Local residents team up to run 178 miles over 28 hours
By Debra Moore
While most of us were sleeping last Friday night, some Plumas County residents were on the run. Twelve individuals — including residents and former residents — were in the midst of a 178-mile run that got underway Friday, June 3 and concluded Saturday, June 4.
The Reno-Tahoe Odyssey Relay Run Adventure (RTO) is a relay from Reno to Lake Tahoe and then back to Reno making a large 178-mile loop around the Reno-Tahoe region. The relay starts the Truckee River in downtown Reno, passes through Truckee, Tahoe City, South Lake Tahoe, Genoa, Carson City and Virginia City before returning to Reno and finishing at Idlewild Park.
The course is divided into 36 legs or segments, with each leg averaging about 5 miles. Teams of 12 each run three legs interspersed throughout the 24-hour-plus event.
The local team, calling themselves Super Peeps, consisted of Jo Oliver, Rachel Bauer, Ali Pence, Maurice Huynh, Audrey Yang, Justine Mansfield, Marisa Lerch, Kenny Lutz, Steph Tanaka, Stephanie Driscoll, Sean Harris and Alana Nelson.
The group is divided into two vans that meet up when it’s time to exchange the teams. The first van starts off in Reno, while the second van heads to Truckee for the transition. They all meet up in Reno to celebrate the completion of the race that this year they finished in 28 hours, seven minutes and 21 seconds.
In prior races they were known as the Supergirls, but that’s before some men joined the team. This year nearly 250 teams competed ran the race and Super Peeps came in at number 87.
“We had some injuries this year,” said Stephanie Tanaka, the team leader, “but all of the runners pushed through. There was a lot of KT tape this year.”
Since the legs of the event are divided between easy, moderate, more challenging and most difficult, there’s strategy in deciding who will run each leg.
The terrain is varied from dirt trails to paved roadway — with some level ground, some ascent and some descent. When asked if the van trails the runners, Tanaka said sometimes it’s possible, but for example her first 3 miles she was on a trail where she couldn’t be seen. However, they are aware of where each runner is and there are others on the trail to watch out for each other.
As they complete each leg, they hand off a wristband to the next runner — a variation of passing the baton.
While one team runs, the other eats and tries to grab some rest, but in reality there is little sleep to be had. After the 28-hour-plus event, the Super Peeps were happy to snap a few photos, grab something to eat, visit with their peers and then head home for some much needed rest.
More than 28 hours later and 178 miles, the Super Peeps gather for a photo. Photo submitted
