Back Greg Page's 2024 Silver State 508 Journey

Hey Everybody, my name is Greg Page and I'm racing in the 2024 Silver State 508. The "508" is a 508-mile long ultramarathon cycling race which takes place in Nevada. It starts in Reno, heads 254 miles east to the picturesque town of Eureka, turns around and heads back to Reno. The time limit for a solo rider is 48 hours. See more information abut the race at: www.the508.net.

My first goal is to finish in under 40 hours, second goal is to win my age division. My third goal is to make a donation to the American Cancer Society in the memory of my close friend Dan. Also, a unique aspect of the 508 is instead of numbers or names, competitors are identified by their animal spirit name--my animal spirit is Polecat.

The 508 is special for me as I have already completed it 6 times, 2 solo and 4 times on a relay team. I was introduced to the race in 1997 by my good cycling friend Dan "Horse" Dibb. For nearly two decades, Dan and I were involved in the race in some form. Either he was the racer and I was part of his crew or crew chief, he was my crew chief when I raced solo. Also, we were relay team mates, or we worked one of the Time Stations along the race course, and made the Hula Time Station #7 famous. Both Dan and I were inducted into the 508 Hall of Fame in 2012.

A couple of years ago I got the itch to try the 508 again. Dan was the second person I spoke to about it. He immediately volunteered to crew chief again. The planning wheels began to roll. Within weeks, however, the wheels stopped abruptly as Dan was diagnosed with cancer. I halted my plans to race and encouraged Dan to fight the disease and recover. As his prognosis improved, we began to think of the race for the next year.

2023 proved to be an up and down year for Dan. Chemo was making progress, then a backslide, then a good report, followed by a not-so-good one. We put the 508 plans on hold for another year.

In the autumn of 2023, I got a call from Dan, who lived in northern California, asking to come up and visit, probably for the last time because he had decided to forego any more cancer treatments. In a rush, I was by his side before too much of the disease had taken him. Three weeks after the visit, I got the phone call from his wife that I never wanted to get.

After a period of time off the bike and in quiet mourning, I made a plan to enter the 508 in 2024, to race in Dan's memory, and turn my sweat into a fundraising opportunity. The plan is to seek sponsorship for the race while reserving a portion of the sponsorship money raised, and any sponsorship funds that remain after the race, for a donation to the American Cancer Society in Dan's honor.

I am seeking sponsorship to support me as I train for the race and for the expenses associated with the event itself. Training (300-500 miles per week) and race expenses like food and water--lots of it, support crew transportation, crew accommodations, support vehicle special equipment, gas, special cycling clothes, crew t-shirts, and expendables such as bike tires, tubes, and chain lube.

I will greatly appreciate as much as you can sponsor, but for those sponsors who contribute $50.80 or more, a Sponsor Magnet (think refrigerator magnet) with your name will be created and displayed on my support vehicle for the entirety of the 508 event, then mailed back to you as a token of my gratitude.

Where will your sponsorship money go? For each donation, 20% will immediately be reserved as the donation to ACS in Dan's honor. The next portion of the sponsorship will go towards training and race expenses (as noted above). Then, after final accounting, all remaining funds will be added to the ACS donation. I hope to raise and donate at least $1500.

Please consider sponsoring me to compete in the 2024 Silver State 508 and making a donation for advancing cancer research in the memory of my dear friend Dan. Thank you.