, won the 20-mile power run and walk with a time of 3:06:43.

The Lake Tahoe Marathon began 11 years ago and was put together in three short months. Nearly 250 runners showed up that first year. The following year, 1,200 racers participated. Since then, the numbers have continued to climb. This year¹s event, held September 26 through October 1, drew approximately 2,500 people from all over the world and generated 6,000 room nights for the Lake Tahoe region during a traditionally slow time of year. Some of those runners came from as far away as Bavaria, Alberta, Ireland, Czech Republic, Brazil and South Africa.

source Lake Tahoe Marathon