Today marks 3 years since I embarked on a cannonball run across America with 7 stud and 1 dud riders. San Diego to Annapolis. 6 days. No sleep, fewer calories, great stories and a warlike bond created in a Kia Sorrento van. Oh and I didn’t pedal a foot. We were the crew and it was greatness.
I wrote a pretty lengthy part 1 to the story and never went back and wrote much more. Over time, I’m not sure anything needs to be said of the race. To me as I look back, I love how 6 days in a van can forge and improve friendships.
Juba and I went to San Diego on a months or so notice to crew for 3 guys I knew as acquaintances through the running industry. We met 11 others and set out across America.
In hindsight, some would say we were unprepared. I’d like to say we were just ready for anything or nothing. Whatever. The best adventures are when you just come in hot with enthusiasm and get it done. That’s exactly what we did.
120 set temperatures to torrential downpours and 30 mph tailwinds. We saw it all. Descending the Rockies at 50mph, in the dark and the greasiest floor ever encountered in a West Virginia, McDonalds. It was the stuff of legendary stories.
Today I’m thinking about that crew and how we all came together and wishing for another adventure like that, knowing that it would never live up to the first.
Colin, David, Daniel, Hartner, Helbig, Robb, KEL, Kwaz, Juba, Laiderman, Tracie, Erin, Amanda, #hugsandhi5s to y’all.
You can get a longer version of the RAAM story HERE.
