Last Sunday Big Blue Adventure held the second event of the Tahoe Trail Running Series, bringing several hundred athletes to Squaw Valley for a pair of races.

The competition consisted of a half marathon and an 8-mile race, and took runners along the paved trail between Tahoe City and Squaw Valley.

“It was a perfect race day for everyone,” said Big Blue Adventure Director of Operations Bryan Rickards in an email to the Sun. “For the (second) week in a row, we had a record number race sign-ups with over 450 registered participants. It was a really fun scene with runners coming in and finishing their race amongst skiers and snowboarders heading up with their gear!”

For the second consecutive year, Truckee’s Kristin Bohm was the top finisher in the half marathon, taking first in the women’s division with a time 1 hour, 29 minutes, 18 seconds.

“This year was really, really tough,” said Bohm on the out-and-back race. “I pushed myself more than last year and I think I beat my time from last year by about two minutes, and a large part of that had to do with the turnaround — at like 6 ½ miles, I noticed there was someone right behind me.”

The runner pushing Bohm during the last half of the race was Australian ultrarunner and winner of the first race of the Tahoe Trail Running Series, Lucy Bartholomew, who has been in the area the past few weeks in preparation to compete in the upcoming Western States Endurance Run.

“(Bartholomew) was right on my tail the whole time,” said Bohm, who’s competed in 22 marathons, including six appearances at the Boston Marathon. “It was a good race.”

Bartholomew would cross the finish line in second place with a time of 1:29:37. Courtney King, of Sausalito, was third in the women’s division, finishing the race with a time of 1:31:59.

On the men’s side, Incline Village’s Neil Klinger gave Truckee-Tahoe locals a sweep of first place in the half marathon. Klinger took the overall win with a time of 1:15:09, which was more than 13 minutes faster than the next finisher.

Reno’s Ryan Ress took second with a time of 1:28:22, followed by Robert Bean, of Emeryville, who finished in third place with a time of 1:28:58.

San Francisco’s Eileen Goldman, 73, was the oldest athlete in the field, and finished the half marathon with a time of 2:50:15.

In the Run to Squaw 8 Miler, Sam Doner, of Mammoth Lakes, posted the fastest overall time, winning the women’s division with a mark of 55:51. Truckee’s Amanda Shoemaker was the next fastest woman, reaching the finish line with a time of 58:54. Angela Mathews, of Sacramento, was third place with a time of 59:53.

On the men’s side, Jesus Enrique Pulido, of Reno, took the win with a time of 56:39. Eric Jessen, of Live Oak, was second place with a time of 58:27, followed by Tahoe City’s Tom O’Neil, who finished in third place with a time of 59:16.

Race organizers Big Blue Adventure will kick off the annual Adventure Sports Week on June 22 with the Lake Tahoe Mountain Bike Race in Tahoe City. The Burton Creek Trail Run will be held the following day near Tahoe City. Adventure Sports Week will conclude the following Saturday with the annual XTERRA Tahoe City competition and Tahoe City Swim, which serves as the first round of the Sierra Open Water Series.

For more information on Adventure Sports Week or to register for events, visit AdventureSportsWeekTahoe.com.

Justin Scacco is a reporter for the Sierra Sun. Contact him at jscacco@sierrasun.com.