Tahoe 200 race guide

Key dates for 2027

The lottery for 2027 ran in June 2026, around the time of that year's race, and the field is full. These are the dates that matter if you have a place or are on the waiting list.

1. 28 February 2027
   Last day for a 50% refund

   Or a 75% transfer to 2028. Lower amounts apply until 15 May.

2. 15 May 2027
   Registration closes and last transfers

   A 25% transfer to 2028 is the last option.

3. 20 June 2027
   Check-in and runner meeting

   Check-in 1 to 3:30 p.m., meeting 4 to 5 p.m., drop bags due by 5 p.m.

4. 21 June 2027
   Race start

   9:00 a.m. at Heavenly Stagecoach Lodge.

5. 25 June 2027
   Final cutoff

   6:00 p.m., 105 hours after the start.

Source: official race website, checked 19 October 2026.

How to get a place and what it costs

Entry is by lottery, open for about two weeks each June for the following year's race. For 2027 it ran from 13 to 27 June 2026. Your card is charged only if you are drawn, and everyone else joins the wait list in the order they registered. Triple Crown registration, which covers Tahoe, Bigfoot and Moab together, skips all three lotteries and saves $300.

There is no qualifying race and no trail work requirement for 2027. You must be 18 or over, and the organiser expects ultra and fastpacking experience.

The fee is $1,795, which came to $1,894.23 with taxes and fees. A payment plan starts with a $995 deposit plus a $100 fee and must be set up before you enter the lottery.

• How race entry systems work
• Read the Moab 240 guide

The course

The race circles Lake Tahoe clockwise, mostly on the Tahoe Rim Trail, with detours to meadows, boulder fields and small alpine lakes. From the south shore it heads west to Sierra at Tahoe, swings out through the Eldorado National Forest to Wrights Lake and Loon Lake, then comes back along the west and north shores through Tahoe City and Brockway Summit, before the east side via Incline Village and Spooner Summit back to Stateline.

The average elevation is 7,849 feet. Some gaps between aid stations are close to 20 miles, the longest being 19.4 miles from Stephen Jones Memorial to Tahoe City, and there may be no water to refill on the way.

• Open the official course map

Aid stations, sleep stations and cutoffs

Every aid station has medical staff and hot food made to order, with vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. Three are sleep stations: Wrights Lake, Barker Pass and Brockway Summit. Crews can reach six stations, and pacers can join from Loon Lake at mile 87.6.

• Plan your stops in the pace planner
• Crew, pacers and drop bags

From the 2027 runner manual. Cutoffs assume the Monday 9:00 a.m. start. Heavenly at mile 10 is a grab-and-go stop. Sleep stations have tents or canopies with pads and blankets, and a six-hour limit. Source: official race website, checked 19 October 2026.

Rules that shape your plan

• One pacer at a time, from Loon Lake onwards, joining and leaving only at crew stations. Pacers carry the same mandatory gear as runners and cannot carry anything for them.
• One crew vehicle per runner, no longer than 20 feet, with no RVs or trailers. Crews arrive no more than 30 minutes before their runner.
• Mandatory gear includes a hooded jacket, gloves, a hat, full-length leggings, a warm long-sleeved layer, a device with the course GPX, a phone, a headlamp with spare power, a whistle and 500 emergency calories. The SPOT tracker and an emergency blanket are provided.
• Wag bags are required for human waste anywhere on the course. Burying it is not allowed.
• Any IV or use of emergency services means disqualification. Runners may sleep in crew cars but not ride in them.

How many people finish?

In 2026, 183 of 261 starters finished the returning loop, 70.1%. The out-and-back years from 2022 to 2025 saw between 58% and 65% finish.

Records and results

Aaron Kubala's 48:09:30 in 2026 is the fastest time ever run at the Tahoe 200. The fastest woman is still Courtney Dauwalter, who ran 49:54:36 in 2018 and finished second overall, on an earlier version of the loop. Mika Thewes ran the second-fastest women's time in 2026, 51:10:26, for her third win. In 2023 Claire Bannwarth became the first woman to win the race outright.

• 2026 results on UltraSignup

History

Candice Burt created the Tahoe 200 in 2013, and the first race ran in September 2014 from Incline Village, with 75 lottery places. Entrants then needed a mountain 100-miler, or two other 100-milers, to qualify. It began Destination Trail's series of 200-mile races, and the Triple Crown now links it with the Bigfoot 200 in August and the Moab 240 in October.

The Stephen Jones Memorial aid station is named after a 200-mile pioneer and friend of the organiser who died in 2016. A scholarship in his name at Utah State University has received more than $50,000 since 2017.

Training for the Tahoe 200

Plan for four days at around 7,000 to 9,000 feet. Long back-to-back days, strong hiking with a loaded pack, practice at eating and sleeping during a race, and some time at altitude beforehand will all help. Carry and practise with enough water for gaps of up to 20 miles.

• Follow the 100-mile training plan
• Organise your kit

Following the race

Every runner carries a SPOT tracker on TrackLeaders, updating about every seven minutes. The 2027 link goes live nearer the race. Official results are posted on UltraSignup afterwards.

• 2026 live tracking archive

Running for good at the Tahoe 200

At each Triple Crown race, Destination Trail raffles a local artist's painting for a local non-profit, and the Tahoe Rim Trail Association is one of its named partners. Leftover food goes to food banks, volunteers can earn race credit, and the race follows Leave No Trace and the frog-habitat rules that come with its Forest Service permit.

• How to volunteer at an ultra

Questions people ask