Novice

Borrego Springs is approximately 140 km from downtown San Diego and the lights of the highly developed California coast. The place lies in the Borrego Valley, which is the westernmost part of the large geographic region known as the Sonoran Desert. Borrego Springs is located on the valley floor, within a diverse desert flora and fauna.

Some will say that Borrego Springs reminds them of Palm Springs decades ago – a small town, open, embraced by a quiet, unspoiled desert and the darkest, most starry skies imaginable. Undoubtedly, it is home to some of the most beautiful desert beauty, as it is the starting point for exploring California’s largest desert park, Anza-Borrego, which completely surrounds the place. The name Anza-Borrego Park is derived from the words Juan Bautista de Anza (a military officer who found the first land route to California while crossing the park) and “borrego”, which is the Spanish word for lamb (representing an endangered species of sheep). The name was coined in honor of the local herds.

Borrego Springs prides itself on its care and dedication to protecting and restoring the dark sky, nighttime lighting is minimal. The International Dark-Sky Association named the site the first International Dark-Sky Community in California. It is intended to protect the night sky from light pollution. It is a center for public astronomical activities throughout the year.

The area east of the city was a US Navy training center in World War II called the Borrego Valley Maneuver Area, with support camps and airstrips. Later, with hundreds of kilometers of hiking and biking trails and temperatures similar to those of the Cross-America Race, the park became a popular place for ultramarathon cyclists to train in preparation for the RAAM. Every October, the best endurance time trialists from around the world gather in Borrego Springs to find out who is the fastest in the world, set personal records and spend time with friends.

The year 2020 was special, Covid took away literally everything. First RAAM or RAW, then other races and finally the virtual 24-hour cycling championship in the desert city of Borrego Springs, California (8 Virtual World Time Trial Championships), which represented a patch on the wound of almost all failed ultramarathon cycling races.