MARREY TRAINING SYSTEMS

Irelands Navan Avonmore Team

On December 15th 2007, Sports Psychologist and personal trainer Alan Heary asked the question……What would happen if he took a group of leisure cyclists and fitness enthusiasts and gave them access to the best coaches trainers, and facilities normally only available to Irelands elite and challenged them to complete the toughest cycle race in the World – The Race Across America (RAAM).

This year the race begins on June 11th in Oceanside California and will eventually end in the state capital of Minneapolis, Annapolis a distance of 3018 miles.

After auditions and fitness tests were conducted with over forty applicants only thirteen were chosen to take part in the project. The following five months consisted of gruelling training in sometimes freezing and stormy conditions over punishing terrain cycling at night as well as day. This pushed them to physical, mental and emotional fatigue.

Only four were finally selected for Ireland’s Navan Avonmore team, which will be the Irish contingent in this year’s race. They are Stephen McManmon, Alan Duffy, Colm Laverty and Adrian McNally.
The team is being managed by PJ Nolan (former president of Cycling Ireland) coached by Padraig Marrey and with Alan Heary as director and motivator.

What makes this challenge unique is that these guys have never raced before taking up the test.

They all have full time jobs but their determination and dedication to the project has been so great that improvements have been phenomenal and instead of just aiming to finish this race they are now looking at breaking the Irish record set in 2005 by a team lead by Kenny Dunlop called Team care 4 kids, they completed the RAAM in 7days 12hours 40mins.

In the process the team will be raising much needed funds for Irish Children’s Charity, The Bubblegum Club.
The California mountains, Arizonian Desert, Colorado Rockies, Plains of Kansas, Missouri, Indianapolis, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland & Appalachian Mountains or only a few of the challenges on this savage event.

A documentary is also being filmed which follows the team from auditions to finish line. To view a 4 minute promo about the project visit www.siriusbroadcast.com/raam

The team will be officially named at a reception in the offices of Brookdale Partners, 3 Mount Street Dublin 2
 
Irish cycling Legend Sean Kelly will be in attendance to launch what will be an incredible sporting odyssey

We’ve told you, you tell the world.

Further information is available on www.alanheary.com

Team members and coaches will be available for interview, and a photo opportunity.

Contact Alan Heary for any more info 087 900 8845

Details of Race

The Race Across America: The World’s Toughest Bicycle Race

“Your deepest dreams – you’re worst and best character, everything shows up in this week.” – Reinhard Hormann, Team Harreither Heizsysteme/ Vav Versicherung (Germany) – 1st Place, RAAM 2003

Created in 1982, the Race Across America (RAAM) is now the longest running ultra-distance bicycle endurance competition in the world. In RAAM the gun fires somewhere on the West Coast (Oceanside, CA in 2007) and the finishing line is on the other side of the continent. It covers over 3000 miles through 15 states and riders climb over 100,000 feet in their quest to win the race. Unlike the Tour de France where riders spend 3 weeks covering a similar distance, good teams expect to complete this race in less than six days travelling at an average speed of 23mph. Riders must ride through the night and get some sleep while their team mates push on.

The Race Across America is about generating maximum wattage paced over day and night riding, delicately balanced with managing pain, sleep and nutrition. Overcoming fatigue and correct nutritional intake are the defining features of the competition in RAAM, and these are what make the event so unusually difficult. Athletes push body and sinew to points far beyond anything they thought themselves capable of – and emerge from the race with a newfound sense of their own capability. Riders consume 6,000-8,000 calories a day of food and take in 3 – 4 gallons of fluid.

The race format is essentially a time trial: also called “against the clock” racing, and “the race of truth”, this means no ‘drafting,’ or taking shelter from the wind behind any vehicles. Team riders may draft off their team mate’s, but not other teams.

The rider on the road must have a support vehicle following immediately behind from dusk until dawn. This is optional during daylight hours, but most riders prefer the security and motivation it provides. For the support crews, RAAM is almost as difficult as it is for the riders. Crew members’ hours are similar to those of the riders themselves, and crews must juggle driving duties, navigation, and restocking supplies. They also provide medical assistance, morale support and motivation to riders, as well as tend to their bodies and equipment during rest stops.

There are no discreet stages in the race. There are 55 Time Stations, spaced approximately 50 miles apart. On arriving at a Time Station, the rider’s crew is obliged by the rules to call HQ to state the team’s arrival. This way the HQ is able to track the progress and status of the teams.

In 24 years the race has been aired on ABC Wide World of Sports, ESPN, OLN, NBC, BBC and many other stations around the world. The Race Across America endures due to its amazing effect on the human consciousness and for its incredible feats of willpower, skill, and heart.
 
www.raceacrossamerica.org