For those that know me well, this event isn’t just a “race” but rather a tradition that my family & I want to make sure stays alive and well. Seeing and hearing so many great stories of each of the teams’ journey around the lake unleashes a flood of great memories of years past. Now that the 55th DeCelle Memorial Lake Tahoe Relay is in the books, it’s time to reflect on this year’s race. Whether it was as a racer or a race director, this event truly is an amazing day every year!
To Our Volunteers
First, I want to express my biggest thanks to the folks who helped make it happen (the race crew). My supportive family – Cara, Leyton, Tinley, Marie, Rori, and Kendal and my glorious friends who stepped up and helped – Alex, Jaime, Anthony, Mark, Jim, Dawn, Dan, Jason and Dylan. If it wasn’t for all of you, we wouldn’t be able to host this event. A HUGE THANK YOU!
To The Sponsors
Without the support of the following companies and individuals, we wouldn’t have the best relay in the US! Each of our partners have either helped financially, let us use their space, provided products or given their time and all of them are very important to us. A big thanks to Tahoe South, Revive Coffee and Wine, Sufferfest Beer Company, Barton Hospital, Sean the Bag Piper and the City of South Lake Tahoe. You all are vital components of this amazing day!
To This Year’s Runners
This event is so special & has such an amazing history. It gives us, (The Sweeney’s) great joy to host it every year. The entire race crew was touched by the people we met, the friends who returned, and the stories that warm our hearts.
I used to run this race every year and it was always my favorite annual event. Now being on the other side, our goal is to add small touches to enhance the event each year. Moving the finish/start line to Lakeview Commons, tech shirts, men’s and women’s t-shirts, stickers, cups, a fun bag piper, band, pictures and the first DeCelle Memorial Veteran’s Walk and Roll… we hope these things are important to you as well & we’ll keep at it to make this event special every year.
To all the competitors who ran this year, this event is for YOU! If you didn’t show up, there wouldn’t be a Lake Tahoe Relay. Below are a few things that stick out in our minds about this year’s race. I’m sorry I can’t mention every team, but it doesn’t mean we don’t care about you!
Just A Few Shoutouts…
No Passing – 30 years in a row!
Raiders of the Lost Track – A family reunion for the past 19 years with 3-4 generations now running!
Fred Hayes – Fred ran leg 7 on his 70th birthday with his family and friends. That’s amazing!
High Schoolers – Both the boys and girls HS race was very competitive with very close races & 3 HS boys teams finishing in the top ten overall!
New Course Records – West Valley Track Club and Impala Racing both set records.
West Valley Track Club – They dethroned the dominate champs, That’s Fine Track Club after 5 straight years. They brought 5 teams this year and they all did great!
Team Bomb – The 1st duo team to complete the course.
Manic RC – Repeat team coming all the way from Canada to run around our beautiful Lake Tahoe!
Local Teams – The Full Real Deal and Str8OuttaTahoe.
Team RWB – Thank you for your service to our nation!
GGRC – Your spirit is amazing, and we look forward to your costumes every year. Thanks for bringing out the fun of this event. You truly display the camaraderie of this relay!
Corporate Division – This has become a very competitive division. Every year it continues to grow. We have added new companies and multiple teams within some companies!
