Freelance journalist and Great Britain age group duathlete/triathlete, Josephine Perry, managed to catch up and talk with five remarkable ladies who are about to embark on a challenge of a lifetime. This is her story on how five very fit ladies are planning to race across America.

Like many triathletes, five Serpentine Triathlon Club veteran ladies were looking for their next big challenge. For most of us it means stepping up a distance, going cross-country or trying some adventure racing. These ladies, however, have taken their search to a whole new level.

They are taking on a race which will see them exert themselves, physically, mentally and financially. They are setting out to Ride Across America. And no – that's not just the title of some fancy race – it is the race. RAAM is a coast-to-coast cycle race covering over 3000 miles. They will be competing in a non-stop relay, racing to get the record for 50+ women. To achieve it they'll need to complete the race in 188 hours, less than eight days. The current female 50+ record was set by a team on average ten years younger than them so it won't be easy to break. But this just seems to make them even more determined.

The team, consisting of Margaret Sills, Hilary Webber, Hilary Walker, Eddie Brocklesby and Ros Young, asked their triathlon club to name them. They were duly christened the 'Serpentine Golden Girls.'

Individually they are all already highly accomplished athletes. Between the five of them, they have clocked up: 27 World and European Championship medals, 182 marathons, 172 half and full-distance Ironman and Ultra races and have represented Great Britain both as elite athletes and in their age groups 80 times.

Even with such a depth of talent in the team, RAAM will not be easy to complete. It is the longest running ultra-distance cycle endurance competition in the world. It covers 3009 miles through 14 states from the Pacific to the Atlantic Coast. Starting in California on June 11th, they must finish in Maryland by June 20th.

The Golden Girls will have to cope with all types of weather conditions, road traffic, route navigation and terrain including horrendous ascents and frightening descents. And, as anyone who has raced long distance will know, they must do all this in the knowledge they are racing against the clock.

To train, the Golden Girls are not only spending a huge amount of time in the saddle but having to learn to race as a team. Each rider will be racing 30-60 minutes on then 30-60 minutes off for eight hours then having eight hours to fuel and sleep. They must train to recover quickly and to be able to race again quickly. Nutrition, sleep, and psychology will all be vital components of their preparation as will be getting to know each other as riders and learn their colleague's temperaments.

They are currently cycling up to 200 miles a week broken down into a long slow distance ride of four-five hours and the rest in one-two hours slightly faster more intense sessions. Having done much of their base training they are now focusing more on speed endurance and power. They plan to race lots of 10 and 25 mile time trials, where possible, back-to-back.

Setting a new record is not their only reasons for undertaking RAAM though. They are also keen to help older women understand the importance of sport and to raise money for charities close to their hearts.

Ros Young is the team manager and reserve. She says: "We are all committed to this challenge because we want to inspire other older women to take on their own personal challenges. We have been competing for many years so have built up to this ambitious challenge but each of us can set our own challenges. Exercise has helped the five of us improve the quality of our lives and cope with the ageing process and it is great to see so many other women of all ages very quickly increasing their speed, fitness and sporting ambitions".

The Serpentine Golden Girls have set up a website. To see more information on each team member and their sponsorship pages, go to: www.sggdoraam.org.uk

Tri247 will also be following Andrew Wyeth, a former rugby player and now triathlete, in his bid also to complete RAAM this July. Andrew is racing RAAM to help raise money for Leukaemia Research and the Royal Marsden Hospital. More details to follow.