Relay run set for July 8-9

The Reno Tahoe Odyssey Relay Run Adventure - a new running event pattered after Oregon's well-known Hood To Coast Relay - will be held on July 8-9 in the Reno-Carson-Tahoe area.

The long-distance relay run is designed for teams of 12 runners that will cover a 178-mile course over two days.

"Our goal is to establish a first class destination running event that attracts visitors to the area from around the country and the world, and that local runners will enjoy too," said Eric Lerude, the event director and president of People Burning Fat Productions, the Reno event planning company that has created the event.

The relay begins on Friday, July 8, at Wingfield Park in downtown Reno. Runners will make the uphill trek west to Truckee, then to Tahoe City and around the west and south shores of Lake Tahoe. They will pass through Genoa, Carson City and Virginia City en route to the finish line at Idlewild Park in Reno.

"The course is extraordinarily scenic and showcases the many attractions and historical points of interest in the area," Lerude said. "The course is fair, too. There are a few steep climbs and descents, but those legs are short."

The Reno Tahoe Odyssey is geared to accommodate all types of runners. For example, the distances of the 36 legs on the course range between three and eight miles. Each runner will run three legs - an average of 15 miles for the total race.

"To run in an event like this, you do not have to be a marathon runner, and you do not have to be fast," Lerude said.

Two non-profit groups will receive proceeds from the event. Angel Kiss Foundation provides financial assistance to families with a child who has cancer. The Tahoe-Pyramid Bikeway is an effort to build a bike and running path along the Truckee River from Lake Tahoe to Pyramid Lake.

n University of Nevada cross country coach Kirk Elias is directing the Nevada Wolf Pack Altitude Cross Country Camp, which will be offered for students in eighth through 12th grades during the week of July 18-23 at the University of Nevada in Reno.

"Training at altitude is a great benefit of the camp, but besides the training, we're really going to invest time in teaching how to train, so that when students return home and continue their training, they'll have a thorough understanding of what to do to get better," Elias said.

The fee is $490 per student, if registered by June 10 and $520 after that date. The fee includes lodging in double-occupancy dormitories at the university and all meals.

To register or to request a brochure, call Extended Studies at the university, (775) 784-4062 or (800) 233-8928, or visit: [ http://www.extendedstudies.unr.edu

n Upcoming events: The DeCelle Memorial Lake Tahoe Relay will be held next Saturday, starting at 7 a.m. from the South Lake Tahoe "Y." The race, which has been held since 1965, is a seven-person relay around the 72-mile perimeter of Lake Tahoe, with legs ranging from 8.2 to 12.3 miles. ... The Sagebrush Stompers and Tahoe Mountain Milers will host the Firecracker Fourth of July 10K Run and 2-Mile Run/Walk on July 4 at Riverview Park in Carson City, as well as the Tahoe Rim Trail 50K-50-Mile Endurance Trail Runs on July 16 at Spooner Lake State Park. The Tahoe Rim Trail event will serve as the Road Runners Club of America Trail 50K and 50-mile national championships. ... The 32nd annual Ponderosa Ridge Run, a 9.5-mile trail run across the mountain tops from Spooner Summit to Kingsbury, will be held on Saturday, July 2. The race starts at 10 a.m. from the Spooner Summit maintenance station on Highway 50.

n Erick Studenicka of Carson City and Jeffrey Mark of Gardnerville finished at the Lincoln Marathon held in Lincoln, Neb., on May 1. Studenicka ran the race in a time of 3 hours, 27 minutes and 49 seconds, good for 169th overall and 26th in his division. Mark finished in 4:24:47, just one day after serving as race director for the Escape from Prison Hill Half-Marathon in Carson City.

n Contact Dave Price at dprice@nevadaappeal.com or call 881-1220.