A 1984 Boothbay Region High School graduate is going to test her endurance this summer in one of the most demanding bicycle races in the world.

Lisa Lunt is former Southport resident and member of “Bike Like A Girl,” an eight-woman race team based out of Annapolis, Maryland, which will compete in the Race Across America (RAAM).

“Bike Like A Girl” would become only the second all-female team to compete in the 3,020 mile race, which begins June 16 in Oceanside, California, and ends in Annapolis, Maryland.

RAAM has been held annually since 1982.

According to the RAAM website, the race draws an international field and raised $2,500,000 for charitable organizations in 2014. The event is open to individual competitors and teams of two, four and eight members.

Last year’s field included Pippa Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge’s sister, who participated in an eight-person mixed gender team. Middleton rode with her brother and six others to raise money for a charity named after another brother who died in 1999.

Lunt said her training partners thought they could also raise money for worthy local charities by participating in the race.

“She (Middleton) really held her in own in the race,” Lunt said. “A couple of women who I train with really got excited about how we could also raise money for good causes in the local area. Her participation really brought a level of fame, excitement and more coverage to the race than ever before.”

Lunt, who now lives in Annapolis, said her “Bike Like A Girl” team was formed by six women who train together for triathlons. The team found two other members with Maryland ties to complete the eight-person team.

Lunt said the team consists of women age 32-54 from all walks of life.

Lunt, a federal public defender, is joined by teammates who are nurses, school teachers, a dietitian, a triathlon coach and an aviator. Seven team members are also mothers, according to Lunt.

The team will bike non-stop for seven days. The eight women will be divided into two squads that will alternate shifts. Each member will bike individually for five 30-minute periods as fast as they can, according to Lunt. The other squad will attempt to sleep during their rest period. 

“Somebody will be on the road all the time,” Lunt said. “It’s a 24/7 race. You go for 40 kilometers as hard as you can and then you’re done. And then 90 minutes later, it’s time to get back on back on the bike.”

Each team member will cycle about 350 miles during the coast-to-coast race.

Lunt, like her teammates, is an experienced triathlete. Six of the women train together for triathlons in Annapolis.

The women decided to enter the race to raise money for three organizations which promotes cycling. “Bike Like A Girl” is raising money for The World Bicycle Relief Fund, Women’s Cycling Organization, and Bicycle Advocates of Anne Arundel County in Maryland.

The World Bicycle Relief Fund provides a mode of transportation for people in African countries to take crops to market or for children traveling to school. 

The Women’s Cycling Association is an organization designed to bring gender equity into the male dominated sport, according to Lunt. The association provides money for girls ages 10-14 to attend cycling camps and make the sport more accessible to them.

The Bicycle Advocates of Annapolis Anne Arundel County creates a safer bicycling infrastructure near the team’s home base.

The team is raising money through donations on its website, www.bikelikeagirl.org. The women are also conducting a series of fundraisers and are seeking corporate sponsorships to finance their endeavor to promote women’s cycling.

The team is looking to raise $150,000 to cover its race expenses and donate funds to various cycling activities.

Lunt hopes the team’s efforts can also encourage young girls to enjoy cycling in both Maine and Maryland.

“I really hope this helps us to connect with kids,” she said. “I want to start a cycling fund in communities where I have a connection. My father was the principal at the Southport Island school and I now live in Annapolis. So I hope there will be funds to start programs in both communities.”

The team begins training on Jan. 5 with a crew chief and professional cycling coach. The workouts will be a combination of indoor training and exercises designed to improve their core strength. The eight women also plan on cycling outdoors for 90 minutes 3-4 times per week.

Lunt said her passion for competition was cultivated as an athlete in high school. She participated in basketball, softball, swimming and field hockey. She tore her anterior cruciate ligament in her senior year and wasn’t able to play on the state championship basketball team.

Lunt believes the lessons she learned playing for Boothbay Region High School teams has helped her compete in triathlons and take on the challenge of a grueling cross country bicycle race.

Her memories of her high school athletic days were rekindled when her mother shared with her a recent photograph published in the Boothbay Register. The photograph was of the 1984 state championship girls basketball team celebrating the 30th anniversary of their victory.

“I looked at the women in that picture and realized I learned a lot about competing from my high school teammates,” Lunt said. “I played on a lot of teams with those ladies and that’s where I learned all about teamwork and how to compete.”

“Bike Like A Girl” hopes the race’s final few miles turns into a celebration for women’s cycling. All eight team members plan riding the last five miles together with a group of local young girls who will benefit from their efforts behind them as they enter downtown Annapolis’ city dock.