Nikki's Reno Tahoe Odyssey
Out on the course of the Reno Tahoe Odyssey. To accommodate these daring locals and the growing numbers of worldwide adventure runners race directors have to offer a challenging experience not just a fun run. The race has to test not only a runner’s endurance and strength but also their fortitude.One of these events was held on May 29-30, 2009. The 5th Annual Reno Tahoe Odyssey is a 178-mile, 12-person, 2-van relay race. The event's handbook provides a checklist that includes reflective vest, flashlight, obligatory cell phone, toilet paper, first aid kit…along with a spirit of adventure and a good attitude. In the section “Tips to Having a Great Time” the race organizers suggest runners do the pre-training, hydrate, stretch and implement a “No Whining” Rule. They also encourage runners to “Appreciate the fact that they’re able to be participate in the event. To look out at the vistas. Suck up the fresh air. Gaze up at the stars. Have a blast!”  Nikki Reynolds (W51) from Fallon Nevada is a team player and no whiner. Nikki enjoyed her 2008 Odyssey so much that she came back for more. Here’s Nikki’s account of her 2009 Reno Tahoe Odyssey...I ran as part of a team called the Transportation Trotters (RTC bus line). This was our second year but our fearless leader, Tom Greco, has done all five of these events. I did the same legs again this year (Runner 7 in Van 2) as there was no one who wanted to take on that much steep climbing. My legs amounted to a total of 12.8 miles but almost all those miles were uphill and every one of them was at an elevation quite a bit higher than where I live and train. The weather was forecast to be hot with afternoon thunderstorms and we weren't disappointed. The clouds built, cooling most of the rotations but Runner 6 got POUNDED by heavy rain as he came out of the Boca Reservoir area to hand off to me at the exchange point at I-80 mid afternoon. Miraculously, it stopped completely about five minutes before I had to start my run. That runner said he rather enjoyed the coolness of the rain but wasn't wearing a hat and said he could do without that big raindrop poking him in the eye at one point. It was very humid climbing up the mountain to Glenshire but once there, a cool breeze was coming across the little valley. Unfortunately, I was having a rare and badly timed bout of heartburn so that the 4.9-mile section became an endurance trial of run/walk that took an entire hour and six minutes! Lesson learned...carry a roll of antacids in your pocket. Ya just never know! Click here to post a comment on this story. During this rotation of runners, we had a scare. Our van had to be jumped when the battery went dead along the west side of Lake Tahoe. Our last runner (and van captain) had just left to do his leg so we called ahead and Van 2 came to our rescue with borrowed jumper cables. We didn't have any further mechanical problems thank goodness! One great thing about this race is the camaraderie. Other teams don't hesitate to help each other when problems arise. My next 4.3-mile leg went east past Casino Row, weaving through the midnight strollers (and a couple of comical drunks) at south shore. I then turned right to climb up Hwy 207 to the tramway road at Heavenly Valley. We'd managed to get a few winks of sleep in the van while waiting for Van 2 to complete their rotation. Another team had spread out their sleeping bags on the lawn in front of a business only to be rudely awakened by the sprinklers coming on at midnight! HAHAHAHA! Great story to tell the grand kids!My midnight climb up to Daggett Pass went very well and the temperature was comfortable enough for short sleeves and shorts (was in the 30's last year on that leg). There were no bears trying to eat us this year, though one team reported seeing one during their day. We had enough teams on the course this year that I wasn't alone long enough to feel threatened. Team vans were passing me regularly and my own stopped a couple of times to see if I needed anything. The stars were BRIGHT. I enjoyed looking at them while taking walk breaks on the steepest portions. We got some more sleep in the Wal-Mart parking lot after our last runner finished her Jack's Valley leg. One of our guys had parked his travel trailer there so we got a couple of very restful solid hours.  My next leg begun in front of Virginia City's "Bucket of Blood" saloon, where hot coffee was flowing in vast quantities at 6:30am. I even saw a few beers floating around. I hadn't had time to grab my morning cup of coffee so felt kinda crispy as I climbed but finished my last leg, 3.2 miles in 25 minutes. It heats up the moment the sun rises as that leg is on the east side of the mountain. The next runner was really heating up but she didn't have that much climbing and got to drop over the top and into the relative coolness of the downhill side. The runner after her had more than six miles of downhill...NOT my cup of tea. Geiger Grade is relentless and her quads were trashed by the time she finished. She'll be one sore puppy for a few days! I was still surprisingly fresh so through the rest of our van rotations as we frog-leaped along, rendering aid to our runners in the heat, it was my job to jump out of the van and run back with ice water. The moment the runner saw me coming, they would inevitably dump their old water over their heads. We have this down to a science after two years! We finished strong and our van captain had enough left after seven miles to sprint past a couple others as he entered Idlewild Park in Downtown Reno, where the event finishes. Our Transportation Trotters team ended up finishing third in the Mixed Corporate category. We had one of our fastest runners drop out before the event this year so finished slower than last year but higher in the rankings nonetheless. There were a LOT more participants in this year's Reno Tahoe Odyssey and it wouldn't surprise me if they had to cap the number of entries in the future. People come from all over the world to do this relay and it's becoming one of the most popular. It's VERY well-organized and just gets better and better! This week I'm doing some nice recovery runs. Taking my dog Hank, out to the desert for a trot on the sandy trails. Nikki Reynolds Click here to post a comment on this story. Return from Reno Tahoe Odyssey to Your Running Stories Post Your CommentDo you have a comment on this story? Share it!
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Live in the Wild West for a few years and you get the sense that Nevadans are pretty adventurous folks. 
