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Information About

Race Across America




The exact course of the race has varied substantially during its history, but has always been from the West Coast to East Coast of the United States, approximately 3,000 Miles (4800 km). In 2005, the course was from San Diego , California , to Atlantic City , New Jersey .

Unlike most multi-day bicycle races, RAAM has no stages or designated rest periods. Instead, the clock runs continuously from start to finish. The winner of the race usually finishes in eight to nine days, after riding approximately 22 hours per day through the varied Terrain Of The US . Each racer has a crew that follows in one or more vehicles to provide food, water, and other supplies. At night, a crew vehicle fitted with flashing lights is required to follow closely behind the rider at all times to ensure they are visible.

Race is held in several divisions. In 2004 those were:
  • Men's Solo

  • Two Person Male

  • Two Person Mixed

  • Four Person Male

  • Four Person Male HPV

  • Four Person Female

  • Four Person Mixed

  • Corporate Challenge



RECORDS


Because the course has varied in length and difficulty over the years, performances in different years are sometimes not comparable. Records are usually recorded in terms of average speed, not total time, to account in part for the different course lengths. The fastest men's average speed for a crossing was by Pete Penseyres in 1986, when he rode 3107 miles (5000 km) at 15.40 miles per hour (mph)(24.8 km/h) to finish in 8 days, 9 hours, and 47 minutes. The fastest woman to ride the race was Seana Hogan in 1995, who averaged 13.23 mph (21.3 km/h) to finish 2912 miles (4686 km) in 9 days, 4 hours, 2 minutes. The shortest elapsed time ever for a crossing was actually outside of an official RAAM, by Michael Secrest in 1990, when he finished in 7 days 23 hours.


LIST OF OVERALL WINNERS


This is an all-time list of winners of Race Across America in Men's Solo category.


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