Krishna Prakash (Photo: Shyam G Menon)

Senior police officer from Mumbai, Krishna Prakash IPS, has successfully completed Race Across West (RAW), the 930 mile (1496 kilometers) ultra-cycling race held alongside the much longer Race Across America (RAAM), in the US.

According to information available on the event website, he covered the distance in three days, 16 hours and two minutes, placing fourth in the under-50 age category for men racing solo.  Of nine cyclists in this age category, four had pulled out (DNF – did not finish) while a fifth person was still on the road, when Krishna Prakash completed. The official confirmation on the website happened evening of Saturday, June 15 in India.

The person finishing first in Krishna Prakash’s age category was Andres Rodriguez of Mexico who covered the distance in two days, 23 hours and 58 minutes. Rodriguez is also the 2019 RAW solo male champion. In 2018, he had been the first solo racer from Mexico to complete RAAM.

Krishna Prakash is currently Special Inspector General of Police (Admin), Mumbai.

At the same time as Krishna Prakash finished RAW, Kabir Rachure, cyclist from Navi Mumbai, attempting the 3000 mile (approximately 4800 kilometers) RAAM was around 928 miles (1493 kilometers) into his race.

Andres Rodriguez (This photo was downloaded from the Facebook page of RAW. No copyright infringement intended.)

Winner of RAAM multiple times, Christoph Strasser of Austria, was leading in the RAAM solo category with around 1450 miles (2333 kilometers) covered. Among others, veteran woman cyclist and an unforgettable part of RAAM, Seana Hogan, was at 982 miles (1580 kilometers)

This year’s RAAM commenced on June 11.

RAAM entails cycling from the US west coast to the east; from Oceanside in California to Annapolis in Maryland.  RAW is a segment carved out of the initial stages of RAAM. According to information available on the World Ultracycling Association (WUA) website, RAW starts from Oceanside, climbs up the Coastal Range, crosses the deserts of California and Arizona, ascends again into the mountains surrounding Flagstaff, Arizona and proceeds into the Rocky Mountains. The race finishes on the Animas River in Durango, Colarado.

Krishna Prakash, who is also a triathlete, was in the news last year for completing Ultraman Australia. For more on him please click on this link: https://shyamgopan.com/2018/05/30/top-cop-aims-high-does-an-ultraman/

(The author, Shyam G Menon, is a freelance journalist based in Mumbai.)