Friday, June 30, 2006
Reno-Tahoe Odyssey Relay
Next weekend, July 7th and 8th, I will be participating in the Reno-Tahoe Odyssey Relay again. Last year was the inaugural event and I had such a fun time, I want to run it again. These types of relays take place over a 24 hour time period, and you really need to bring your A game to the event. I am a veteran of many relays, namely, the 199 mile Calistoga to Santa Cruz. The Odyssey has its unique style as most of the legs take place approximately 5 - 6000 feet above sea level. For the locals up there, that's not much of a big deal, however, for us flat land people, the lack of oxygen can make for some really interesting experiences. Yours truly is quoted half way down the testimonial page.
To prepare myself for this event, the family and I head up to Tahoe the week before the event, and I do several acclamation runs up there- just to get use to the conditions. This year, it will be the same. We leave "early" tomorrow morning - well, as early as a teenager and a 9 year old can get ready. I have a couple of good friends coming up to run the event too, Eric, and Meghan. Eric is a grizzled veteran of many relay events, and Meghan is part of the very successful Burlingame Track Club. However, we will not be running under the BTC banner as we've been asked to run for a local team in Reno.
Next year though, BTC will put together a very competitive team. In looking at the results from last years open coed winner, they averaged around 7:28 pace per mile. Granted, there are some really difficult climbs up the mountains, but you know the saying what goes up, must come down. For every uphill, there's at least a nice downhill.
What makes relay races so much fun is the camaraderie you have with your fellow runners. Most runners are a different breed, some even call us strange, if I had a nickel for every person who asked me how far is a marathon? I'd might be able to pay for my kitchen remodel. Anyways, the big relays are divided into two teams of 6. The first team starts off, runs all of the assigned distances, at the end of the 6th runner, the next team of 6 proceeds. You follow this routine all the way around the course. The challenge comes in trying to catch up on some rest or sleep while you are in the Van.
I get so amped up for a relay, I often forgo sleeping. In the grand scheme of things, an hour or two of sleep isn't really going to make or break the experience. The second thing that really makes these relays challenging, is your pace you run. Because the legs are typically shorter, you end up running quicker (5k pace or even quicker). This can have disasterous results for your second and third leg if you don't manage our output.
Relays aren't for everyone, the casual runner would not enjoy them, but for us crazy runners, relays are the most fun you can have with a pair of sneakers.
To prepare myself for this event, the family and I head up to Tahoe the week before the event, and I do several acclamation runs up there- just to get use to the conditions. This year, it will be the same. We leave "early" tomorrow morning - well, as early as a teenager and a 9 year old can get ready. I have a couple of good friends coming up to run the event too, Eric, and Meghan. Eric is a grizzled veteran of many relay events, and Meghan is part of the very successful Burlingame Track Club. However, we will not be running under the BTC banner as we've been asked to run for a local team in Reno.
Next year though, BTC will put together a very competitive team. In looking at the results from last years open coed winner, they averaged around 7:28 pace per mile. Granted, there are some really difficult climbs up the mountains, but you know the saying what goes up, must come down. For every uphill, there's at least a nice downhill.
What makes relay races so much fun is the camaraderie you have with your fellow runners. Most runners are a different breed, some even call us strange, if I had a nickel for every person who asked me how far is a marathon? I'd might be able to pay for my kitchen remodel. Anyways, the big relays are divided into two teams of 6. The first team starts off, runs all of the assigned distances, at the end of the 6th runner, the next team of 6 proceeds. You follow this routine all the way around the course. The challenge comes in trying to catch up on some rest or sleep while you are in the Van.
I get so amped up for a relay, I often forgo sleeping. In the grand scheme of things, an hour or two of sleep isn't really going to make or break the experience. The second thing that really makes these relays challenging, is your pace you run. Because the legs are typically shorter, you end up running quicker (5k pace or even quicker). This can have disasterous results for your second and third leg if you don't manage our output.
Relays aren't for everyone, the casual runner would not enjoy them, but for us crazy runners, relays are the most fun you can have with a pair of sneakers.
