Dear friends and family,
I am writing to you a little earlier than expected. The team and I withdrew from the race yesterday, after almost 1600 miles of great racing. We have been competing extremely well, and I feel great otherwise. I developed a debilitating condition known in ultra cycling as “Shermer’s Neck” where I could no longer hold my head up. The condition only worsens with time, and a mechanical brace is required if one chooses to continue. With 1400 miles remaining I felt I could no longer continue in a safe manner, and so we withdrew from RAAM 2009.
The good news is that we were racing well and making a move on the race field. My legs were strong, nutrition and hydration were on, and morale was high. The team was working well, and our presence was well known as we progressed. Despite our obvious disappointment, we are all doing well and this experience has been outstanding. RAAM is hard, and the biggest hurdle is getting to the start line. Everything after that is an experience.
We look forward to getting home and enjoying summer with friends and family. Thank you for your support,
Tony O’Keeffe
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
