After 3,069.80 miles that stretched through 12 states from the Pacific Ocean, through the deserts in the Southwest, the winding mountain roads in the Rockies and the Appalachians, the prairies of the Midwest, the Ohio Valley, and all the way to the Atlantic Ocean in Maryland, Team FSHD Skyland Trail has completed the 2019 Race Across America. In total, it took the team of eight riders six days, 13 hours, and 11 minutes from start to finish line, finishing in fifth place in their category.
Powell Brown, a friend of Skyland Trail riding with Team FSHD Skyland Trail, raised more than $1.08 million for Skyland Trail’s evidence-based mental health treatment programs and financial aid scholarships, the largest gift Skyland Trail has received to-date through an individual fundraising effort. Funds raised by Brown will directly support comprehensive programs at Skyland Trail’s J. Rex Fuqua Campus for adolescents. Currently under construction and scheduled to open in the fall of 2019, the new facility will provide mental health treatment to adolescents ages 14 to 17.
“Congratulations to Team FSHD Skyland Trail and Powell Brown on completing their journey,” said Beth Finnerty, President and CEO of Skyland Trail. “We’ve enjoyed cheering you all on, and we are so incredibly grateful for this historic gift you have provided to the organization, the clients we serve, and their families. These funds will undoubtedly make an immense impact on teens facing mental health issues at our new campus. Thank you so very much.”
Take a look at some photos captured throughout the race. Statistics for the team can be found here.
Team FSHD Skyland Trail in Oceanside, California at the 2019 Race Across America starting line on June 15, 2019. The view as Team FSHD Skyland Trail traveled through Monument Valley in Utah. Powell Brown (left) and George Pollock (right) pose for a photo at The Great Divide marker in Wolf Creek Pass, Colorado Powell Brown of Team FSHD Skyland Trail riding through Kansas in the 2019 Race Across America. Photo by: Jim Dvorak, Dvoted Imaging A drone shot showing the long, flat, straight roads of the midwestern United States that Powell Brown and Team FSHD Skyland Trail traveled on during the 2019 Race Across America. Photo by: Jim Dvorak, Dvoted Imaging A fallen tree caused a short delay for Team FSHD Skyland Trail while making their way through the eastern portion of the 2019 Race Across America. Powell Brown (left) and George Pollock (right) complete a hand-off in the 2019 Race Across America near West Virginia.