Tom Buckley needed the maximum allowable number of ride difficulty points to do it, but the 45-year-old Iowan survived strong challenges from Danny Chew, Bill Schwarz, and Cassie Lowe to claim the overall title in the inaugural John Marino Competition. Buckley added strong rides at Bicycle Across Missouri and the UMCA 24-Hour Championships to his RAAM effort to offset Chew's second-place RAAM and record-setting 508-mile 24 hour performance and thus best the Pittsburgher by a final count 207.73 to 196.90.

Buckley would appear to be a deserving winner, as he has been perhaps the most prolific ultra racer of the past several years, consistently placing in the top three at the major events such as Michigan, BMB, BAM, and the UMCA 24-Hour, as well as showing that he can handle the demands of RAAM.Schwarz, who won the male 50-59 division, might himself have laid claim to the overall crown had he not DNFed the ill-fated BAM, as did most other riders; as it was he completed six other demanding events, scored 178.54 points, and proved that dedicated non-RAAMers of any age group stand a chance to win the JMC. Lowe added two of the California doubles to her winning RAAM ride to take the women's title, with 153.88 points.

Softride Bicycles offered a frame as a grand prize, to be awarded by a drawing among the division winners. John Lee Ellis drew Richard Lawrence's name from a cycling cap held by John Hughes. Lawrence, 74, is an active racer: he set a course record at Calvin's Challenge, and won his division at the National 24 Hour Challenge.

The John Marino Competition, named for the founder of the UMCA, was inaugurated this year to provide an overall competitive framework to the season of ultra races and hard, timed rides. Registered riders earned points based on average speed and difficulty rating (1-4, except 10 for RAAM) for 14 different events.

Although the level of participation was not as high as hoped, the competition will continue next year. Any comments or suggestions for improving the JMC should be directed to John Hughes, the UMCA director, by the end of 2000. E-mail him at UMCAHQ@aol.com or write UMCA, PO Box 18028, Boulder, CO, 80308. The UMCA Executive Advisory Committee will consider suggestions and amend the rules and set the 2001 JMC events calendar no later than March, 2001.

Final Standings
(Event abbreviations and difficulty points in parentheses)
Events: Devil Mountain Double (DD,1); Calvin's Challenge (CC,1); Central Coast Double (CD,1); Race Across Oregon (RO,3); National 24-Hour Challenge (MI,2); Terrible Two Double (TD,1); RAAM (RA,10) RSD 24-Hour Challenge (RS,2); Quadzilla (QZ,2); Boston-Montreal-Boston (BM,4); World 24-Hour Championship (UM,2); Furnace Creek 508 (FC, 3)