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The Race Across America, or RAAM, is an ultramarathon bicycle race across the United States that started in 1982 as the Great American Bike Race. RAAM is one of the longest annual endurance events in the world. All entrants must prove their abilities by competing in any of several qualifying events, completing a course within a specified time period. In length the RAAM is comparable to the Tour de France, but the races differ to a great extent. The courses of both races have varied over the years. However, in the Race Across America, the direction has always been from the west coast to the east coast of the United States, approximately 3,000 miles (4,800 km), making it a transcontinental event. More importantly, the race has no stages, i.e., it is in principle a nonstop event from start to finish, with the fastest competitors needing slightly over a week to complete the course. By contrast, the Tour de France features a different route each year (alternating between clockwise and counterclockwise circuits around France) and is about 2,300 miles long; the distance is divided into individual daily stages spread over the course of about 3 weeks and contested at much higher speeds. ==History== The first incarnation of RAAM, The Great American Bike Race, was organized by John Marino in 1982. There were four competitors: John Marino himself, John Howard, Michael Shermer, and Lon Haldeman. The course started in Santa Monica, California and finished at the Empire State Building in New York City, where Haldeman emerged as the winner. Results of the 1982 race: : After the first year, the name of the event changed to Race Across America, and participation became subject to qualification rather than invitation. The concept caught on and the event grew larger year after year, with riders from around the world showing up to compete. The race was televised on ABC's ''Wide World of Sports'' through 1986. In 1989, team divisions were added to introduce new elements of technology and strategy: a category for HPVs and faired bikes resulted in record speeds, and a four-man team division〔History of RAAM http://www.ultracycling.com/events/raam.html#history〕 gave racers the option of riding together or taking turns, allowing them to balance higher speeds against longer rest periods. In 2006 the race format changed significantly with the addition of a Solo Enduro division, in which riders were obliged to rest off the bike for a total of 40 hours at specified points across the country. The 40 hours were to be deducted from a rider's total time at the end of the race. These changes were made to improve safety and shift the emphasis to long-distance riding speed and away from the capacity to endure sleep deprivation. Because the intention was to phase out the traditional format, it was announced that henceforth the official RAAM champion would be the winner of the Solo Enduro division. In the first year the winner was 50-year-old Jonathan Boyer, who had won the fourth edition of RAAM twenty-one years earlier. However, interest in the Enduro format rapidly faded among riders, and the division was soon eliminated. The official RAAM champion is now the winner of the Solo Traditional division, which simply measures total elapsed time from west coast to east coast. In addition to races across the full span of the United States, shorter races with a similar format have been included within RAAM; among these are a 24-hour version and the Race Across the West (RAW), typically ending in Durango, Colorado. The solo division of the most recent (2015) race began on June 17 in Oceanside, California; teams started on June 21, 2015. The finish line was once again in Annapolis, Maryland. The race has been held in many different divisions over the years. In 2008, for example, these were: * RAAM: Solo Female * RAAM: Solo Male * RAAM: Solo Male (50–59) * RAAM: Solo Male (60–69) * RAAM: Solo Male - Recumbent (50–59) * RAAM: Two-Person Male * RAAM: Two-Person Male (50–59) * RAAM: Two-Person Mixed * RAAM: Four Person Male * RAAM: Four Person Male (50–59) * RAAM: Four Person Male (60–69) * RAAM: Four Person Female * RAAM: Four Person Female (50–59) * RAAM: Four Person Mixed * RAAM: Four Person Mixed (50–59) * RAAM: Eight Person * Race Across the West: Solo Male * Race Across the West: Solo Male (50–59) * Race Across the West: Solo Female * Race Across the West: Two-Person Mixed (50–59) * Race Across the West: Four-Person Male * 24 Hour: Four-Person Female * 24 Hour: Eight Person 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Race Across America」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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