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Webster Finds New Way To Test Himself

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By BART O'CONNELL Tribune correspondent

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 9, 2008

ODESSA - Bo Webster has spent virtually his entire life in sports, searching for different ways to challenge the ends of his endurance, often in a competitive environment.

From football to track and field, rugby, tennis, and swimming, the 64-year-old Odessa resident has excelled in a wide variety of activities. But he has found a niche in marathons and triathlons, grueling races that test will more than skill.

For someone like Webster, who also is a triathlon coach, there are few new and different challenges remaining to overcome. Yet he has found one in the annual Race Across America, which begins this week in Oceanside, Calif.

Webster and the other three members of Team Macular Degeneration, Jim DeLuca, 41, Bob Ebert, 52, and Brian Wilder, 57, will attempt to bike all the way to Annapolis, Md., a span of more than 3,000 miles, beginning Wednesday in the allotted time of nine days. In order to win the 14-team relay event, it will likely take a time between five and six days.

Their journey will take them through 14 states and outposts like Flagstaff, Ariz., Durango, Colo., Clayton, N.M., Fort Scott, Kan., Jefferson City, Mo., Bloomington, Ind., and Grafton, W. Va., before arriving on the City Dock in Annapolis.

Along the way, they will have to negotiate severe elevation changes through the Rocky Mountains, potential bad weather in the Plains, and what's sure to be heavy fatigue as they trek through the Appalachians. By far the most dangerous elements of the races are the descents down the Rockies, where the bike can reach speeds in excess of 60 miles per hour and breaking is difficult.

For the entire team, as well as their 10-person support staff, it is a daunting task and an entirely new experience.

"This is certainly different, unbelievable, really, and crazy, too," said Webster, a retired chemical engineer. "Just the fact that each member of the team will probably ride 100 to 110 miles a day for seven consecutive days, it's going to be tough. But I think we'll finish and we'll finish in the middle of the group of 14 teams."

Simply assembling a team for this race was a challenge in itself. Webster, who tried and failed to put one together in 2003, had two commitments back out this year before the current group was in place.

He met Ebert, a medical doctor from Spring Hill and veteran of several triathlons, on the Suncoast Trail last fall and also has coached him for triathlons. DeLuca, a dentist also from Spring Hill, was recommended for the team by Ebert and also has triathlon experience. And Wilder, a CPA and historic preservationist from St. Petersburg, is an experienced cyclist who also swam competitively for the University of Florida.

Each team member has been in training for three months, covering between 200 to 300 miles per week in preparation for the event. Training got off to a slow start for one of them.

"We almost lost Jim to an armadillo," Webster said, jokingly. "It was one of his first night training sessions, on the Suncoast Trail. He was riding and hit the armadillo, crashed, fell on his hip and got skinned up pretty bad. We ragged him about it, but it was hard to see, could have happened to anybody."

They met as a team for the first time three months ago at a New Port Richey restaurant, and invited a past Race Across America competitor, Larry Collins, to the dinner to help devise a strategy.

The general plan is to have each member ride a six-hour shift each day, while the others rest and eat inside an RV, which will accompany the team. But certain riders will be called upon to do the uphill and downhill routes.

As their team name states, the group is racing to support macular degeneration, a medical condition affecting central vision primarily in elderly adults. The team is taking donations through a Web site, www.eyesight.org. Clicking on the team picture will lead to a donations page.

Though the coach in Webster wants to see the team finish high, it would be hard to be disappointed if the group was able to finish the race on its first attempt, and in turn, accomplish an amazing feat.

"I think the team feels good," Webster said. "The No. 1 goal is to finish. I do have some times and optimistic goals in mind, but the experiences of this race are going to be the most rewarding."

Bart O'Connell can be reached at boconnell@pop.tampatrib.com.

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