Reno-Tahoe Odyssey runners a study in contrasts, similaritie
by John Trent
Reno Gazette-Journal
June 28, 2007
The age-old question of who actually wins the race, the hare or the tortoise, will be put to the test this weekend during the third annual Reno-Tahoe Odyssey.
The 178-mile, 12-person running relay begins Friday morning at 8:30 a.m. at Wingfield Park. The race has a field of more than 100 teams from across the country.
As of Wednesday, race founder Eric Lerude of Reno had announced on the race's Web site (www.renotahoeodyssey.com) that the course will be changed due to the Angora Fire at South Lake Tahoe. The event will be modified to avoid the South Lake Tahoe area in its entirety.
As the race begins its countdown to its start, among the entrants will be one of the fastest teams, the Battle Born racing team from Reno, as well as one of the oldest, the Galloping Geezers, a team comprised mainly of Northern Nevada competitors.
The odds are good that the Battle Born team will finish near the front of the pack. But don't discount the Galloping Geezers. Although they will more than likely be several hours behind Battle Born, Galloping Geezers members still expect the experience to be profound, and enjoyable.
"There is such a strong feeling of camaraderie, and companionship during this race," said Galloping Geezers captain Floyd Whiting, 66, of Reno. "Sure, we all enjoy giving our best effort and running as hard as we can. But we never try to knock the other guy down. That's what makes this race so special -- if you see someone on the road who is out of batteries in the middle of the night, you loan them some of yours. If they're struggling with cramps, you give them an electrolyte tablet.
"Everybody helps one another. That's why the Reno-Tahoe Odyssey is such a positive and fun experience. Eric has done such a wonderful job organizing this event. The scenery is so great, and it's so fun. It's like a traveling carnival, really."
The Galloping Geezers' lineup includes the legendary Helen Klein of Rancho Cordova, Calif. At age 84, Klein has a running résumé that would make even an Olympic champion envious. Since starting running with no previous experience at age 55 in 1978, Klein has set 75 American and world age-group records. The list includes age-group records at the mile, marathon, 50-mile, 100-kilometer and 100-mile distances.
Klein's husband, 69-year-old Norm, is also on the team. Norm Klein is considered one of the world's finest race directors of ultramarathons.
"Helen and Norm are the most remarkable couple in the race," Whiting said. "They are such great people."
Overall, the Galloping Geezers check in with an average age of 60.9 years. The team's oldest member is Helen Klein. The youngest is 50-year-old Debra Moss of Sacramento.
Since many of the team's members have experience in running ultramarathons, Whiting doesn't expect the 178-mile distance to present a major problem.
"Being in a car for two days, eating, sleeping when you're not running ... hey, that's easy going for an ultra runner," said Whiting, who expects his team to finish in about 27 hours.
On the other side of the coin is the Battle Born team. Battle Born's roster is a Who's Who of swift and accomplished runners from the area. The glue of the team is Reno runner John Ostezan, who recruited many of the runners and via a flurry of e-mails has kept the team apprised of race assignments (each runner in the Odyssey competes in three different legs ranging in distance from three to six miles).
Ostezan was part of the Odyssey's runner-up team in 2005 as well as last year's championship team comprised primarily of Reno-area athletes.
"I came up with the name 'Battle Born Racing Team' since all of the runners either currently live here in Northern Nevada, or were born and raised here," Ostezan said. "I'm really gung-ho about this race for several reasons: I'm very competitive, this is a chance to compete as a team, which is so rare for us runners, this race is taking place on our 'home turf' and we need to defend our turf ... and the course is very challenging given the total distance, elevation changes and night running that's required."
Ostezan, like all of the competitors in the Odyssey, said the difficulty of the experience -- 178 miles through the mountains and hills of the surrounding area, including Carson City and Virginia City -- is what brings the teams together.
"The hardship of running three separate legs throughout the day and night is something that bonds us all closer," he said.
Battle Born team member Tim Minor, 49, of Reno, is typical of the type of talent that Ostezan has recruited. Minor is a former All-America distance runner for the University of Nevada, Reno, as well as, over the age of 40, an age-group national champion in cross country.
Given all of his experience, Minor admits that running the Odyssey is above and beyond what most runners consider the standard experience in their sport.
"It's a crazy thing to do," he said. "The sleep deprivation, the down time, the running in the middle of the night. But it's great. You have a great time together and you get into the whole spirit of the thing. We've got an amazing range of abilities and backgrounds -- we have a guy who just came back from running a marathon at the Great Wall of China (Fred Zalokar of Reno), we have a top finisher from the Western States 100-miler (Nick Bingham of Reno), we have a young guy, Alex Carpenter, who's 20 and runs at the collegiate level, and then you've got old geezers like myself who aren't willing to give it up yet."
Win, place, show or simply to finish, the Odyssey has it all.
