The 44th Tioga Pass Run is coming up on Sunday, September 7, 2025. While I have been preparing the logistics, securing the necessary permits, and wondering what the weather will be like that day, I hope the racers have been doing their own preparations with plenty of hill workouts!
I recently stumbled upon a binder of “archival” data from Tioga Pass Runs past and learned some new things about the race as I read through it. Racers who have been coming back year after year to race up the hill from Lee Vining might be familiar with these details, but it was mostly new to me.
The first Tioga Pass Run was held in 1981 by Bill Aaron, who decided to get a group together to trek up Highway 120 from Lee Vining to the entrance station at Yosemite. That year 19 runners, hikers, and roller-skiers participated and, though we don’t have a race category for roller-skiers anymore, the field of participants sure has grown. Some folks from the original group decided to do it all again the following year, then the year after that, which grew into this great annual local event we hold the first Sunday after Labor Day each year.
Beginning in 1994, the Tioga Pass Run has been held as a tribute to Ferdinand Castillo, who was a park ranger at Yosemite for 40 years and was a constant presence throughout the early years of this event. Former race director Kathie Kortering noted, “for 13 years, Ferdinand was always present at the pass alerting traffic to runners on the road. He directed and cheered runners to the finish line, making sure no one strayed too far into the meadow.” I’m pleased to say that the folks at the Yosemite entrance station are still very supportive of this event in the same spirit as Ferdinand Castillo, and we are so grateful for their hard work keeping participants safe.
Though things have changed over the years, like the sunsetting of the roller-skiing category and our post-race party with fish tacos morphing into a finish line celebration by the meadow at Tioga Pass, the Tioga Pass Run still retains its “backyard” feel.
Our next big update to the event this year is that we have added a finisher category—starting at this year’s Tioga Pass Run, we will be awarding first place finisher prizes to the top finishers in the women, men, and nonbinary runner categories. We are excited to continue the race’s legacy by making space for all participants who take on the challenge of running the 12.4 miles with “only one hill” from Lee Vining to the Yosemite gate.
Tioga Pass Run race day is always a highlight as summer winds down; a great way for us to spend a few hours of a Sunday in September outside supporting each other. I still don’t know what the weather will be like on race day, but I’m excited to get out there and cheer on the racers an remind them that they’re “crushing it!” as they cross the finish line during the 44th year of this event.
Top photo by Bartshe Miller.