AARON KUBALA BREAKS TAHOE 200 COURSE RECORD

Aaron Kubala ran 48:09:30 across the 200-mile course around Lake Tahoe, finishing first of 182 runners and lowering a men's record that had stood for eight years.

The 31-year-old from San Francisco started with the rest of the field on Friday morning, June 12, and crossed the line on June 14. His time beat the previous men's best of 49:27:22, set by Kyle Curtin in 2018, by one hour and 18 minutes. The course sends runners on a single loop of Lake Tahoe through the Sierra Nevada, climbing and descending tens of thousands of feet along the way.

Kubala led the men's field from the front and held the position to the finish, ending more than seven hours ahead of the next man.

Women's race

Mika Thewes finished second overall and won the women's race in 51:10:26. The runner from Arvada, Colorado, held her position through the back half of the course and crossed the line less than an hour behind Kubala.

Her time did not threaten the women's course record of 49:54:36, which Courtney Dauwalter set in 2018. Dauwalter's mark remains the fastest by any woman over the distance at Tahoe.

The rest of the field

Brody Chisholm finished third overall in 55:26:16, followed by Dennis Boic in 58:51:48. Ashley Paulson took fifth overall and second among the women in 59:04:37.

This year marked a decade since the event began as the first 200-mile single-stage trail race in the United States, an origin covered in our history of how the Tahoe 200 was built. The 2026 field had been previewed here ahead of the start.

Of the runners who started the loop on Friday, 182 reached the finish before the cutoff. The race is the first leg of the Triple Crown of 200s, the series that also includes the Bigfoot 200 and the Moab 240.