Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.

Results are in for the 37th annual Tioga Pass Run

Sunrise light on a grove of tufa towers emerging from the water of Mono Lake with soft green and dusty-red wild grasses in the foreground, Canada geese in the shallow water with reflections of the rocky towers, and desert hills in the distance.

This post was written by Michael Morris, 2017 Mono Lake Intern.

Last Sunday, September 10, 132 runners and walkers challenged themselves to ascend the 12.4 miles of the Tioga Pass during this year’s annual Tioga Pass Run. This was another successful year for the epic event, where the participants start in front of the Mono Lake Committee in Lee Vining and finish at the entrance to Yosemite National Park, gaining 3,165 feet of elevation along the way to the top.

Runners make their way up Highway 120 west with the horizon dominated by the Dana Plateau. Photo by Bartshe Miller.

Kenny Palmer of Mammoth Lakes won the overall race this year with a time of 1:37:31. Jessica Francois, a Lee Vining local and former Mono Lake Committee staff member, won the event for the women for a fourth time with a time of 1:42:02, her fastest yet by two minutes! This year there were also 28 participants who were awarded the coveted “Graniteman” title, after completing a swim across June Lake, the High Sierra Fall Century Bike Race, and then finishing with the Tioga Pass Run in three consecutive days.

Participants start the race in Lee Vining and end at the eastern entrance to Yosemite National Park, 12.4 miles and 3,165 feet of elevation later. Photo by Bartshe Miller.

Two Mono Lake Committee staff finished the race this year: Alex Beeken, Information Center & Bookstore Assistant came in seventh place overall with a time of 1:54:31, and Lead Naturalist Guide Nora Livingston finished with a time of 3:04:20 as well. See a complete list of the race results here.

Epic Cafe pastry chef Isabel Patterson crosses the finish line with Lead Naturalist Guide Nora Livingston right behind her! Photo by Bartshe Miller.
Thank you to race director Alana Levin for making this event happen! Photo by Bartshe Miller.

Every walker and runner did a fantastic job, and received a delicious lunch donated by the Whoa Nellie Deli. The 37th annual Tioga Pass Run was such a big success due to all of the volunteers, the sponsors, the businesses who donated raffle prizes, the emergency responders and law enforcement officers who were on call, and especially race director Alana Levin. Without their generosity and commitment this race could not have been accomplished—thank you for your support. See you next year for the 38th annual Tioga Pass Run, scheduled for Sunday, September 9, 2018!

Snacks and warm clothing awaited the athletes as they finished the race at Tioga Pass, plus volunteer drivers to shuttle them back down the road. Photo by Bartshe Miller.