Melrose Native Joins 24-Hour BSO to Tanglewood Relay

Erin Svoboda is a professional musician and a novice runner, but that won't stop her from tying on her sneakers for the Tanglewood Relay Run on Friday and Saturday.

Teams of runners will set off from the Boston Symphony Orchestra Friday morning for a 24-hour relay that ends at the BSO's summer home in the Berkshires, to raise funds for music education programs offered at Tanglewood.

Svoboda, who graduated from in 2001 and studied at the New England Conservatory, was also a student for three summers at Tanglewood.

She's working at Tanglewood this summer, although not in the orchestra. Her father, Richard Svoboda, is a bassoonist in the BSO. The father-daughter duo in March.

Formerly a clarinette soloist for the , Svoboda lives in New York City and works as a "freelance" musician, playing for various orchestras in the region.

"When orchestras need an extra person, there are musicians sitting around waiting for people to call them," Svoboda said.

Svoboda won't be sitting around this weekend. She'll be running three five-mile legs of the relay with her team.

The relay is run each summer on the eve of the beginning of the Tanglewood season and there are 30 "legs." Teams are made up of minimum of 10 runners and a maximum of 14 runners, of which each runner runs up to 3 legs each of the relay.

"I just started (running) this year, basically," Svoboda said. "This is my second organized race. I hope I make it."