Race Across America (RAAM): "The World's Toughest Bike Race!" This race starts on the west coast and continues around the clock non-stop until the finish line on the east coast.

Created in 1982, RAAM is now the longest running ultra-distance bicycle endurance competition in the world. This is not a stage race like the Tour de France, where each day a set distance is covered. In RAAM the gun fires somewhere on the West Coast (Oceanside, CA in 2008) and the finishing line is over 3000 miles away, in Annapolis, MD., on the other side of the continent.

RAAM participants face challenges beyond the bike riding that include scorching heat, violent winds, thunderstorms, and even tornadoes, altitude, the dark of night, sleep deprivation, muscle injuries, organized crew coordination, navigation, and mental acuity.

In 1993 Outside magazine, the biggest and most popular magazine on outdoor sports, commissioned a panel of experts to rank the world’s toughest events. Using such criteria as the “Mule Factor”—the distances involved; the “Forum”—how tough the course is; the “Anguish Index”—how hard the competitors “have to work to convince themselves that what they’re doing is only mildly inane and self-destructive;” and the “O Factor”—a combination of the cost to do the event and the drop out rate. Given these criteria, as judged by a number of multi-sport athletes and observers, the ranking came out as follows:

1. Race Across America 676.2 points
2. Vendee Globe Around-the-World Sailing Race 675.0 points
3. Iditarod Sled Dog Race 417.5 points
4. U.S. Army’s Best Ranger Competition 402.5 points
5. Raid Gauloises Wilderness Competition 399.0 points
6. La Traversee Internationale (25-mile swim) 301.4 points
7. Badwater 146-Mile Cross Country Run 113.4 points
8. Hawaii Ironman Triathlon 67.2 points

Start location: Oceanside, CA.
Finish location: Annapolis, MD.
Start dates & times (pdt):
Solo: Sunday, June 8, 2008, 12:00PM
Team: Wednesday June 11, 2008, 2:00PM

Interesting facts
Austrian adventurer Wolfgang Fasching has won solo RAAM and climbed Mt.
Everest. “Everest is more dangerous, but RAAM is much harder,” said Fasching.