Race Across America (RAAM) is a transcontinental bicycle race starting on the west coast (Oceanside, California) and finishing on the east coast (Annapolis, MD).
The race covers 3000 miles across the Rockies, the heartland of America, and finally the Appalachians. It continues to stands as one the toughest events in the world and a tribute to human endurance. RAAM can be completed as an eight man team, a four man team, a two man team and solo.
This year, Kacie Darden and Dani Grabol, two local Atlanta gals, are tackling Race Across America as a two man team. Or should I say, two woman team?!!
These ladies, the duo behind Power Pedals and Ponytails, will out in June to cross the US as a two person women’s team in RAAM, with the hopes of setting the world record of biking from Oceanside, CA to Annapolis, MD in less than 8 days, 18 hours and 57 minutes.
With the help of a dedicated crew, the two ladies will bike nonstop from the Pacific to the Atlantic, taking shifts of 1 mile to 4 hours at a time, 24 hours a day. But these aren’t just two ordinary women – besides having full time jobs and being fun ladies to be around, both have been very active in ultra-racing for quite some time – completing multiple Ironman triathlons, winning 50k running races, setting world records biking across Florida, and recently outright winning the Heart of the South bike race, a continuous 517 mile race as a twosome.
Last year, they both participated in the Florida Double Iron, finishing fourth and fifth overall!
That’s 4.8 miles of swimming, 224 miles of biking and 56.4 miles of running, continuously. [GULP! And I’m complaining about a SINGLE IRONMAN… sheesh!!]
What’s even more amazing is that these ladies have chosen to make this journey about something more than just two women biking across the country – they are raising funds through their racing and training for Race Across America for Camp Twin Lakes.
Camp Twin Lakes is a network of camps providing life-changing camp experiences to thousands of Georgia’s children with serious illnesses, disabilities and other challenges each year. Camp Twin Lakes collaborates with over 50 different organizations, each serving a different population, to create customized programs that teach campers to overcome obstacles and grow in their confidence and capabilities. Camp Twin Lakes is thrilled to provide programs at various state-of-the-art locations throughout the state of Georgia, including camps in Rutledge, Winder, Warm Springs, children’s hospitals, and more.
Kacie and Dani are truly an inspiration! If you are interested in contributing to their fundraising goal by visiting a fundraising page and possibly making a donation on behalf of Kacie and Dani to Camp Twin Lakes. You can visit the site by clicking on this link: http://www.kintera.org/faf/
All donations, big and small are greatly appreciated! And remember, they are all tax deductible!
To learn more about Kacie and Dani, and to follow their journey, please visit their blog, Power Pedals and Ponytails at http://
To learn more about Race Across America, please visit http://www.raceacrossamerica.