July 9, 2009; Conshohocken, Penn., USA: Race Across America Champions Adam Driscoll and Patrick Blair of Adventures For the Cure have announced that they will be competing in the Cyclocross Magazine Friday Night Cyclocross Sprints at the New Jersey State Fair SpectaCross on July 31. Driscoll and Blair are cyclocross fans and regularly compete in the MABRAcross Cyclocross Series. But a 30-minute sprint race is an extreme change of pace from their most recent transcontinental race in June.
The RAAM, short for Race Across America, is a non-stop race from Oceanside, Calif., to Annapolis, Md. As the world’s premier ultra-marathon race, the 3,021 mile RAAM is 39% longer than the 21-day Tour de France that Lance Armstrong has won seven times and includes climbs over both of America’s major mountain chains. Racing in the two-man division, Driscoll and Blair won this year’s race in just 7 days, 1 hour and 38 minutes, beating half of the 4-man teams in the process.
But as impressive as their RAAM victory was, it pales in comparison to their bigger objective. Like Lance Armstrong, Driscoll and Blair use bicycles to challenge a bigger and more dangerous foe. The pair founded Adventure For the Cure a non-profit organization and cycling club that competes to raise awareness and money in the fight against diabetes. And, also like Lance Armstrong, this fight is personal; Adam Driscoll is a Type 1 Diabetic and had to monitor his blood sugar continuously during his race from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. “People forget just how dangerous diabetes is,” says Ken Getchell of SpectaSport, the company producing the races at the New Jersey State Fair. “There are people alive today who grew up in a time when diabetes was 100% fatal. Modern insulin products and monitoring have made it possible for diabetics to live long, athletic lives. There is a professional cycling team called Team Type 1 that is comprised entirely of Type 1 diabetics. But even in America, diabetes can contribute to other health issues. At the New Jersey State Fair SpectaCross, we will be having exhibitions by trials/stunt bike rider Matt Gilman who lost his eyesight to diabetes six years ago. And for diabetic children, the discipline required to stay healthy is especially difficult.” That’s why so much of Adventures For the Cure’s efforts are focused on children. The team is in the midst of a fundraising effort to at least $50,000 for raise Kupenda for the Children, and Adventures For the Cure’s Extreme Weekend for Children with Diabetes camp. The team invites people to join Adventures For The Cure on Facebook and Twitter, or to check out their website www.adventuresforthecure.com for more information.
Driscoll and Blair will be competing in the Professional Men’s race on July 31, opening day of the 2009 New Jersey State Fair / Sussex County Farm and Horse Show. Their race, the last on the day’s program, takes place immediately prior to the Fair’s annual fireworks show and starts at 7:30 pm. The event is the first of two days of cycling competition at this year’s Fair that has drawn competitors from as far away as Minnesota, Illinois and Ohio and features bike racers running over a car, among other obstacles. According to the Fair’s website, cyclocross is like steeplechase on bikes and an Internet search seems to support organizer’s claims that cyclocross bike racing is currently the fastest -growing sport in America.
About Adventures For The Cure
Adventures For The Cure (AFC), a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization and USA Cycling club which exists to raise awareness for diabetes, to show those diagnosed with diabetes and their families how leading a healthy and active lifestyle can move you beyond your perceived limits, and to raise funds for diabetes research. The organization also raises awareness and funds for other causes that the board of directors has selected. For more details, visit http://adventuresforthecure.com.
About SpectaSport
SpectaSport LLC was founded by publicist and announcer Ken Getchell. Ken brings to the table over 25 years of sports marketing and announcing experience in everything from cycling, to pro hockey, to NASCAR stock car racing. In the late 1980’s Ken founded SuperKarts! USA (now known as SKUSA). Using his original concepts, SKUSA has become one of the premier grass-roots motorsports sanctioning bodies in America.
SpectaSport LLC is dedicated to helping the organizers of participant-based sports events achieve their full marketing and economic potential. For more information, see http://www.spectasport.com.
