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Race Across America comes through Oxford

3,000-mile race, from California to Maryland, spins through town June 16.

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By Shawn Elliot Zetzer, Contributing Writer 10:52 AM Thursday, June 3, 2010

OXFORD — The Race Across America is one of the best known and longest annual endurance racing events in the world, and for the second year in a row, Oxford is one of the checkpoints when riders come through June 16.

“For as big of a race as it is, going through this country, very few people know about it,” said Martin Dressman, a CPA financial adviser, avid biker and a volunteer with RAAM for the fourth consecutive year.

The 3,000-mile race spans from California to Maryland; including female and male solo riders, as well as in teams of four and eight. By the time these racers reach Oxford, they will have completed 2,400 miles in six days for solo riders, and in four days for teams.

In Europe, RAAM is very well known and prestigious. Many riders spend their careers trying to get sponsorships so they can compete overseas.

“They don’t have these races over in Europe where you have 3,000 miles and very few traffic lights,” Dressman said.

Oxford time station can serve spectators as a special glimpse into RAAM and the lives of the racers involved.

“There are so few manned (time stations) the riders like to stop and see people and find out where other racers are and how they look,” Dressman said.

By the time they reach Oxford, the exhaustion is obvious on riders’ faces.

Last year Oxford had around 50 volunteers, walk-ins and those who signed up.

“We have a lot of volunteers that have never been on a bike for years, one couple stopped in to see what was happening and spent 36 straight hours,” said Lee Kreider, another avid biker, Webmaster for Oxford RAAM and volunteer of many years.

The large parking lot between McDonalds and the old Walmart serves as a perfect spot for riders to park their trailers for even one hour of sleep. The solo riders often stop and talk after a lonely four days on the roads.

“You see them at their worst and their best,” Kreider said.

With racers from 30 countries and 6 continents, the race features some of the best amateur riders as well as professionals – and even some local products. Barbara Buatois, from France, is one of the fastest female racers in the world as well as Slovenian rider Jure Robic.

Maybe the most important aspect of this race is that each team rides for a particular cause. Teamtype1, a team made up entirely of eight Type 1 diabetic racers currently holds the coast to coast record at five days 9 hours and 3 minutes — and they have every intention of breaking that record.

Teams of eight have four racers cycling at all times.

Lt. Adam Kruse of Beavercreek, is racing with ‘Team4mil,’ which represents ‘for the Military.’ Kruse is currently attending the Air Force Institute of Technology in Dayton and was already a competitive rider prior to being asked to join the team.

“When I was asked to do it I jumped at the opportunity,” Kruse said.

Team4mil is racing to honor and empower wounded warriors through the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP).

“(We are attempting) to enlist the public’s aid for the need of severely injured service men and women,” Kruse said.

The goal is to raise $100,000 for the cause.

Kruse is looking forward to riding through the southern part of the state he calls home.

“I will be looking forward to familiar terrain like that seen in Ohio. The terrain in the Midwest is very different from the west, or east,” Kruse said. “It will be comforting.”

Mental toughness is a common theme throughout this race.

“If you don’t have the mental edge to finish it, I don’t care how much you have trained,” said Dressman.

Throughout the race riders battle not only fatigue, but byproducts of that. Stories of hallucination, and riders getting so edgy that their crews drive off are common tales.

“Twenty-two hours a day on the bike or more – I can’t begin to comprehend it,” said Kreider.

“We have a very special thing in this country,” Dressman said. “We kind of take this stuff for granted, how great our country is, no one has anything that even compares to this.”

To get involved, contact Lee Kreider at (937) 248-8769.

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