Chris Kostman's 508/RAAM Quilt, made by Shelby Kostman

1985: I completely missed seeing the race or hanging with Lon's crew again in 1984, as I spent the summer living in Egypt as an exchange student with the American Field Service exchange program. (I also missed all of the Olympic Games in LA that Summer, but it was RAAM that I really missed seeing.) However, in May 1984 I had worked as a race official for the first time at the John Marino Open, spending three days without sleep on the side of the road in Anza, CA, with John Marino, Michael Shermer, Lon Haldeman, and in fact, all of the 1983 RAAM entrants except for Kitty Goursolle. The racers were out in force at that qualifier to support the rookies and to size them up as competition. In 1985, I raced in the JMO and placed 12th overall and also youngest finisher, qualifying to compete in RAAM 1985. However, I was getting ready to go off to college at UC Berkeley and I was way ahead of my goals in terms of qualifying for RAAM, so I did not accept the invitation to race. But, most importantly, I did accept Marino's invitation to work as a Race Official on RAAM 1985. I spent nine plus days in a car with my then girlfriend Mimi Airhart, watching Jonathan Boyer and Michael Secrest battle it out in their "dark duel" across the continent. It was the pivotal, seminal experience of my entire life. This was the staff shirt.