Chasing Greatness exists for the people who choose the second option. We document privateer speed records — unsanctioned, unsponsored, point-to-point challenges attempted by individuals who decided the couch wasn't good enough.
Somewhere right now, somebody is looking at a map and thinking about a route nobody has ever timed. A stretch of open water. A mountain road with no formal record. A trail that crosses a continent. They're doing the math in their head — the distance, the weather windows, the fuel stops, the logistics of pulling it off alone.
That person doesn't need a sanctioning body. They don't need a race director or a timing crew or a corporate sponsor. They need a starting line, an ending line, and the will to see what's possible.
Chasing Greatness is the platform for that. We define routes with exact start and end points, document the history of who's run them, and provide a place for the community to say: go do this thing — it's worth doing.
If it needs explanation, then it is not worth explaining.
This isn't about organized sport. It's not a race series. There are no entry fees, no qualifying times, no committees deciding who's worthy. If you can get yourself to the start, complete the route under the defined rules, and prove you did it — that's it. You're in the book.
Privateer records only. That means unsanctioned, independently attempted point-to-point challenges with clearly defined start and end points. No organized races, no gimmick attempts, no pure top-speed runs on a flat surface. The route has to mean something — it has to go somewhere.
If it's awesome, it's in scope. Powerboat transits, overland drives, cycling hillclimbs, trail FKTs, rail trail speed records — if someone looked at a route and decided to find out how fast it can be done, we're interested. Every record gets the same treatment: an interactive map, the full history, a record progression chart, strategy analysis, and — where eligible — a community bounty fund.
Some of the routes we track — particularly European hillclimbs — have historical records set during eras now clouded by systematic doping. We don't pretend those times don't exist, but we focus on the clean privateer era: your legs, your lungs, your boat, your truck. No team car, no peloton to draft, no pharmacological advantages. What's the real number? That's what we're here to find out.
Browse our route database. Every run has a defined start point, end point, distance, and set of rules. Multiple vehicle classes where applicable — same mountain, different machines.
Plan your attempt. Study the route, check the conditions, handle your own logistics. We don't organize anything — that's on you. That's the whole point.
Submit your GPS track, timestamped photos at start and end, and any additional confirmation the run requires. A community verification panel reviews every claim.
Verified records go on the page. Your name, your time, your story. If there's a community bounty on the run, the pot pays out to you upon verification.
Let's be clear about what the money is and what it isn't.
The community fund is not prize money in any traditional sense. Nobody is getting rich from a bounty payout — the numbers will never cover the actual cost of mounting a serious record attempt. A Great Lakes powerboat transit costs tens of thousands in fuel, crew, logistics, and boat prep. A community pot of a few thousand dollars doesn't come close.
That's not the point.
The fund is a vote. It's the community saying: we see this challenge, we think it's worth doing, and we're putting our dollars behind that belief.
When someone contributes $25 to the Great Lakes Assault bounty, they're not funding the attempt. They're casting a vote — go do this, it would be awesome. It's a crowd-sourced dare with real money on the table, not as a business proposition, but as a signal. A growing pot says: people care about this. People are watching. People want to see it happen.
The incentive matters, even if it doesn't pay the bills. It's a starting flag made of other people's conviction. And for the person out there already thinking about whether they could pull it off, knowing that strangers believe in the attempt enough to put money on it — that's not nothing.
Contributions are voluntary and non-refundable. The principal balance belongs to the fund and is disbursed only upon verified record confirmation. Chasing Greatness retains interest and yield earned on held fund balances as operational revenue — this is how we keep the lights on. No ads, no subscriptions, no sponsors. The community funds the platform by funding the challenges.
If a fund is discontinued, remaining balances are donated to a maritime or motorsport safety organization. Full terms are available on each run's bounty page.
Every run on Chasing Greatness gets the full treatment: an interactive route map, a record progression chart showing how the time has fallen over the years, a long-form editorial exposé telling the story of the route and the people who've run it, a strategy and speculation section breaking down how the record might be beaten, and a detailed attempt log. Where eligible, runs carry a community bounty fund with transparent pot sizes and clear payout rules.
We're not a wiki. We're not a forum. We're an editorial platform that takes these challenges as seriously as they deserve to be taken — because the people attempting them are doing something genuinely remarkable, and that deserves more than a Strava segment and a high-five.
Want to put your name behind a specific challenge? We're building a sponsorship program that lets brands and individuals officially back individual runs — not just contribute to a pot, but become the named sponsor of a record attempt. Your logo on the run page, your story tied to the chase. Details coming soon.
Browse the runs. Study the routes. See what's possible.