Trainsharp Media
Richard Newey - Race Across America
Richard places 8th at first solo attempt with the help of coaching from TrainSharp!
RAAM 2009
The Race Across America (RAAM) is considered to be the world’s toughest bike race and some believe it to be the world's toughest endurance event ‘period’. It is a unique challenge – riding from Oceanside in California on the west coast, to Annapolis in Maryland on the east coast.
The route covers 3000 miles across 14 states, climbs over 100,000 feet, crosses 6 time zones and exposes the riders to some extremely harsh weather conditions – from searing heat to freezing cold and back again, sometimes in the course of a single day. Competitors include male and female solo riders and two, four and eight person teams, all of whom ride the same route, but with slightly different rules. The hardest challenge is obviously to ride it solo, albeit with a support crew, and finishers typically take between 9 and 12 days.
Richard, a construction consultant for the London firm Davis Langdon LLP, was inspired to ride RAAM by a TV documentary he saw about 4 years ago and he first took part in 2008 as part of a four-man team. Competing in RAAM on his own was always Richard’s aim so he targeted 2009 for his first solo venture.
Riding as part of a team in 2008 gave Richard considerable experience of both the effort involved and the route but, determined to complete it on his own the following year, he had to up his training considerably. As he said: “Riding up to 300 miles is not easy for one day, let alone for 10 to 12 days but it is time to see how far I can push myself.”
Having a competent and supportive crew behind you on a venture like this is essential and Richard gathered a team that helped him throughout the training and the ride itself.
Integral to this support was the training plan that Richard worked out with his cycling coach Jon Sharples of TrainSharp Cycle Coaching. Jon carefully analyzed what Richard would need to do to not only finish the race but to do so in a competitive time. Using a PowerTap power meter Jon was able to set specific training plans for various stages of Richard’s preparation and to analyze the results to ensure that he was getting the most out of the effort he was putting in.
Jon’s training plan focussed on ensuring that Richard was not over trained and would ‘peak’ in time for the race, an important consideration for any athlete. Many factors had to be taken into account as RAAM is very much an endurance event rather than a ‘sprint’, so he and Jon looked into such things as acclimatizing for the extremes of temperature, sleep deprivation and training the muscles to keep going and not burning out.
Eventually all of Richard’s hard work paid off and he managed to successfully finish a very creditable the race when many don’t even complete the course within the strict time limit. His time of just under 11 days was sufficient to place him 8th overall of the solo riders – beating a further 16 solos and a 4-man team – with an average speed of 11.43mph.
Richard Neweys Official Website
In 2010 Richard will again be tackling the Race Across America, coached by Jon, with the experience of two previous finishes behind him and with the knowledge that he has had the best possible training plan.
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