Race across the West (https://www.raceacrossthewest.org/) covers the first 840 miles of RAAM, from Oceanside (CA) to Durango (CO). Marko has won the race solo two times already (2014 and 2022) and two times in men’s 2-person teams (2018 and 2023). 

In June 2026 Marko will team up with Kimmy Campbell from Bakersfield (CA). She is one of the best up and coming female ultra-cyclists in the World, she has won the Hodoo Race in Utah multiple times. In June they will team up to win and try to set the new record at RAW. Marko has already  set the age category solo record and the overall 2-person Team record. We are confident that with Kimmy they can add the record in a Mixed 2-person Team division.

V četrtek 11.septembra 2025 je bila v Ljubljani predstavljena slovenska izdaja Guinnesove knjige rekordov za leto 2026. V njej je z dvema rekordoma doseženima v letu 2025 tudi Marko.

Victory!

sIf the plan was to finish in 54 hours and Marko finished in 54h 06min (+1h added for shuttle through Sedona), we can say the goal achieved, right? As expected Matthew Lefthand was a convincing winner with the time of 45h 39min. Congratulations Lefty, well deserved!

Marko started as usually, which is quite fast. He reached Borrego about the time that was planned (4h 42min), but here the trouble started. First the TT bike malfunctioned, so after a few minutes of trying to make it work, we had to get back on the road bike and use the trusty San Marino for the rest of the way.  The headwind with the heat of 46*C put his time between Borrego and Brawley among the worst in his RAAM history (only 17,7mph avg for the section that he used to do at 22+mph in the past). That was a bit demoralising, but as the temperatures cooled down, Marko was feeling better again and slowly picked up his pace. After a quick no.2 in Salome, we was back on his bike heading to Congress and Yarnell Climb. 

Arizona day was as hot as ever, but Marko managed the heat and climbs quite well. Other than dealing with constant pain in the lest foot and the right heel, he was feeling as well as you can at riding a bike at 40-45*C. Mingus Mountain is still as steep as ever, but Marko managed it well. A quick foot massage at the top and he was on the way down through Jerome and towards Sedona, where the shuttle part awaited.  Marko slept like a baby during 40 or 45min of shuttling and enjoyed the part through Flagstaff, but not so much the descent after it, beacuse of strong side wind and the road surface that literally kicked his butt.

The stages to Tuba City and Kayenta were pretty uneventful, other than becoming so cold, that he had to put some winter clothing on. Usually during his solo RAWs marko didn't sleep, but this time because of the RAE coming later, plus Lefty being so far ahead and the 3rd person on the road being so far behind, we stopped to sleep in Kayenta. It was planned and the reservation was made before the race, but the thing is that we planned on arriving around midnight, but did  so only at 5AM. Hence, nobody was there at the reception. While Marko set in the car and tried to close his eyes a bit, the crew was trying to find anyone who could help us get the room. Fortunately after some 15min the lady showed up and let us into our room. Marko woke up a bit after 8AM and we continued our journey at 8.40 or so.

For the rest of the race the wind was favourable and Marko was making good times. One more no.2 break before Cortez, the climb towards Durango and a faboulous descent to the Finish line. Marko was happy with his avg speed which was almost identical to his last solo RAW three years prior.  If you consider 3+ hours of sleep, he was actually faster than in 2022. Not bad for a 57 year old guy, right?

Now 5 days of rest and the Race across the East is ON!

Kmalu po vrnitvi domov z lanske Dirke preko vzhoda, ki jo je Marko žal končal v bolnišnici zaradi padca, je padla odločitev, da se vrnemo naslednje leto in dokončamo začeto. Ker pa Marko po naravi mora nekako iz cone udobja, se je odločil, da bo zadevo popestril z nastopom tudi na prvem delu RAAM-a, t.i. Dirki preko zahoda. Le to je sicer že končal štirikrat (dvakrat solo in dvakrat v 2-članski ekipi, vse štiri je tudi zmagal), bo pa letos sploh prvi, ki se je v zgodovini lotil tega izjemnega podviga.

"Izvedba bo sicer zame težka fizično, predvsem pa bo kar hud logistični zalogaj za ekipo. Plan je uporabiti dve razlićni ekipi na zahodu in vzhodu. Samo midva z Irmo bova poletela s cilja v Durangu (Colorado) v Cincinnati (Ohio) in tam poskušala čimbolje izkoristiti dobre štiri dni počitka pred startom RAE.  Na RAW se bodo Irmi pridružili Jane, Maria in Henry, vse že izkušeni spremljevalci, na RAE pa se nam pridružita dolgoletna člana ekipe Borut in Martin, poleg njiju pa rookie Joe.

Kako bo druga dirka potekala zame težko predvidim. Gotovo ne bom tako svež kot sem bil lani, upam pa da se bom po 10-12 urah ustalil nekje podobno kot lani.  Zahoda se ne bom lotil nič drugače, kot če bi bila to moja edina dirka. Sem že v letih, ko se ne morem (in nočem) preganjati več z mladinci, ki so prepolni moči na začetku dirke. Poskusil bom držati tempo, ki vem, da ga zmorem in plan je odpeljati dirko v okoli 54 urah.

Za RAE pa sem lani planiral (in bi to tudi dosegel brez padca) 36 ur, pa recimo, da letos zaradi utrujenosti dodamo 3-4 ure. Torej bom zadovoljen s časom po 40 urami."

Spremljajte nas predvsem na socialnih medijih (FB, IG), kjer se bo irma trudila kolikor ji bo čas in pokritost s signalom to dopuščala. 

V četrtek, 27. marca 2025, bo med 10. in 22. uro potekal športno-dobrodelni dogodek, 12-urno kolesarjenje z Markom Balohom, v sklopu katerega bomo zbirali sredstva za Matica.

Dogodka se bodo udeležili znani slovenski športniki, kot so Mitja Petkovšek, Samo Jeranko, kolesarke Kolesarskega društva Rog in številni drugi.

Matic, skoraj 8-letni deček iz Škofje Loke, se sooča z Duchennovo mišično distrofijo – hudo genetsko boleznijo, ki povzroča hitro propadanje mišic in vodi v izgubo gibalnih sposobnosti ter skrajšano življenjsko dobo. Nedavno je bilo v ZDA odobreno prvo gensko zdravilo, ki prinaša upanje, vendar zdravljenje v Evropi še ni dostopno. Matičeva družina potrebuje 3,2 milijona evrov za zdravljenje v ZDA, pri čemer jim še manjka 2,2 milijona evrov. Z dobrodelnim kolesarjenjem se pridružujemo akciji Društva Viljem Julijan, ki zbira sredstva za kritje stroškov zdravljenja.

Kako lahko pomagate?

Pošljite SMS Matic10 na 1919.

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Rezervacija kolesa in obvezna oprema

Kolo je treba predhodno rezervirati na e-naslov millenium@btc.si ali telefonsko številko 01/585 15 00.

Vse, kar potrebujete, so športna oprema (majica s kratkimi rokavi, kratke hlače, športne copate), brisača in dobra volja!

Celoten dogodek bo mogoče neposredno spremljati preko spletnega prenosa na VŽIVO.si.