A COVID-19 Update From Team Suicide Prevention
June 30, 2020
VIRTUAL RACE ACROSS AMERICA OKLAHOMA TEAM SUICIDE PREVENTION UPDATE!
During the last two weeks of June 2020, several riders on our team each set out to ride 500 miles over a nine consecutive day period. This ride effort would mimic the actual race distance for each rider during RAAM 2020 that was cancelled this year due to concerns around COVID 19. We collectively pushed ourselves harder than at any time in our weekend warrior athletic lives. We celebrated the successful conclusion of these rides on June 28th which would have been the finish day in the actual race.
Our mission of racing to save lives and to spread hope across America is now more important than ever. We are very proud of each and every one of our racers and support crew. We want to extend our sincere thanks to our sponsors who have made gracious donations. Team Suicide Prevention will continue our support and fund raising for our partners who include Hope Is Oxygen, The Coffee Bunker, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and the Mental Health Association of Oklahoma.
During the next twelve months, our team will continue to train and be even more fit and ready when we line up at the starting line in June of 2021 for Race Across America 2021. We will also continue to cultivate sponsorships who share our same urgency to help save lives in partnership with the organizations listed above who are on the front lines fighting suicide prevention and supporting for our noble veterans.
April 3, 2020
Press Release from Race Across America Staff
As you are well aware, these are extraordinary times. We have all been forced to make adjustments and sacrifices in our daily activities to reflect the seriousness of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. We at RAAM must now make an important decision that we fully understand will affect thousands. On an intellectual basis that decision involves a complex blend of public health policy and risk management. On a more personal basis that decision is driven by our desire to protect the "RAAM family." Accordingly, there is only one rational decision that is consistent with the facts, the science, the public health realities, and our overarching desire to keep the "family" safe - the 2020 Race Across America and Race Across the West must be cancelled.
The coronavirus pandemic has caught almost everyone off-guard. The rapid spread has begun to overload healthcare systems worldwide. Local, state and national governments have implemented a broad range of strategies to combat the spread of COVID-19 - social distancing, stay-at-home orders, quarantines. Slowing the spread of the virus has been particularly difficult as the virus can be passed on by mildly or even asymptomatic individuals.
As the COVID-19 virus spread it became clear the coronavirus pandemic would make planning exceptionally difficult for race owners/directors. The COVID-19 virus became the overriding consideration in race planning. Two important facts were required to properly plan for and hold the Races: 1) how long would the pandemic last; and 2) can the race be put on safely for everyone involved. We soon realized it would be inappropriate to be considering a bicycle race when the entire world was dealing with such a serious public health crisis.
All our efforts to understand and anticipate the pandemic and its effects to arrive at a correct decision may be moot given the restrictive actions taken by local, state and federal governments. RAAM goes through 12 states and 350 communities - there are many interested parties. On March 19ththe State of California ordered nearly all residents to stay at home and limit social interaction until further notice in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus. The Governor further warned that unless the rise in cases of coronavirus slows, it might overwhelm the state's medical system.In Maryland Governor Hogan has put the state under a stay-at-home directive. The directive went into effect on March 30thand is set to remain in effect "until the state of emergency is over." The lockdown orders in both California and Maryland, as they stand, would prohibit the running of the Races. Those lockdown orders will extend past critical decision points and possibly even our anticipated start date for the Races.
Our decision to cancel the 2020 Races is consistent with the decisions made by other event sponsors and sports organizations around the world. As COVID-19 rapidly spread around the globe in recent months, tournaments, games and other sporting events have been substantially modified, postponed or canceled. The postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games to 2021 was an eye opener for every event organizer. More recently, the decisions by both Ironman and the UCI reinforced our decision.
We are fully aware of the resources required to race RAAM and RAW. In recognition of that we are doing our best to minimize the impact on our racers. As a general rule, events like RAAM do not offer either refunds or roll-overs. The inability to offer a refund reflects the fact that the majority of race expenses have been paid well in advance of the start date.
RAAM has offered racers the option of a one-year rollover for at least the past decade. We are now modifying this policy to allow racers to rollover their registration to either the 2021 Race or the 2022 Race. Also, there will be no increase in registration fees for those rolling over to 2021 or 2022.
Based on everything we know, the only prudent decision was to cancel the 2020 Races. Our hope is that you understand and support our decision. RAAM and RAW will be back next year, bigger and better than ever. In the meantime we hope you all stay safe and healthy. We look forward to seeing you at future races.
April 1, 2020
Team Suicide Prevention Update
We all are in unprecedented times with the COVID-19 outbreak. Our communities and the world are in the middle of dealing with an issue of enormous scale and human impact. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of those who have been directly and indirectly affected by the outbreak of the coronavirus. We are all in this together and we will get through this ordeal together. There are literally tens of thousands of heroes in our midst who are working tirelessly on the front lines in this battle. From the medical caregivers, the first responders, the public servants, and to the people who keep our nations supply chain functioning to support the response effort, we owe a great debt of gratitude.
While the Team Suicide Prevention riders continue to diligently train and the crew members work on our logistics and planning efforts for the Race Across America this June, we are fully aware that the event’s schedule is subject to the success of efforts to address the COVID-19 outbreak. The overwhelming focus now is fighting the coronavirus. For that reason, we are temporarily suspending our fund raising efforts and will be focusing on emphasizing how our partners can help address and support the mental health challenges and support for our veterans during this crisis. In fact, Team Suicide Prevention was formed to bring attention to these services in the first place. The services and support of The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Hope Is Oxygen, The Coffee Bunker, and The Mental Health Association of Oklahoma are needed more than ever during this time of crisis and they are here and ready to assist those in need.
With the implementation of social distancing, it is important more than ever to pick up your phone and reach out to family members or friends who you might suspect are in need of help or need a kind reassuring voice to help get through the anxiety and perhaps other mental health issues. Your phone call could help someone pull themselves from the depths of despair or hopelessness. We’ve updated our website with links to our partners’ websites that you can access to connect to their organization’s call centers for direct help.
We are stronger when we work together. We all are now in the race to help save lives as we work together to protect the health, safety and well-being of our families, neighbors, and our communities.
Thank You and God Bless.