Racing on a Dollar

Back in April, out at Sandia Motor Speedway, I met Shana Runck. It was her pink leathers that caught my eye. "Who is she?" I asked Yolanda. "Shana" she replied. "The pink leathers were a wedding gift from her husband, Troy". As it turns out, Troy is the New Rider Director at SMRI and he and Shana head the SMRI Race License School.
I met up with Troy and Shana last Friday night at Gardunos, in Albuquerque. It was an opportunity to learn more about the two of them and also give them some background on MotoFemina and my "posse".

Troy grew up on a farm in Colorado where, at the age of 9, he learned to ride and race motocross bikes. Shana grew up in Albuquerque and went to college in Colorado. In need of transportation to and from school, she took the MSF course and found a Suzuki Enduro bike to ride. It was when Shana met Troy that she was introduced to racing.

Troy interjects with a Ben Affleck, up-to-something grin that even though he was responsible for introducing Shana to racing, he's still "in" with her mom. He supported her mom's wishes of a traditional wedding though their friends thought the track was a great idea!

Years later, Troy would end up in Panama on a business trip. It was on this trip that he stumbled upon a televised broadcast of the MotoGP race and the likes of Kevin Schwantz. He was hooked and decided to try road racing, in particular drag racing. He won the 1999 ET Drag Racing event and after that decided to move into grand prix racing. In the meantime, Shana was not happy with her racing experience. In any other sport she had participated she had always done well and now she was slow and not advancing as quickly as she had hoped. After sitting on the sidelines, becoming bored as a spectator, she came to the conclusion she would rather race. Determined to improve, she set upon developing her skills and, in the process, her speed. Troy and Shana raced for several years with MRA in Colorado and also drove down for race weekends in Albuquerque.

Eventually they moved to Albuquerque, to be closer to Shana's family. Soon after moving, Shana and Troy joined SMRI and became involved in teaching the new riders. The motivation they have for teaching is based not only on the desire to develop new riders' skills but also to ensure the safety of other racers on the track.

Shana holds a degree in education and is the Education Coordinator for Head Start . Based on her experience and knowledge of the classroom, Troy asked her to develop the curriculum for the race school. Together they teach based on the style called "active teaching"; first talk then do.

Troy not only brings 8 years of racing experience to the school but also skills and knowledge obtained from his experience at the Keith Code school of racing.

Something that Troy and Shana imparted to me is a concept they discovered in the book "A Twist of The Wrist", written by Keith Code. The concept is that of riding based on the percentages of a dollar. For example, when you first start riding, equal percentages of the dollar are divided between different parts of the bike; the clutch, the gearshift, the indicator lights, the brakes, et cetera. As you become more familiar with where the controls are, the distribution of your dollar changes toward braking and shifting and less on the location of the controls . Eventually your dollar is spent more on your surroundings and your margin of safety and less on the bike.

Shana and Troy, thanks for offering to be a part of my MotoFemina posse and the project as a whole! I am excited to be learning with the two of you.