A New World Record in the Bike ‘Race Across America’ (‘RAAM’)

Started in 1982 as the Great American Bike Race, the Ride Across America (“RAAM”) is an ultra-distance road cycling race that crosses approximately 3,000 miles across the United States. It is perhaps the most demanding and grueling endurance race in the world. Like the Ironman triathlon championships held in Kona, Hawaii each year, RAAM participants must quality by completing an approved course in a specified time-period. The RAAM always begins on the west coast and ends on the east coast. There are no stages, like the Grand Tours of bike racing including the Tour de France. RAAM racers go non-stop from start to finish. Competitors manage their own schedules, stopping  only to eat, sleep, and make gear changes when needed.

The RAAM clock runs continuously from start to finish, and the final overall finish time includes rest periods. Historically, the winner usually finishes in eight to nine days, after riding approximately 22-hours per day, every day across America. The severity of riding continuously for days with little to no sleep places RAAM in the category of ultra-distance cycling races. Approximately half of the race’s solo competitors drop out due to exhaustion or injury.

The first Great American Bike Race was organized by John Marino, and there were only four competitors: John Marino, John Howard, Michael Shermer, and Lou Haldeman. Haldeman won that year, and the race has taken off since the inaugural event. The race became known as RAAM, and the event has grown each year, with riders from around the world taking on the harrowing endurance cross country race.

Team divisions were added in 1989, which introduced new racing categories. These categories supplemented the race with new state-of-the-art technologies and team strategies. On teams, riders can take turns churning out the long miles, or ride together to take advantage of drafting. Today, the RAAM has 16 different race categories, which include a ‘solo’ category for men and women, two-person teams, four-person teams, and eight-person teams. This year, legendary endurance athlete Colin O’Brady and his childhood best friend and endurance cyclist, Lucas Clarke, entered the 2-Man race category. These guys had the RAAM world record in their sights.

Colin O’Brady is a 10-time world-record breaking explorer, and one of the world’s best endurance athletes. Colin has attained unmatched athletic accomplishments including a world-first solo crossing of Antarctica, a world-first ocean row across Drake Passage (from South America to Antarctica), and summiting Mt. Everest twice. Colin is an expert on mindset, a highly sought-after keynote speaker and a New York Times bestselling author (The 12-Hour Walk). He can also ride a bike – fast.

The team of Colin O’Brady and Lucas Clarke was named SUB6 – titled to signify completing the race in under six days. Colin and Lucas achieved breaking the world in the 2024 RAAM for the ‘Pairs’ division. The New World Record, Race Across America Pairs: 6 days, 6 hours and 43 minutes; 20.33 Mph average; Cycling from Oceanside, CA to Atlantic City, NJ; 3064 miles, over 130,000ft of climbing.

“I’m proud of the record, but even more proud to have the memories from this journey; a peak life experience with my childhood best friend and our incredible team/family! Fifteen very different people (from 8 different countries) came together to perform in a variety of roles at an extremely high level.  So many things can go wrong when you’re crossing the country at these speeds, on these roads, and for this length of time with 3 different support vehicles, and innumerable rules to abide by.  The operations and logistics alone feel like NASA-caliber mission control.  

What kept this project on the rails – and full of laughter, joy, and connection – was the team.  We came together as a family long before the race itself.  We bonded through breathwork, manifestation work, and race simulation ‘camp’.  The mind/heart/soul of the project was a shared vision and energy, which was tested at times and tensions rose, no doubt… But we always quickly returned to the heartbeat of it all because there was such a solid coherence between us — and a lot of intention — set in the weeks/months prior. Endless love and gratitude to each one of you!”

WE ARE WORLD RECORD HOLDERS!
– Colin O’Brady