The Race Across America, or RAAM, is an ultra-distance road cycling race held across the United States that started in 1982 as the Great American Bike Race. RAAM is one of the longest annual endurance events in the world. All entrants must prove their abilities by competing in any of several qualifying events, completing a course within a specified time period. In length the RAAM is comparable to the Tour de France, but the races differ to a great extent. The courses of both races have varied over the years. However, in the Race Across America, the direction has always been from the west coast to the east coast of the United States, approximately 3,000 miles (4,800 km), making it a transcontinental event. More importantly, the race has no stages, i.e., it is in principle a nonstop event from start to finish, with the fastest competitors needing slightly over a week to complete the course. By contrast, the Tour de France features a different route each year (alternating between clockwise and counterclockwise circuits around France) and is about 2,300 miles long; the distance is divided into individual daily stages spread over the course of about 3 weeks and contested at much higher speeds. History The first incarnation of RAAM, The Great American Bike Race, was organized by John Marino in 1982. There were four competitors: John Marino himself, John Howard, Michael Shermer, and Lon Haldeman. The course started in Santa Monica, California and finished at the Empire State Building in New York City, where Haldeman emerged as the winner. Results of the 1982 race: {| class="wikitable" ! Finish ! Winner ! Home ! Time ! Average Speed - mph ! Average Speed - km/h |- | 1 | Lon Haldeman | Harvard, IL | 9d 20h 02m | 12.57 mph | 20.23 km/h |- | 2 | John Howard | Houston, TX | 10d 10h 59m | 11.83 mph | 19.04 km/h |- | 3 | Michael Shermer | Tustin, CA | 10d 19h 54m | 11.42 mph | 18.38 km/h |- | 4 | John Marino | Irvine, CA | 12d 07h 37m | 10.04 mph | 16.16 km/h |} After the first year, the name of the event changed to Race Across America, and participation became subject to qualification rather than invitation. The concept caught on and the event grew larger year after year, with riders from around