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@hippy
http://www.raceacrossamerica.org/raam/raam2.php?N_webcat_id=22
The solos at the front of the race will sleep for as little as 90 minutes a day. Just to finish within the time limit. Racers can't afford to sleep more than about 4 hours a day at the most.
Teams have the advantage here and can continue racing 24 hours a day as racers rotate. While one sleeps, another races on down the road.
We expect that some racers will experience a situation where they can be entirely awake and lucid and still hallucinate, or they can be so tired that reality starts to shift. Officials and crew will be constantly paying attention to a racer's condition and to safety. Safety is the top priority and officials and crews will stop a racer or crew for a sleep break if they feel a racer is past the safety margin of sleep.
Besides the entry fee, every racer and team has to provide their own support crew and support vehicles. Depending on the number of crew, the number of vehicles, and how deluxe your race is, the costs starts at $20,000. With a Team of racers this costs gets split multiple ways. By contrast, typically it costs over $50,000 to climb Mt. Everest and a year of college can cost over $30,000. For some, this is certainly a lot of expense - and you will never regret spending any of it. The rewards of this race far outweigh any dollar value. As they say in the Visa commercials - Finishing RAAM - Priceless.
Each Solo and Team will climb more than 100,000 feet.
Mentalists.