The eastern approach to Tioga Pass can take your breath away -- in more ways than one.

From the passenger seat of a car, the rapid descent of more than 3,000 feet in the 10 miles from Yosemite's eastern gate is a little like riding a roller coaster.

And running uphill against traffic not only burns throat and lungs, it forces athletes to follow a narrow path between oncoming cars on the right and a sheer dropoff to the left.

Kathie Kortering found that out 21 years ago when she moved to California from Florida, where she was a member of the women's cross country team at the University of Miami.

"I heard about the Tioga Pass run and thought it would be fun," says Kortering, 44, a chiropractor who lives in Benton, 34 miles north of her office in Bishop.

The race is held the second weekend in September and covers a 12.4-mile course from Lee Vining to the Tioga Pass entrance station to Yosemite National Park.

As an experienced distance runner, Kortering thought she would have no trouble reaching Tioga Pass. She didn't know the road can be a demanding taskmaster, especially when fall winds turn cold.

"It started snowing on the way up," she says. "This was the weekend after Labor Day. I had to stop after 71/2 miles. It's the only race I've ever quit."

Regardless of the weather, Kortering says running up the hill can be eerie. With no guard rail on the left and cars passing on the right, runners have little room for error. Views are spectacular, but the dropoffs are sheer in places, and if the wind kicks up, the illusion of being blown off the road makes the heart beat faster.

"When both feet leave the ground, you feel like the wind is pushing you backwards," Kortering says.

Despite her failed first effort, Kortering kept running, determined to conquer the pass. She trained on flat land and mountain trails. After her daughter was born in 1993, she pushed her in a stroller on a run covering 16 miles; that's when she knew she was ready for another run up the hill. A year later, she made it to the top.

Kortering has finished the race six times and has been race director for the past five years. "The scenery is beautiful, and when you're walking or running on the road, you can take note of it," she says. "The fall colors are wonderful and the lakes are gorgeous."

One year, while setting up for the race, Kortering found a boulder the size of a Volkswagen in the middle of the road. Another time, after setting up a table at an aid station nine miles up the canyon, she came back and found the table missing.

"I looked over the side but never found it. The wind can be pretty scary, but I think maybe somebody took it."