RAAM will make all necessary race data available in the various formats used by the  more popular GPS receivers and their associated data installation programs as  downloadable files from the RAAM website. If contacted in a timely fashion, RAAM  management, specifically the Route Designer, will try to provide individual help with  selections of equipment and software (by capability, not price or brand) which have been  found to be most useful for the unique RAAM task, and how to then prepare it with the  proper route data.  How to Use the Route Book  The 3000+ mile route designed for the 2020 Race Across America is divided into 55  segments with a designated Time Station at either end. Segments average approximately  57 miles in length with two in the southern California low desert and two in the western  prairie grasslands over 80 miles long. Time Stations are described as specific locations,  frequently highway intersections, at which the racers’ times are reported to race  headquarters by the Crew using a mobile phone or the closest public (landline) telephone.  Many of the Time Stations are staffed by volunteers who provide information, help and  other services appropriate to the location. They may be set up anywhere within visual  range of the place designated in the Route Book where they can best provide their  services, usually close and on the right side of the route highway. With the exception of special pages covering start procedures each route section is  specified in detail on two facing pages of the Route Book. On the left hand page is a  topographic map of that section with detailed inserts to clarify places where several turns  occur close together or where other amplification is considered useful. Below the map is  an elevation profile of the route in that section. Be careful to note the vertical elevation  and horizontal terrain mileage scales of these charts are formatted to fill the same space  on the page. Simply glancing at the charts may give you an erroneous perception of the  terrain. Distances are in US statute miles following the route terrain similar to measuring  with a precision odometer and elevations are in feet above the WGS 84 datum sea level. Because different databases were used in some sections the total route section miles on  the profile chart may be very slightly different from that on the instructions page opposite  to the map. In this case the instructions page is the most up to date and accurate. The right hand page contains the specific instructions for following that section of the  route in tabular format following a brief description of the section. Column headings are:  ref ,  mile ,  turn , (description), and  elevation  and are explained in the following  paragraphs. ref  a  ref erence designation assigned in sequence to each line in the instructions which  specifies action at that particular location.  Time Station  ref  designations are TS01 through TS54. GEAR 2020  Page 51 