Eric Lerude has this idea to bring about 600 affluent, healthy, active visitors to boost northern Nevada's tourism economy and he thinks the number could grow in coming years.
Of course, most of the visitors will be gone for about half the weekend, running a 185-mile relay race from Reno to South Lake Tahoe to Virginia City and back.
As the guiding light of People Burning Fat Productions Inc., the for-profit venture bringing the Reno Tahoe Relay Run Adventure to life, Lerude unabashedly hopes the event grows into a money-maker.
Other principals in the company are Kurt Hunsberger, an attorney and certified public accountant, and Jack Lyons, a Reno entrepreneur.
But as a third-generation resident of Reno, Lerude also hopes the relay run provides another leg for the region's efforts to brand itself as America's Adventure Place.
"Reno doesn't have a destination running event," Lerude says."And runners are a good group of people to come visit your community.
They're affluent, and they like to have a good time while they're here."
A similar event in San Francisco found runners' median family income was $72,000.
More than 90 percent of participants were college graduates, and nearly 90 percent held management or professional jobs.
Here's how the relay race will work on July 8-9: Teams, typically 12 members each, pay an entry fee of $900 ($780 before March 31) for the privilege of running the long route.
Typically, each member of the team runs three legs of about five miles each, resting and traveling ahead while the other 11 members run their segments.
The relay continues overnight.
A longtime runner himself, Lerude was inspired to launch the Reno Tahoe Relay after he participated in a relay that annually draws 12,000 runners to the Portland area.
He got further motivation after leaving a job as a staff attorney at GameTech International in Reno last fall and decided to use his severance pay to cover living expenses while he got the new venture off the ground.
The relay, he says, is nothing but details.
"It's a huge project, and I've done most of it myself to save some money," he says.
The relay's route, for instance, runs through two states.
Four counties in California.
Four counties in Nevada.
Each needs to bless the use of streets and highways.
Although People Burning Fat Productions is a for-profit venture, Lerude also has been busy lining up sponsorships ranging from Circus Circus to Washoe Medical Center.
A key sponsor, he says, is the Reno-Tahoe Convention & Visitors Authority.
Says Deanna Ashby, the RSCVA's marketing director,"This event fits perfectly with the America's Adventure Place campaign." A key to the event's success, Lerude says, is marketing to runners through specialized publications.
He especially targeted the Northwest, where about 1,000 runners a year are turned away from the Hood To Coast Relay in the Portland area.
Organizers are guessing the new event in Reno might draw about 50 teams of 12 runners each on a weekend that doesn't currently include a major special event.
Lerude also is beginning to line up volunteers, some of whom will be stationed along the route in the darkest hours of the summer night.
(For sponsorship or volunteer information, to to www.renotahoeodyssey.com.)
