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patrickautissier.org |
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SPONSORS 2005 |
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Boston, MA, June 9th, 2005 (Day - 10)
Hello everyone,
I’m sure you are wondering what my diet will consist of during this race, right? A normal individual usually eats about 3,000 calories per day. For RAAM, a non-stop effort, we’re talking more about 8 to 10,000 calories per day, 400 calories per hour. Despite this “special” diet, I will probably lose between 7 and 11 Lbs. I planned to eat only one normal meal per day, just before my “long sleep break”, that will last 2 to 3 hours. It will give me the time to digest and get ready to go (kind of!) for another day of biking. The rest of my diet will be mostly liquid-based, containing lots of calories. As you are curious, I’m sure you are wondering how I plan to stay hydrated, right? A normal individual should drink about 1.5 liters per day, to compensate for hydration lost. During RAAM, I should drink 10 fold more, that is 600ml per hour (bike bottle). Drinks will be water, coke (for the sugar) and high-energy drinks with lots of sodium. The major risk on this type of race is hyponatremia, that is a lack of sodium. It happens when people drinks too much water (over hydration), or don’t compensate sodium loss due to sweating. One of the job for my team will be to monitor my calories and liquid intake constantly, to stay on target. Furthermore, Olivier, with the help of Rob, will record several physiological parameters (heart rate, lung capacity, renal function, weight, temperature, sleep, etc…) during the race. The main idea is to get as much info as possible to do one or several scientific studies, and hopefully publish them in international journals. Finally, Jérome, as an ethnologist, will study our small group of people in a very special environment. RAAM is probably a once in a life time project for me, and I want to use every single opportunity that this race has to offer.
This week, I’d like to present 3 others sponsors: TV5 is the world’s leading French-language television network. More than 160 millions household in 203 countries receive TV5 that makes the network one of the 3 biggest television network in the world along with MTV and CNN. TV5 can be received in the U.S. through Dish Network and Comcast. When we moved to Boston, we quickly saw, my wife and I, that we would need to keep a link with France. The day we set up TV5, I can tell you that we were very happy! SolidWorks is a company acquired by Dassault Systèmes S.A. in 1997, and which produce easy-to–use and affordable 3D mechanical design products. Their software is used by more than 365,000 engineers and product designers around the world, working for example in industrial, medical and scientific markets. Bertrand Sicot, Vice-President and North American Sales, made this sponsorship possible, and thanks to him, I’m going to ride in a fabulous 3D scenery, very real. Finally, Boston Accueil is part of the Fédération Internationale des Accueils Français et Francophones à l’Etranger (FIAFE) which basically take care of the French abroad. Lots of volunteers at Boston Accueil helped me set up this project. I’d like to thank in particular Christine Bolzan, Carole and Cyril Kuhn, Françoise Matte, and of course Corinne Denis, who will represent BA in this journey. Corinne works countless to prepare this adventure, which is more like a high altitude mountaineer expedition.
Why choose $2M as my goal? In any project, you need to have a goal, otherwise it doesn’t make any sense. This race, considered as the toughest race in the world, deserves a goal for the fundraising of this magnitude, meaning HUGE. Moreover, this number should have a direct link with the AIDS epidemic. Since the start of this project, more than 2M people have been infected. One person is infected every 7 seconds around the world, and probably only a vaccine can decrease this infection rate. You must know that only 3% of the global spending on AIDS goes to the HIV Vaccine research. We need to increase this percentage by all means if we really want to eradicate this epidemic. Like I said in the first newsletter, we’re very far from my goal. But the project is not done yet. Every donation, as small as it is, is crucial. But obviously, important donations, from companies or wealthy individuals, can change everything. I’m 100% sure that we can touch those people. However, we absolutely need to have the media (press, TV, radio) spreading the word about this project and this very worthy cause. There is only one rule in the fundraising world: NO MEDIA, NO FUNDRAISING. Unfortunately, I’m not Sharon Stone who was able, thanks to her incredible nerve and her popularity, to raise $1M in 5 minutes in Davos (Switzerland) to fight against malaria in Tanzania. I must do a little (more!) effort to reach my goal. But I know that the cash is there, and the will of people to put an end to this epidemic is there too.
Thank you to help me reach my goal.
Patrick
Ps: You can help us by making a donation or by sponsoring a Time Station. You can also send this Newsletter to your family, your friends, colleagues, and very important to the local media.
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