18/06/2022
NICOLE REIST STRETCHES OVERALL LEAD
10:13 AM Saturday, June 18, 2022 Eastern Time (ET)
Kim, Colorado
Nicole Reist NicoleReist (Switzerland) continues to push her pace. The closest rider to her, Svaťa Božák (Czech Republic) our solo men’s overall leader is over 100 miles behind her. Don’t be surprised to see a woman as the overall leader. In 2018 Nicole Reist (Switzerland) completed RAAM in 9 days, 23 hours and 57 minutes (12.79 mph avg) to take third overall—only Christoph Strasser (Austria), Ralph “Dizzy” Diseviscourt (Luxembourg) finished ahead of Reist in that 37th edition of RAAM.There’s not another solo racer on the roster with a previous RAAM finish below the 10-day mark, and only two with previous finishes below 11 days.
Along with being the first rider to the finish in Annapolis, Reist has another goal: to break Seana Hogan’s (USA) long standing record of 13.23 mph average speed, and she’s on track to possibly do that as well. There are no bigger fans of RAAM than past competiors. Shusanah Pillinger (UK) a finisher in 2015 is no exception. She put together the following analysis. Women's Solo Record Check-in (at roughly 40% complete):
Seana Hogan 1995 - Kim, CO (40.7%) - Average speed 14.13mph
Nicole Reist 2018 - Trinidad, CO (39.1%) - Average speed 14.37mph
Nicole Reist 2022 - Trinidad, CO (39.5%) - Average speed 14.49mph
Reist is currently on her way to Walsh, Colorado and so far as tallied 1,330 miles. How does 37-year-old Reist, who works full-time as a structural engineer, manage to train to such an astonishing level? She rises at 1:30 am, puts in 3 hours of training, at 5 am she’s at her desk, works until 4 pm, then does a second training session. Then it’s lights out at 7 or 8 p.m. Whew!