About the Race Across the West
The 2020 Race Across the West will be the twelfth running of the event. The "RAW" started in 2008 to offer an ultracycling experience longer than 500 miles to help athletes make the transition from 24 h cycling events to the Race Across America (RAAM). The RAW is the second longest qualifying race for the RAAM--the longest running and most respected ultracycling event in the world. For many athletes, the RAW is a stepping stone towards ultimately attempting the RAAM. The RAW strats the same day as the RAAM, and follows the same course for 928 miles from Oceanside CA to Durango CO.
Top finishers can complete the route in under three days, and solo male finishers in the 50-59 age group I will be racing in complete the route in about 3.5 days. Over the 10 previous years, 44 men in the 50-59 division have started the RAW, and 23 finished (a finishing percentage of just over 50%). There have been four sub 3-day performances by 50-59 men, and none since 2013.
Since 2010, the RAW route has finished in Durango CO. Although the route has changed a bit from year to year, the current 928 mile route has been used since 2016. The 2020 route has not yet been announced, but is expected to closely follow the 2019 route. Leaving the Oceanside Pier, the route climbs into the California Coastal Range, then plunges to the desert floor down the famous Montezuma Grade (the "Glass Elevator") into Borrego Springs. Here the route drops 3500 feet in just over 11 miles. From here we cross the desert, passing south of the Salton Sea, passing through the Algodones Dunes and finally beginning the slow 200 mile climb into Northern Arizona. From Flagstaff, the final 300 miles across NE Arizona, including the epic US Highway 163 through Monument Valley, up the San Juan Valley, past Mesa Verde, and into Durango CO.
Top finishers can complete the route in under three days, and solo male finishers in the 50-59 age group I will be racing in complete the route in about 3.5 days. Over the 10 previous years, 44 men in the 50-59 division have started the RAW, and 23 finished (a finishing percentage of just over 50%). There have been four sub 3-day performances by 50-59 men, and none since 2013.
Since 2010, the RAW route has finished in Durango CO. Although the route has changed a bit from year to year, the current 928 mile route has been used since 2016. The 2020 route has not yet been announced, but is expected to closely follow the 2019 route. Leaving the Oceanside Pier, the route climbs into the California Coastal Range, then plunges to the desert floor down the famous Montezuma Grade (the "Glass Elevator") into Borrego Springs. Here the route drops 3500 feet in just over 11 miles. From here we cross the desert, passing south of the Salton Sea, passing through the Algodones Dunes and finally beginning the slow 200 mile climb into Northern Arizona. From Flagstaff, the final 300 miles across NE Arizona, including the epic US Highway 163 through Monument Valley, up the San Juan Valley, past Mesa Verde, and into Durango CO.
