The last leg of the 3144 miles-long race has begun. The equation is getting tighter. Barely 45 hours left and 440 miles to reach the target- Annapolis in Maryland.
When Amit Samarth and Srinivas Gokulnath—the two young Indian doctors started about 244 hours ago, they knew what it takes to conquer Race Across America (RAAM), the toughest test of endurance in the world. Austrian adventurer Wolfgang Fasching, the only athlete to have won RAAM three times and to have climbed Mt. Everest also, once famously said, “Everest is more dangerous, but RAAM is much harder”.
Ten days ago, they climbed on their bikes and began pushing down the pedals, as fast as they could. They had to cope with the scorching heat, the freezing cold, drenching rains and unexpected detours as they began riding with the world’s best in a long distance race.
Over the last 10 days, I have been tracking their rides, almost hour by hour. Their ups and downs. Their triumphs and tragedies. Their joy and frustrations. I can feel their fatigue. I can see how badly sleep deprived they are. Their neck is tender; wrists, numb; knees, aching; ankles, sore; lips, cracked; the back, drenched in sweat. They are aware that the clock is ticking, speedily, but they are determined to beat the clock.
Sleeping for less than 3 hours a day, and eating, drinking and hallucinating on their cycles, the Indian riders haven’t thrown in the towel. Cycling 430 km every day—almost non-stop for 12 days—can bruise the body, and batter the brain. It is almost running 124 marathons continuously! But Amit and Srinivas have shown the stuff they are made of: no matter how gruelling the race turns out to be, they will keep pedalling.
Hang on Amit and Srinivas. Stay on the saddle. Keep riding. Let the Monday afternoon in Maryland see you break into a victory dance on the podium. Let the sparkling champagne on your torso tell the world that the Indian cyclists— fired by grit and determination—are strong enough to complete a journey of a million rotations. When you come back to Nagpur, we will be all ears to listen to your extraordinary story of the epic battle.
I am waiting for Monday morning.