ABOUT

Welcome to The 508!

The 508, “The Toughest 48-Hours in Sport”, is back in Southern California.

Founded by John Marino in 1983, The 508 is the world's premier weekend ultra-cycling race. This 508-mile bicycle race is revered the world over for its epic mountain climbs, stark desert scenery, low traffic roads, and its reputation as one of the toughest but most gratifying endurance challenges available.

Solo, two-person relay, and four-person relay divisions are offered, with sub-categories for standard bikes, tandems, recumbents, fixed gear, and single-speed bikes.

The 508 is a Race Across America Qualifier.

Participants will start/finish in Borrego Springs, CA, a community of 3,500, roughly 90 miles NE of San Diego. The small community is an “in-holding” in the Anza Borrego Desert State Park, California’s largest State Park, the second largest in America.

The race has a remarkable history, one that we celebrate—and build upon—every year.

In 1982, John Marino founded the Great American Bicycle Race (GABR). Marino and 3 other cyclists raced their bicycles from the Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles, 3,000 miles, coast-to-coast, across the USA, finishing at the Empire State Building in New York City. The clock started in Los Angeles and didn’t stop until the rider reached New York City. The GABR was covered by ABC Wide World of Sports. The coverage generated substantial interest and won many awards

While a great many riders were attracted to the challenge, few understood how difficult riding coast-to-coast across the USA would be. Marino, a Southern California resident, decided to organize a “qualifying event”.

In 1983, the GABR became Race Across America (RAAM). That same year Marino organized a 762-mile “RAAM Qualifier”(RQ) – the John Marino Open (JMO) – in Southern California. Riders interested in RAAM would have to demonstrate their ability at the shorter distance before they would be allowed to participate in RAAM. Today there are 45 RQs in 17 countries.

The JMO was first staged in May of 1983. The 762-mile course made seven and one-half laps around the 102-mile loop formerly used in the second half of the Hemet Double Century in Southern California. The winners of the inaugural race were Michael Secrest and Kitty Goursolle. The race was held again in May of 1984 and May of 1985. It was then moved to Arizona so that the race could be run in a format with support vehicles and time stations, like RAAM.

The first Arizona race was 750 miles from Tucson to the Grand Canyon and back, where its first champion was Scott Fortner. Subsequent editions of the AZ races went from Tucson to Flagstaff and back, a distance of 542 miles. The race was run seven times in Arizona. The name was changed to the RAAM Open West (ROW).

The race was moved back to Southern California in 1989. A new route was established – from Santa Clarita, through Death Valley National Park, to Twentynine Palms – a distance of 508 miles. The route was suggested by 1987 RAAM winner, Casey Patterson. The first champion on the new course was John Hughes.

In the fall of 1990, John Marino asked Chris Kostman, then operating as Kostman Sport Group (now AdventureCORPS), to take over the event. Kostman was a finisher of the May 1985 race in Hemet and the October 1986 race in Arizona, as well as 1987 RAAM. He had also worked on the JMO staff 1984-1989 and the Race Across America staff in 1985, 1986, and 1989. To say Kostman was enthralled with the sport would be an understatement. He looked up to Marino as a mentor and loved everything about ultra-cycling. Kostman jumped at the chance to produce and promote the race.

In 1991, Kostman re-named the race “The Furnace Creek 508”. He made a number of innovative changes. He introduced the “totem system”, encouraged team racing and aggressively marketed the event. Under Kostman’s guidance the race experienced strong growth, attracting riders from across the USA and around the world. Ultra-cyclists the world over have come to know the first RQ as simply “The 508”. The event developed an extremely loyal group of riders. The 508 became much more than a qualifying race for riders interested in entering Solo RAAM. The race was successfully held 28 times on the Death Valley-centered route between 1989 and 2012.

In 2013, a government shut-down and changes in NPS policies prevented the participants from passing through Death Valley National Park. The route was abbreviated - a 353-mile route from Santa Clarita to Trona and back. 249 racers competed that year, the largest in race history.

In 2014, Kostman moved the race to Nevada. He was welcomed with open arms. He put considerable energy into The 508 in Nevada. He chose a 508-mile route from Reno out to Eureka and back. The race was re-named the "Silver State 508." He was familiar with the route having raced the route in the 1987 edition of RAAM. Participants experience terrain somewhat similar to that in Southern California. The first Nevada champions were Marko Baloh and Sarah Cooper.

Kostman was an integral part of The 508 for 33 years. He directed/produced The 508 for 27 years - from October 1990 through September 2016. While many individuals contributed to the success of The 508, Chris Kostman stands out as having done more for The 508 than anyone else in the history of the race. At the same time, he was very active in the ultra-running world – staging premier events and acquiring a substantial following.

After the 2016 race, Kostman made the tough decision to focus on his growing ultra-running business and pass control of The 508 to Jo and Rob Panzera, owners of CCSD Sport Event, a Southern California based sports event management company. They brought over 25 years of cycling experience and 15 years of endurance sports event management to The 508. But not long after acquiring The 508, Rob and Jo Panzera and their two children moved to New York to be closer to family. As Rob and Jo’s familial responsibilities grew, they felt operating the event from a long distance did it a disservice and sought a competent event operator who was familiar with The 508 and would continue and expand upon its tradition.

In 2021, the Race Across America, Inc. executive management team, Fred and Rick Boethling expressed an interest in The 508, and in April 2022, acquired The 508 from CCSD. In the words of Fred Boethling, “Like Kostman, we too were welcomed with open arms. The community was very supportive. We had high hopes for The 508. We were excited to have both RAAM and The 508 back “under the same roof”.

They continued to operate the event out of Reno for 3 years (2022-2024). Again, in the words of Fred Boethling, “It became clear, in order to remain viable, in order to restore the vitality of The 508, in order to realize the full potential of the 508, we needed to make some changes. Following the 2024 event, we made the decision to move The 508 back to Southern California. We are very excited about this move. Not only are RAAM and The 508 back under the same roof, but they are back home in Southern California!”

Over the years, thousands of cyclists participated in the 508 - riders from nearly every state in America, riders from over 30 countries participated.

Company Executive Director, Rick Boethling, summed up his thoughts, “The 508 has operated without interruption since its founding in 1983. The 508 is truly iconic – the event has a rich tradition with a devoted following. It’s not uncommon to spot vanity license plates with 508 “totems” at cycling events all over California. We are very pleased to bring The 508 back home. The 508 is truly iconic. The 508 tradition will continue.”