RAAM - the Race Across America
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| Team LS&G necklace with unique logo. |
My theme this year is "Life is a Field Trip". I chose this because I am genuinely interested in seeing and exploring this great globe while learning about culture and people and being one with nature. I tacked a world map on the wall in my office and put the vibes out into the Universe! So it was no surprise when my friend Joe called me with an opportunity of a lifetime - to be a crew member for a 4 person woman's cycling team that will race across America.
The goal of this team, Love Sweat and Gears, is to take a 3,000 mile trek across the United States and beat the course record at 6 days, 11 hours and 30 minutes. I get to be one of the team members in charge of getting the cyclists from one check point to the next.
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How the race works for a 4 person woman's team:
2 racers resting in the RV at a Vehicle Meeting Point, VMP (4 hours ahead) while 2 racers are leapfrogging each other, 15 minute sprints at a time for the 4 hours. I will be in a vehicle with another crew member, we will drop off a racer at a checkpoint and once she is tagged by the racer on the road she takes off and we follow her, narrating the way through a loud speaker attached to the car while she does a 15 minute sprint to the next checkpoint.
I have 8 hour shifts - I will be in charge of 2 racers for the entire race. Basically, I tend to the needs of one racer, drive her to each check point, make sure she gets food and water during her break and then send her back on the road. While she is racing, I am either driving or navigating for the driver and the racer. I must read the course map, decipher the directions, narrate through the loud speaker and tell my driver when to turn.
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We will start in Oceanside California, leaving Saturday, June 15th at noon and will roll into Annapolis Maryland 6 days, 11 hours and 30 minutes later.
It hasn't sunk in the magnitude of what we as a team are taking on but I feel that my training with the Wild West Relay, a 200 mile running race from Fort Collins to Steamboat, my navigating the peaks and my thirst for adventure have all lead me to this point. Plus I have a secret dream of being a base camp manager for high altitude peak climbers so this serves as training for future expeditions.
In the Media:
Team Love Sweat and Gears were media darlings last year (as my friend Joe calls them) and I have a few links from last years national news.
NBC Nightly News:
This year, they have already been interviewed on radio and television and featured in web articles, here is a clip from 9News yesterday -
Local 9 News:
Staying Connected:
I will be blogging, face booking and tweeting the entire race. To stay connected, make sure you like the Love Sweat and Gears Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/lovesweatandgears?fref=ts as well as subscribe to my blog http://michellemarison.blogspot.com/ so you get automatic updates. Watch my Facebook page as well, many personal updates will fall there.
Lastly, team Love Sweat and Gears is a non-prfofit, I recommend you check out their causes for kids on their website - http://www.lovesweatandgears.net/ . Anyone interested in sponsorship or donations, feel free to contact me.
So there it is…my next big adventure.
Life is a field trip - let the adventure begin!
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