The world’s toughest bicycle race
Gary Feldstein
“Only those who are willing to go too far can possibly find out how far one can go”
-TS Eliot
Inaugural RAAM 1982Santa Monica Pier to Empire State Building
Lon Haldeman 9 Days 20:02 12.57 MPH
John Howard 10 Days 10:59 11.83 MPH
Michael Shermer 10 Days 19:54 11.42 MPH
John Marino 12 Days 7:37 10.04 MPH
Team RAAM added in 1992 2 Person, 4 Person, 8 Person
RAAM RecordsSolo 2014
Christoph Strasser
7 Days, 15 Hours, 56 Minutes
Average Speed 16.42 MPH
8 Person 2013
Allied Forces - Team 4Mil/Strategic Lions 5 Days, 3 Hours, 45 MinutesAverage Speed 24.19 MPH
RAAM by the NumbersOver 3,000 Miles
Over 170,000 feet of climbing
507 solo finishes, 322 finishers, 900 attempts
Vs
200+ TDF finishers each year
2000+ Everest summits
RAAM Route
RAAM Climbing Profile
RAAM vs TDF
RAAM 3,020 miles vs TDF 2,100 miles
RAAM 8 days vs TDF 21 days with 2 rest days
RAAM is a single stage TTRAAM does not permit draftingRAAM continues regardless of weather or roads
RAAM clock never stops till you finish
RAAM permits IV fluids and oxygen
as long as you carry them yourself or stop
RAAM vs Mt Everest
Austrian adventurer Wolfgang Fasching has won solo RAAM three times and climbed Mt. Everest. In his opinion, - Everest is more dangerous, but RAAM is much harder.
Challenges of RAAMNutrition,Hydration, & Electrolytes
Pressure Points
Sleep Management
Schermer’s Neck
Respiratory Problems
Environmental Extremes
Total Body Exhaustion
Navigation & Mechanical
Sample RAAM Diet, 83,000 Calories vs 144,000 Expended
3,500 fluid ounces (over 27 gallons)
75 Gogurts (5250 calories)19 KFC drumsticks (2300 calories)4 McDonald’s Quarter Pounders (3000 calories)7 Milkshakes/Malts (3480 calories)8 McDonald’s Breakfast Sandwiches (4800 calories)6 Hot Pockets (3540 calories)4 Subway Tuna Sandwiches (2120 calories)8 Banana/Nutella Sandwiches (4000 calories)21 Mountain Dews (3570 calories)14 Sunkist Orange Sodas (2660 calories)11 Sprites (1540 calories)8 Cokes (1120 calories)13 Chocolate Milks (2470 calories)22 Iced Mochas (3300 calories)24 Grape Juices (3360 calories)19 Orange Juices (2090 calories)10 Cranberry Juices (1260 calories)11 Iced Teas (990 calories)5 cups blueberries2.5 cups strawberries10 bananas
Pressure PointsHandlebar – Compressive Neuropathies
Pedals – “Hot Foot”
Saddle – Saddle sores -> Abrasive Burns
Compressive Neuropathies
Hot Foot - Metatarsalgia
Saddle Sores
Saddle Sore Remedies
Symptoms of Sleep Deprivation
Short Term Memory Loss
Long Term Memory Loss
Attention Deficit
Loss of ability to plan or coordinate activities
Habits take over responses
Increased risk taking activities
Mania
Hallucinations
Falling asleep while pedaling
Schermer’s Neck
Schermer’s Neck
Shermer’s Neck
Respiratory Problems
Hypoxia – Altitude Sickness
Pneumonia
Pulmonary Edema
Inhalation of allergens or toxins
Environmental Extremes
“Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds”
adapted from Herodotus
Dessert Heat
Rocky MountainsWolf Creek Pass 10,800 Feet
Cold, Wind, Hypoxia
Plains StatesWind and Dust Storms
Mid-Atlantic StatesThunderstorms
Appalachian MountainsThe toughest hurdle < 500 miles from finish
Appalachian Leg Burners
Total Body Exhaustion
Navigation & Mechanical Issues
RAAM Training
Base
Speed Work
Peaking
Taper
Base
4 Months of “training to be able to train”
Longer strictly aerobic workouts
“Mildly Uncomfortable”
Typical accumulated miles 6,000-7,000
Speed Work1-2 Months
Designed to increase anaerobic threshold
One long ride/week with addition of:
Time Trials
Intervals
Hill Climbing Repeats
Peaking6 Weeks
Final push to peak fitness
Attempt to ride ½ mph faster w/o going anaerobic
Maximum load w/o bodily injury
Duration of speed work increased (100 mile TT’s)
Taper1-3 Weeks
Allows body to fully recover and regenerate
NOT REST but reduced volume
High mileage ride decreased by at least 50%
Only short-distance speed work
In 2013, I completed solo RAW in 3:19:27 in spite of Schermer’s Neck & food poisoning resulting in massive diarrhea with a 15 pound weight loss, earning the Lantern Rouge as well as the “Unstoppable Trane Award” from the Race Sponsor. Here is an excerpt from the Race Report I penned a week after RAW for my club:
“I am hobbling around on 2 swollen ankles, my fingertips are still numb, my right hand is covered in blisters and doesn't have the strength to hold a fork or turn a key, my butt feels like I just slid down a 50 foot banister covered with sandpaper and it required surgical debridement to remove large swaths of necrotic skin. To keep it simple, I'm an old fart, but I ain’t dead yet.”
RAW Finish Photo
“Success is a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don’t quit when you are tired.You quit when the gorilla is tired”
-Robert Strauss
Ultra-Endurance Cycling Resources
Race Across AmericaRAAM: http://www.raceacrossamerica.org/
Randonneurs USARUSA: http://www.rusa.org/
UltraMarathon Cycling AssociationUMCA http://www.ultracycling.com/
Paris-Brest-ParisPBP http://www.paris-brest-paris.org/
The Complete Book of Long-Distance Cycling by Edmund Burke and Ed Pavelka