Reidar Ødegård’s specialty as a skier was the shorter cross-country distances. Both at Holmenkollen and in the Norwegian Championships only Nordic Combined and the 50 km cross-country race (in the national championship 30 km) were on the program until 1933, when ski jumping and 18 km cross-country were included on the program. A decent ski jumper, he won the B-class in Nordic Combined at Holmenkollen in 1925, while his best placing in the A-class was 17th in 1927. In the 1928 games, besides taking the bronze medal in the 18 km cross-country race, he was also a member of the winning Norwegian military patrol team. He later tried the demanding 50 km Holmenkollen race, his best placement being 13th in 1931.