Tahoe Rim Trail 100K M70+: Jim Howard Goes the Distance

• Sole finisher in M70+: Jim Howard, 71, of Applegate, CA, crossed in 19:27:10 at an 18:47/mi average pace.
• Course demands: The race spans roughly 4,862–9,003 ft elevation, with a typical altitude around 6,933 ft — thin air that compounds every mile of a 100K effort.
• Steady through the field: Howard tracked through the men's field from 76th after the opening segment, navigating the mid-race fluctuations before settling at 99th among the men at the finish.
• Kick Ash → Snow Valley Peak: Howard posted the 78th-fastest split on that climb among all women — a meaningful benchmark for a segment that tests everyone on the course.

Jim Howard stood alone in the M70+ field on a demanding day in the Sierra Nevada, and he did exactly what the distance requires: he kept moving. Nineteen hours, twenty-seven minutes, and ten seconds over 62 miles of high-altitude trail — that's the headline, and it needs no embellishment.

The course from roughly 4,900 to over 9,000 feet above sea level asks a great deal of any runner's aerobic system. At 71, Howard worked through those miles at an 18:47/mi average, a pace that reflects the genuine weight of the terrain and altitude rather than any lack of effort. He moved through the men's field across the early checkpoints — 76th, then 86th, then 103rd — before steadying and working back toward 95th mid-race, ultimately finishing 99th among the men.

One split worth noting: on the Kick Ash to Snow Valley Peak segment, Howard's time ranked 78th-fastest among all women in the field — a concrete measure of how he held up on one of the course's more punishing climbs.

In a race where finishing is the achievement, Howard delivered the only result that matters in M70+: a completed 100K at elevation, logged and done.