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Surviving the super-triple: Tahoe Marathon Week’s monster |
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Written by Greyson Howard/Tahoe World
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Tuesday, 25 September 2007 |
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Tahoe Marathon Week may have grown to include extreme golf, kayaking, bicycling, swimming, and other events, but at it’s core, it’s all about the running.
And running events during the Sept. 25 to 30 endurance-athletics event abound, with anything from a 5-kilometer run to the 72-mile ultra marathon to push you to your pain threshold.
But if your pain threshold is really, really big, like Peter Lubbers, a former special forces green beret from Holland, Tahoe Marathon Week offers up something unique — the super triple — two marathons and a 72-mile super marathon in three days.
The Tahoe World’s Greyson Howard got on the phone with Lubbers, last year’s super-triple winner, to find out what it’s like, what it takes, and just how crazy you have to be to run roughly 124 miles in three days.
TW: So how did you get started?
 Lubbers: I was in the Dutch army green berets, so I did a lot of long distances with hiking and backpacking — that was always my specialty. I didn’t start into running until 2000, and came up to Tahoe for the first time for a 5K in 2003. My first marathon was in 2004 at Big Sur, and saw an event poster for the Tahoe Triple there, and immediately signed up. I had a real blast, and the runner camaraderie is excellent. I got hooked on long-distance running.
TW: How did it go down last year?
Lubbers: I was in second place after the first two marathons Thursday and Friday, going into the 72 miler. I ended up passing first place by an hour and won the whole event, so I’m coming back to defend my title.
TW: So why run a super triple?
Lubbers: When you run a short 5 or 10 (kilometer), you never really get into the rhythm, you are always pushing. Twenty to 40 minutes later, you are done, wondering “what was I doing here?” The awards take longer than the race. In marathons right away they felt a bit overrated as the “ultimate achievement,” it felt like an accomplishment but it didn’t feel like I was really pushing, testing of my limits.
TW: Does 124 miles in three days give you a crazy runner’s high?
Lubbers: The one tricky bit about a runner’s high is it is unpredictable. Typically in a long event you hit bad patches, related to fueling, which can be discouraging, but what a miracle if you push through and get into the complete opposite — euphoria of the runner’s high.
TW: What’s going through your mind running all those hours?
Lubbers: People who run triples are in a different mindset. The crazies. It’s hard to take in the scenery of Lake Tahoe, but it is easy to get lost in your thoughts or imagination, you get caught up in where you are, and it starts playing tricks with your head. You spend a lot of energy with those thoughts, and it can wear you out. You have to try to be in the moment with the beauty of your surroundings.
TW: Any secret weapons for surviving a super triple?
Lubbers: A good crew like a race car pit crew can get you back running as fast as possible, and really comes down to anticipating what you need.
One technique I learned in the army is to alternate between walking and running — like running for two minutes and walking one — it doesn’t always work with the mountainous terrain, but I’ve used it successfully in racing.
Starting at midnight for the super-marathon, you need a really good headlamp, if you don’t have enough light it slows you down.
Another opinon: Paul Dunn, editor at the Tahoe Daily Tribune, thinks the Super Triple is super crazy.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 25 September 2007 )
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