Pushing Your Limits: One Man’s 6,000 Mile Solo Bicycle Odyssey to Inspire Athletes of All Ages to Pursue the “Olympian in You”
Article by Jack Kasperski
Genesee Valley Harriers (GVH) member Gary Radford will begin an approximately 6,000-mile solo bicycle journey on June 1 from Key West, Florida, to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. Gary expects to arrive at Prudhoe Bay, which is approximately 250 miles north of the Arctic Circle, in early to mid-August. He has entitled the trip, “Pushing Your Limits.” To make the trek, Gary will rely strictly on his bicycle loaded with gear, all weighing around 70 pounds, without the accompaniment of a support vehicle.
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Gary has won multiple USA Track & Field (USATF) national championships and is co-captain of GVH’s Super Vet Men’s team. He had major Achilles ankle surgery last year. In his post-surgery recovery, Gary has run and walked more than 1,000 miles, bicycled more than 3,800 miles, and lifted literally tons of weights.
“My reason for doing this is twofold. First, my wish is to help each one of us to believe in ourselves, to believe we can achieve difficult tasks with hope and courage, in short, ‘Pushing Your Limits,’ to pursue the Olympian in each of us,” Gary said. “The average person quits physical endeavors at 40 percent of their potential maximum effort. Think of it, 40 percent! As I will be blogging daily, you can read about my journey. I hope to inspire you to push yourself a little harder. Write down your goals and go for them. While I haven’t run competitively since shortly before my ankle surgery as I start to train after the bicycle trip, my goal is to be standing on the podium at a USATF national championship race within one year. I am challenging each of you to push your limits.
“The second reason is to raise much-needed money for GVH through a tax-deductible mileage pledge or fixed-level donation. All money raised will go to the club as I am self-funding the trip. As you know, GVH is a not-for-profit 501 (c) (3) organization which introduces kids to the sport of running, provides training to members, supports Olympic hopefuls, fields competitive runners and teams in cross county, track and road racing. GVH members and teams have won numerous USATF national championships. The club is dedicated to ‘Bringing Out the Olympian in You’ for runners of all ages and abilities.”
You can follow Gary’s adventure via his blog located on Facebook at https://fb.me/RadfordKey2ArcticSea; and/or follow his progress on the route via Garmin: https://tinyurl.com/GRadford
In addition, you can post your “Pushing Your Limits” goals and share progress on Gary’s blog. “Pushing Your Limits” is as much about challenging you as raising money for a great cause.
Those wishing to pledge a tax-deductible donation can do so by using the Donation button on the right side of the page near the top of the page.
Make a tax-deductible gift to the Genesee Valley Harriers, a 501.c3 charity.
To donate one cent per mile for each mile of Gary’s trip: $60.00
To donate two cents per mile for each mile of Gary’s trip: $120.00
To donate three cents per mile for each mile of Gary”s trip: $180.00
Major Donors:
Donate $500.00: You get a GVH Racing hat, free entry into the Pete Glavin Cross-Country Series for 2019, and GVH Membership for the 2019 calendar year.
Donate $1,000.00: You get a GVH Racing hat, free entry into the Pete Glavin Cross-Country Series for 2019, GVH Membership for the 2019 calendar year, a training plan designed for you by GVH Coach Mike Reif, and Gary Radford will do a presentation to your group or organization.
Donate $1,500.00: You get a GVH Racing hat, free entry into the Pete Glavin Cross-Country Series for 2019, GVH Membership for the 2019 AND 2020 calendar years, a GVH Racing Singlet, a training plan designed for you by GVH Coach Mike Reif, and Gary Radford will do a presentation to your group or organization.
You can make a tax-deductible gift to the Genesee Valley Harriers, a 501.c3 charity, by using the Donation button on the right side of the page near the top of the page.
***Discover card is giving a 5% rebate for PayPal purchases for July-September, 2019.
All donations go to helping the Genesee Valley Harriers “Bring out the Olympian in You” for runners of all age and abilities by introducing kids to the sport of running, providing training to its members, supporting Olympic hopefuls, and fielding competitive runners and teams in Cross County, Track and Road Racing.
As of June 13, 2019, Gary was in Kentucky, having left Key West Florida on June 1.
On July 10, 2019, I received this photo from Gary at the beginning of the Alaska Highway. Wasn’t he just departing from Key West on June 1st?