06/17/2026
RAAM SOLO DAY 2
June 17, 2026
California > Arizona
11:45 am Local Time
The RAAM Solo field is stretched over 200 miles from front to back as the first full day of racing in the desert heat progresses. The lead racer and 2025 RAAM solo men’s winner, Philip Kaider 712 of Austria (18-49M), is over 460 miles into the race and has been leapfrogging with lead RAW team R202 Baloh Coaching since last night. He probably appreciates the company as the next closest solo racer, Tom Mauerhofer 594, also of Austria (18-49M), is more than 60 miles back. Tom is returning to solo RAAM for his third go this year. He previously raced in 2018 and 2019, and is ready to make it to the finish line for the first time this year.
Claus-Henning Schulke 684, the viral “Bottle Claus” sensation and RAAM Solo finisher (60-69M) rounds out the top three of the solo field and is nearing TS7 Prescott, AZ. He is followed by Michel Bucheli 718 (18-49M), just a few miles back.
Behind them is women’s leader and the only solo woman entrant this year, Pernille Kinnunen 717 (60-69F started yesterday at 5am local time). She is making her RAAM solo debut this year after a successful two-person mixed team finish in 2025.
Trailing her are Jonas BC 706 (40-49M), and Allan Jefferson 620 (50-59M) with less than a mile between them. Jonas is a returning racer, back to avenge a DNF, and Allan is a veteran of the race in both the solo and team categories. He won the men’s solo overall in 2022. He has reportedly been struggling with the heat this year, but is steadily moving forward and should do well in the higher elevations ahead after getting some good altitude training in before the race.
Geoff Brunner 411 (50-59M), Marshall Nord 550 (60-69M), Fabio Silvestri 711 (18-49M), Jeff Koontz 715 (50-59M), are all within 10 miles of each other around 350 miles into the race. Brunner, Nord, and Silvestri all have at least one prior RAAM solo finish to their names, while Koontz is out here for the first time.
The next cluster of racers includes previous RAAM solo finishers, Kabir Rachure 610 (18-49M) and Valerio Zamboni (70+M – started yesterday at 5:00am local time), RAAM rookie Pawel Nowak 716 (18-49M), and RAAM veteran Kari Rouvinen (60-69M), making his third attempt to become the first RAAM solo finisher from Finland.
Bringing up the back of the solo field are, and Yusuke Ochiai 674 (18-49M), Marcio Milan 719 (70+M started yesterday at 5am local time), and Pedro Morganti 685 (60-69M). Yusuke, previous RAAM solo finisher, suffered a crash due to brutal crosswinds yesterday on the glass elevator. He suffered bruises and road rash, and that is likely slowing his progress. Milan is a RAAM Hall of Fame inductee and a veteran of team racing, but is attempting a solo finish for the first time this year. Morganti is also an accomplished ultracyclist and RAAM team finisher, but his RAAM solo attempts have ended unsuccessfully so far due to time. He remains cheerful and positive, but will that be enough to keep his legs in the game?
Keep an eye here for more updates!
Track the race live here!
https://www.raamrace.org/live-tracking