Tahoe Quarterly

Trail Running in Incline Village

Click here for more top athletes' preferred playgrounds

Athletes: Ross and Sarah McMahan
Spot: Incline Village

Living in Incline Village, there are several trails right in our backyard, with plenty of challenging hills, creek crossings and the occasional bear or coyote sighting.

If we want hills, we head up Tunnel Creek Road, the Diamond Peak/Tyrolean Downhill loop or the Incline Lake loop. For less elevation gain, we run the Incline Flume, the Tahoe Rim or Flume trails, or the XTERRA course (which involves biking around Marlette Lake, trail running near the Rec Center and swimming in Lake Tahoe).

We like to head out early mornings, when it can be a bit brisk but you rarely see anyone else. (We're also up by 6 a.m. with our 2-year-old twins.) Our dog, Sam, is the best running partner because she never complains and is always right there with us, except when distracted by squirrels.

This area hosts some great local and national events as well: Tahoe Rim Trail endurance runs, Western States 100 at Squaw Valley, Lake Tahoe Marathon, Kokanee Trail Run, Reno/ Tahoe Odyssey and the XTERRA National Championships in Incline Village.

Stats: The McMahans are Salomon Trail Running and Atlas Snowshoe Racing team members. Ross, a 2007 XTERRA national champ, is owner of McMahan Homes, and Sarah works for Incline Village–based Corporate Visions.

Originally published in TQ Best of Tahoe 2008