Friday, June 22, 2007
Reno Tahoe Odyssey
Reno-Tahoe Odyssey or better known as RTO, launches again a week from today (June 29th) and of all the relays I've done, this is the one I really look forward to. Especially this trip, we have most of our successful Presidio Relay team members coming up and our special guest runner, Jon Kroll!
How many people can say well I thought I was going the right way, but when I didn't see any runners or vans, I figured something was wrong. The last sentence references my exploits during last year's event. But all kidding aside, there's something about relays that capture a runner's imagination.
What I truly enjoy seeing are all of the neophytes or newbies coming out and running these challenging events. I tip my hat to them all, it's not everyday someone with little or no running experience would jump in feet first in what has to be a pretty intimidating event.
I know I've written about relays in the past and I don't want to start repeating myself - just do a "relay" word search on top for my various blog posts to get a sense of where I am coming from. For me, it's the camaraderie that develops in the van I enjoy the most. Granted, we all share an enthusiasm for running, there's that something about hanging out with 5 other people in abnormal situations that's addictive. Just ask the majority of relay runners if they would do it again, and I'd say 99.9% of the participants would acknowledge in the affirmative.
There's also an inner perspective you have a chance to explore. The physicality is challenging enough, but the lack of sleep and running in the middle of the night tests your inner strength. I am from the school of thought, that you can do anything you put your mind to, all it takes is a sense of commitment and willingness to sacrifice. I know it's starting to get deep in here (did ya bring your boots?)
Take your shoes off, and dip your toe in the water, I promise you'll have the time of your life!
