3rd Year Special Annual Double Issue Vol 4 Issue 1 & 2 Jan - Apr 2 3rd Year Special Annual Double Issue Vol 4 Issue | Page 57

It is one continuous race, where once the clock starts, it does not stop until the finish line. It is about 30% longer than the Tour de France, and racers must complete the distance in roughly half the time, with no rest days! While team racers have a maximum of nine days, solo racers have a maximum of 12 days to complete the race and ride at least 250-350 miles a day. Srinivas Gokulnath’s journey Srinivas Gokulnath, a doctor by profession, is an aerospace medicine specialist working with the Army in Nashik. The entire idea of participating in RAAM for him, was self-exploration through pushing his limits. “I have been an ultracyclist since 2009. The distance is what has kept me going. When I would complete 150 km, I thought to myself, why not 200 km… why not 300 km? I wanted to challenge myself to do things I had never done before.” From temperate regions on the Pacific Coast to the furnace-like Mojave Desert, the racers pass through arid Arizona, struggle through cold mountain passes in Colorado and windy plains in central America. The Appalachian Mountains test the riders before they reach the Atlantic coast on the east, marking an end to their journey. “It is not only the distance and time, but the terrain, which is unforgiving. The extremes of weather that you encounter during the race only adds to the difficulty. Navigation poses as a great challenge,” says Srinivas Gokulnath. Once a racer is qualified, he/she has to undergo gruelling training for several months, do simulated multi-day rides with a specially collected crew, and also arrange the finances that run up to over Rs 20 lakh. “This race begins when you actually sign up for the race,” says Srinivas. “You have to prepare for at least 15-16 months. In my case, it was almost 2 years. It requires a great deal of logistics, strategies and training. To attempt a brutal race where you pedal almost upto 430-440 km a day is very demanding. I used to train for almost 6 hours a day while managing my day job and family simultaneously. Whether team or solo, a racer has to be equipped Vol 4 | Issue 1 |Jan - Feb 2019 with a support crew that follows him and handles all logistics like food, fluids, navigation, clothing changes, medical needs, bike repairs etc. Working on his finances wasn’t easy for Srinivas who is a self-funded athlete. From the time he registered, he kept working, using his savings and taking loans. “The crew supported me at the cost of their own comfort. I had to raise enough funds to fly them to America, arrange their accommodation. I optimised my resources. The journey has been challenging. But only when you start accepting your challenges, does everything fall in line.” says Srinivas. It took Srinivas 10 months to get his crew together. He worked methodically with his coach, Alberto Blanco, from the US who finished the race as ‘the best rookie’ in 2011. Chris O’Keefe, a 52-year-old who has attempted the race before, came on board as the crew chief. Second Attempt RAAM 2017, was Srinivas’ second attempt at the race. In 2016, he pedaled 2,450 miles in 10 days, 20 hours but couldn’t make it to the finish line. “When I did not finish, I was a very disappointed and shattered. But I did not allow that failure to affect my 2017 performance. In fact, it set me on a positive track. On 25th June 2016 (the day of his first attempt), I promised myself, I will do it in 2017.” In the face of difficulty there’s always a sceptic. But even among many of those, Srinivas’ greatest pillars of support were his family, especially his wife, Prafulla. “She had a very strong conviction that I had to register for the race in 2017. In India, people consider failure a big sin. But I reiterated one thing in my mind, ‘Success is never final and failure is never fatal.’ You have to have the will to be persistent, to be in the game.” Srinivas was only focussed on getting his unfinished business done. Learnings Reflecting on his past attempts’ learnings, he says,“The last time I was in the race, I lacked a sharp purpose, strong strategy and a well–knit team. Besides, I was struggling for funds. This proved to be a learning curve for me this time 57