Xtri recently sat down with the members of Team Psycho RAAM in one of their few free moments as they prepare for the event which kicks off on June 10. Xtri will be following this team of highly driven, successful triathletes as they prepare for, and eventually embark on the Race Across America. In addition, the guys have even set up their own website http://teampsychoraam.com, so you can get more information there.
Dave Dornaus, Age 32, Allston, MA
1. Both you and Jeff Henderson are elite triathletes now, who come from swimming backgrounds. Who’s the better swimmer? Or more importantly, who’s the stronger cyclist?
Last year Jeff and I did the TTT as a team. This is an IRON distance event in Ohio. A great race. He and I were equal in the swimming and on the bike, I think. I mean we both had moments that we were better than the other, but overall. Very similar on both accounts. Jeff is a very impressive athlete though.
2. What about RAAM are you most looking forward to?
I am most looking forward to learning about all the great people we have on the crew! We have such a diverse group and when the chips are down and people are exhausted and things are going poorly, you really learn about people. On a more superficial note, I am looking forward to downtown Durango, Colorado. I spent a couple of weeks there training for swimming when I was younger, with my team from Illinois and it was a very special time in my life. So being there again will be meaningful for me.
3. What has the training been like for you? How does training for the RAAM compare to IM training?
Training has been great! I dont have to run! The answer to #2 on the run is JEFF. He can outrun me. But that is like saying you are the tallest midget if you can outrun me! So I love the training and I love riding my bike. Aside from swimming, if I could be pro at any sport it would be cycling. So I am having a blast.
4. You guys are aiming to capture the team championship this year. What are your odds? Do you have any other teams in your crosshairs?
We are all super competitive people by nature and I think we all look at WHO EVERYONE ELSE THINKS IS THE BEST and want to beat them. This is our first foray here, so to come in and think we are going to win or plan to win is a little out of touch. My plan is simple. Cover as much ground as I possibly can when I am out riding.
5. Do you think you and/or your team mates will do this again? Or is it too early to tell?
How short the memory of complete hatred is...I think there is always a point in an Ironman race or something similar, like a massive training day, when you say you would never do anything like that again. But just like every triathlete after that first race...you always have that feeling of I COULD DO IT BETTER IF ONLY...I am sure we will have that. I would not rule out another go at this. I love this kind of stuff. The undertaking is just so massive that I am not sure I will.
Jeff Henderson, Age 32, Portland, OR
1. You’re the race director of three multisport events. Tell us about them. Has this experience helped you with the logistical nightmare that defines RAAM preparation?
The three events are very different. The smallest is the Fly by Night Duathlon, which will happen for the third time in June this year. It’s a 100-person Formula 1 format duathlon (run-bike-run-bike-run) on the Watkins Glen International car racing track. The City of Portland Triathlon will happen for the first time this year, and it’s giving me insight into the massive complexity of staging any kind of event downtown in a major city. The race is on Labor Day weekend and will be olympic-distance. The Musselman Triathlon is now in its fourth year and has grown to encompass four races over the weekend: a sprint, half-iron, kid’s, and this year for the first time an ITU Pan American Cup. It has grown to around 1,400 athletes and the city of Geneva welcomes it with open arms each July.
Planning these races has helped me with logistics in every part of my life. For RAAM, I was given the task of getting everyone (riders and crew) out to San Diego for the start. My experience with spreadsheets came into play in a big way, as we tried doing it exclusively with frequent flier miles.
2. You’re based in OR, while the rest of the team is across the country in MA. How did you join Team Psycho? Have you flown out to the East Coast to train with your RAAM team mates at all?
I used to live in Boston… Charlestown, to be exact. That’s how I became involved with Team Psycho. I have not trained with them at all this year, although I have trained with them in the past. The logistics of getting to MA for training proved too much with three races to be planned this spring.
3. With your experience as a an accomplished pro on the ITU circuit and your college swimming background, which of your strengths as an athlete do you think will most benefit your team?
Unfortunately, my strength is in the water – something that ideally would not come into play on a bike ride across the United States. But my cycling has improved steadily over the years. Years of swimming training did provide one key advantage for RAAM: the ability to do the same thing over and over and over again without going insane. I hear that helps in Kansas.
4. You’ve done cross-country bike tours in the past. What’s the best/worst experience you had?
In 1999 a friend and I rode from Boston to LaPush, Washington during the months of June and July. We had as many adventures as there were days. The trip, interestingly, gave my legs the muscle memory to ride for hours and hours that is still with me today.
Our best experience on that trip involved the hospitality of dozens of people in every state we passed through. In 60 days we paid for accommodations once – the rest of the time we camped or complete strangers took us in, fed us, and gave us a place to sleep. We still have friends we met on that trip.
The worst experience was probably waking up in the middle of a high school football field with the sprinklers on full-bore. We had not planned on that. Considering that we could have camped accidentally on a railroad track, that’s not so bad.
5. What do you hope to gain from this experience?
A fun week of riding with friends sharing a common goal. No more, no less.
Dave Nerrow, Age 40, Acton, MA
1. You are using this race to raise awareness and funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in honor of your daughter Emma who has the disease. How much have you raised so far, and what kinds of things has the team done to get the word out?
We are not using this race to raise funds for the CFF. While my daughter does have CF, and while we will be noting that in some small way, we are not doing any fundraising. There are simply too many things to accomplish that I can’t find the time to train and raise money!
2. You are an accomplished IM triathlete and ultra runner, with some top ten IM finishes and ultra run podiums, including a sub-24 hour Western States 100 finish and first place at the Kentucky Ultra Trail 50 Mile Run in 2003. How do you think the RAAM will compare to these experiences?
The ultra running experiences have taught me to focus on nutrition and economy of motion. As well, they are entirely solo efforts with only the sound of wind in your ears. RAAM will be so much more of a social event, as there will be other racers, crew etc. who can entertain and distract me during the hard parts of the race. This will be a wonderful shift from the “hard dark moments” of ultra running.
3. In your preparations for RAAM, what has surprised you the most? What have you learned that you didn’t expect?
We have long said that getting to the start line is harder than getting to the finish line. While RAAM is certainly a huge athletic undertaking, the logistical effort of preparing to move 4 racers and 10 crew cross country, non-stop, is gigantic. The level of detailed planning is not something to be taken casually.
4. All of you are accomplished business men in addition to your athletic resumes. How have you balanced business, family and training?
Hah! There is not much balance in life right now. We’re 14 days from starting and just about all my time is spent managing the final logistical details. My wife, Monique, has been so so supportive. She spent all of Memorial Day weekend cooking and caring for the riders and 6 of our crew while we rehearsed for the race.
5. What part of RAAM are you most looking forward to?
I am looking forward to that first 24 hours of racing. We are really fit right now and anxious to get started. The night riding will be very interesting too…as screaming across unknown roads in the middle of the night will be quite a surreal experience.
Alec Petro, Age 44, Duxbury, MA
1. How did you decide at the age of 13 that you wanted to run a marathon? How did that go, and how did the experience shape your future as an endurance athlete?
I knew I liked doing endurance races from when I was young. I started running when I was about 11 just for fun and found that I could go on for a long time and not get tired….so I looked for the longest race I could find. I ran I the Empire State Game Marathon. Back then they didn’t really have minimum age requirements. My parents were kind of puzzled but very supportive. Once I ran my first Marathon (I think it was 3:21), I wanted to go sub 3:00, which I would up doing when I was 16.
My Dad rode bikes and I did my first Century (100 Miles) when I was 13 as well. I did it with no training but just kept going. While I was sore at the end, I really likes biking too. I knew I just had the genetics to do endurance races, and it was something most kids didn’t do. It made me feel different and gave me a sense of accomplishment.
2. You’ve got a great edge over a lot of riders with a 24 Hour World Solo Mountain Bike Title (M40-44) under your belt. Which of your personal strengths do you think will benefit the team most?
I think I know what it feels like to go a long time, hard on the bike. I've also done a lot of night riding and seem to like to ride in the dark. I am the oldest of the group but I think I'm probably the best climber as well, as I've raced a lot of Moutain races (Gap-Alpe Huez, Mt Washington, Equinox, etc). I think the team is very well balanced and very strong, and we compliment each other pretty well. We've all raced in a lot of big races so we definitely rise to the competitive environment. Also, no one of us will be willing the be the first one to crack because we are very competitive with each other, so that will also be something to our advantage.
3. What’s the biggest thing you hope to get out of the RAAM experience?
I'm very excited for the whole experience. What's great is that we can be very competitive and have fun as a group (Team and Crew together) and try to accomplish something as a group. Triathlon and bike racing are usually individual events so there aren’t many races where the strength of everyone really counts as much as something like RAAM, so that’s exciting. Plus, we are trying to do something as Team Pyscho, a Triathlon team, that no other Triathletes as a group have tried or finished. It would be great for the Triathlon community to have some success at RAAM. Also, our Team Psycho teammates at large (about 70 or so of them) will be watching and rooting for us as a group and that’s something we don’t want to disappoint as well.
4. You got involved in endurance sports at such a young age. Are your kids, ages 13, 11 and 9, following in your footsteps?
Funny, but they still think I'm crazy for doing all these races, but they do like biking and they have done some small running and Duathlon races. They all seem to be pretty good, but no one has any interest in running a Marathon at age 13. I tell them that I ran a Marathon at their age and they look at me and REALLY think I'm crazy. I think they will eventually pick up more biking, since we all ride our Mt Bikes as a group a lot and they seem to like it.
5. What part of the country are you most looking forward to experiencing on your bike?
I'm really looking forward to crossing the Rockies. As I said earlier, I really like climbing and I think I will be able to contribute most to the group when we are in the hilly areas. I also love spending time in the Mountains (I do a lot of skiing and skied competitively through college) so that should be great. I've never gone across country in one shot so the whole trip is exciting. We think we are pretty prepared and have spent a lot of time to make sure the whole experience is as good as it can be given it's our first time we've done it. Hopefully it won't be too much of a disadvantage.
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