   
Back To News/PR Index | 
| RAAM Announces 2016 Race Route and Trackleaders Partnership | 3,069 miles From Oceanside, CA to Annapolis, MD - Live Tracking to be Provided by Trackleaders | The RAAM race route represents the most diverse in all of ultra-bicycle racing – from the Pacific Ocean, across deserts, mountain ranges, rivers and plains, through all types of weather to the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean. The race is open to solo racers as well as 2, 4 and 8-person relay teams. The racers are accompanied by support crews. Solo Racers will depart Oceanside, CA on June 14 and Teams on June 18. They will cross the Coast Range, Desert SW, the Colorado River, Monument valley, Rockies Mountains at Wolf Creek Pass (10,856’) and the Sangre de Cristo Range at La Veta Pass (9,418’) and Cuchara Pass (9,939’), the Great Plains, Lake of the Ozarks, the Missouri, Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, and the Appalachians and finish in Annapolis, MD. Participants will race day and night, coast-to-coast, across 12 states, from the Pacific to the Atlantic. The solo racers have 12 days and relay teams have 9 days to complete the crossing. The fastest solo racer will finish in approximately 8 days and the fastest relay team in 6 days. The route has been designed so as to avoid major metropolitan areas and take advantage of low traffic roads. There are no Interstate Highways. Ultra-bicycle races are non-drafting. Racers and their support crews must obey all applicable traffic laws and not impede the normal flow of motor vehicle traffic. The route and rules have been designed with three objectives in mind: safety, fairness and to protect the integrity of the race. There are 56 time stations along the route. Racers and/or their support crews must check in upon reaching each time station. Participants will be tracked by Trackleaders which uses Spot-based tracking and TopoFusion tracking software. Their close relationship with Spot allows them direct access to Spot technical support. The GPS-based technology helps minimize any dead spots in coverage. Teams of Race officials will follow the racers and their support crews across the country to insure they follow the race route and obey all rules. Both racers and officials will be equipped with tracking devices. RAAM Headquarters in Boulder, Colorado will monitor both racers and officials 24-hours per day. Live tracking allows race headquarters to position race officials more effectively. Most importantly, the combination of time station check-ins, race officials and live tracking minimize cheating and optimize event safety. Trackleaders will provide coverage for RAAM, as well as the Race Across the West (RAW) and the RAAM Challenge Series (Texas, SoCal, Minnesota and Ohio). RAAM Executive Director Rick Boethling explained, “In today’s event world, racers and fans demand live racer tracking. While tracking certainly improves the fan experience, we use it to improve our event management. In 2015 we tested the Trackleaders platform at all of our RAAM Challenge Series 200- and 400-mile races and were extremely pleased with the results.” Trackleaders founding Partner Matthew Lee added, “We have tracked over 500 events, in some very remote locations, including events as diverse as the Iditarod Sled Dog Race, Baja 1000, the Arizona and Colorado Trail Mountain Bike Races and the Annapolis to Bermuda Sailboat Race. We’ve always wanted to track RAAM. It’s one of the most prestigious races in the world and it’s dripping with story. We track their qualifying races and believe we can add substantial value to RAAM. We are really excited to bring our time-tested, satellite-specific tracking to this 35th edition of RAAM.” Follow the Race Live:
Trackleaders (www.trackleaders.com) is the leader in web-based tracking. Founded by Matthew Lee and Scott Morris, both athletes, fans of events and travel. Fueled by passion and a strong partnership with Spot, they have become the leader in web-based tracking. About
RAAM
Media
Contacts:
Rick
Boethling
|
