People often ask that question and what they want to hear is a unique
and profound answer that will boggle their minds. Cycling almost non-stop
across America in eight to 13 days does boggle the mind. RAAM is so hard
for the average person to relate to doing that the obvious assumption
is there has got to be a reason comparable to the accomplishment, like
a million dollar prize. Unfortunately, there are no profound answers or
secrets, and there is definitely not a million dollar prize. In fact in
all 20 RAAMs that had been raced so far, only in the first few there were
some, though small, cash prizes. Of more than 200 different people who
have raced in RAAM until now, many, if not all, raced for personal reasons
and not money. Most reasons can be traced to inner drives to achieve personal
satisfaction. In a way, RAAM is a battle - it goes on for nearly two weeks,
without any timeouts. If you survive to the finish, you really fill as
if you have just been through a battle, and won.
"What type of a person races in RAAM?" The personal qualities that racing
in RAAM requires are the ability to focus on a goal, conviction or dedication
to becoming the best you can be, internal strength, the ability to endure
pain, strong body (not just legs), and the ability to deal with the unknown.
RAAM offers a wealth of experience in overcoming intimidation, which everyone
has in varying degrees in all areas. A person who completes RAAM will
never likely encounter anything as intimidating - physically or mentally.
A RAAM rider is a courageous person by definition.
Joseph Campbell says, "The adventure is always and everywhere a passage
beyond the veil of known into the unknown; the powers that watch at the
boundary are dangerous; to deal with them is risky, yet for anyone with
competence and courage the danger fades."
What about the money? It really doesn't fit into the equation. In general,
money is not an issue when it comes to self-challenges. The extreme events
and activities would still exist even if the money did not. Of course,
money does motivate a person to a degree and will stimulate any sport,
but it is not the only reason. Even if there were no money in professional
football, boxing, or auto racing, people would still play football, box
or race anyway. Money in sport is a matter of economics, but it is not
the reason for doing it. If it were, the sport would fizzle out in time.
There has to be a greater substance. It's like true love - money does
not make it or break it. As Lon Haldeman, who has crossed the USA over
two dozen times and has won the RAAM twice, once noted, "You couldn't
pay me enough to do RAAM." No one races RAAM for money, even if it were
there, because it is too difficult and too long to sustain a motivation
based on money alone. You have to really want to race. You have to have
a desire for the ultimate challenge.
What makes extremes so interesting is a potential for uncovering the mystery.
To go to extremes is to discover something you never knew before, and
that is exciting. As Albert Einstein noted in his book entitled "What
I believe" in 1930: "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the
mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this
emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe,
is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."
