“The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital,” says RAAM Roses team member Joe Paterno. “The world of achievement has always belonged to the optimist,” says Howard Wilkins.

We, the sedate, arty types who populate the ivory towers of IdeasTap, say to the men and woman who are finally about to embark on Race Across America (while raising money for IdeasTap): “You’re as mad as a box of frogs.”

Which is why we decided to award IdeasTap member Sophie Brooks with the chance to film the exploits of Ollie, Anna, Alex and Tim as they gear up and set out across America.

Leader of the pack Ollie wrote in his latest training blog: “At last, after 18 months of planning and growing the RAAM Roses seed, it’s close enough now to be able to feel those pre-match emotions; have I trained enough? Do we have a realistic chance of winning? What could we have done better? In my opinion, the answers to those thoughts would be yes, yes and not much.” 

But preparation can only ever go so far when you plan to cycle across the USA in seven days. Mental fortitude can’t be replicated when you intend to spend half of your day, every day, like a screw-loose Jack Kerouac on wheels, until their thighs are like James Bond's evil but alluring villain in GoldenEye. 

They’re going to get knackered like they’ve never been knackered before. Stuff they’ve never anticipated is going to go horribly wrong. Our filmmaker - who diplomatically said, “I can’t wait to start filming and see what stories evolve!” - is probably secretly hoping they’re going to fall out, get emotional, despair and cry.

Ollie seems to be anticipating it: “When we are out there under pressure of fatigue, heat, hunger and the pressure of the race, I think there will be many teary moments. The rolling fatigue is keeping me awake at night. It’s going to be a no holds barred thing.”

So there we have it. The waiting is over. The hour is nigh. It’s time for the RAAM Roses to step up to the plate, and it’s time for the rest of us to sit back, have a cup of tea and say, ”Good luck!”

To find out more about RAAM Roses and to sponsor them, visit their microsite.