Patty Burke to direct Odyssey Relay Series

Bob Fleshner, race director for the inaugural American Odyssey Relay (April 24-25, 2009) and Eric Lerude, whose Reno-Tahoe event will be held for the fifth time next year (May 29-30), have formed the Odyssey Relay Series (ORS) and announced the 2009 scheduling of a first-time event in London (September 4-5) and the Southern Odyssey, an Athens, GA to suburban Atlanta relay race (October 9-10).

In conjunction with the creation of ORS and the two new team relay races, it was also announced that Patty Burke has joined the company as Chief of Operations and will maintain day-to-day responsibility for ORS marketing, course design, hiring and event coordination. Ms. Burke had been the Senior Director of Corporate Relations for the American Heart Association and will continue in her role as Race Director of the highly successful "Lawyers Have Heart 10K." She is credited with producing record-breaking runner participation numbers and law firm sponsorship dollars in each of the event's past four years.

"Patty is well respected among the D.C. area's running and legal communities," said Fleshner. "She will be involved in planning, promoting and implementing these and other ORS events. Her experience and expertise will be invaluable as we continue to expand our horizons around the country and internationally."

According to Fleshner, the choice of London and the Atlanta area location supports the ORS charter to bring the relay run concept to large metropolitan areas around the country and the world. Preliminary talks are underway regarding Odyssey relays in Southern California and elsewhere in the U.S. and Europe.

"The success of the Reno-Tahoe event and the strong registration response for the first American Odyssey Relay next spring tells us that our "run where the locals run" approach is extremely attractive to runners," said Fleshner. "We are beyond diligent in studying a city or area, identifying sections that are popular with the locals and most importantly, designing a course that is safe and accessible."

These just-announced ORS events will be designed to closely follow the successful formula of the Reno-Tahoe Odyssey and the upcoming American Odyssey Relay. The 12-member teams will run safe and scenic 200-mile courses with each runner completing three legs of approximately four to eight miles each. As will be introduced at the midway point of the AOR's Gettysburg to D.C. relay, both the London and Southern Odyssey will feature a mid-race Odyssey Oasis, complete with food, drinks, music, and much more.

Teams interested in participating in the first-ever American Odyssey Relay are encouraged to sign up now at www.americanodysseyrelay.com to secure one of the field's 150 spots. Registration is also open for the Reno-Tahoe event (www.renotahoeodyssey.com) and is scheduled to open for London and the Southern Odyssey soon.