A 41-year-old competitor in this year’s 72-hour Sea to Sea Expedition Race in Florida died in a bicycle accident in Alachua County, shutting the event down on Feb. 27, officials said.
The adventure racing community is mourning Jason Schmidt’s death. The 27th annual competition, often called the Sea to Sea Adventure Race, was scheduled for Feb. 26 to March 1 from Cedar Key to St. Augustine. It features trail running, mountain biking, kayaking, orienteering and occasionally additional disciplines like O-relay or swimming, according to organizers.
Here is their partial statement afterward: “Warrior Adventure Racing confirms that a solo participant in today’s Sea to Sea adventure race was involved in a fatal vehicle accident. The race has been stopped effective immediately. Emergency services responded to the scene, and we are fully cooperating with local authorities as they conduct their investigation. Our top priority is the safety and well-being of all participants.”
The Florida Highway Patrol preliminary report lists the victim being from Lexington, South Carolina. It states that a 66-year-old man from Citra was driving a sport utility vehicle at about 10:30 a.m. on southbound Country Road 325 near 174th Place when the bicyclist was in the roadway and was struck.
A GoFundMe for the family said he was a husband and father of three.
“A lover of travel, high endurance pursuits, and feeling part of something big, Jason brought an energetic optimism into every space he inhabited,” the GoFundMe said. “He was an affectionate dad, husband, brother, uncle, friend and son, never missing an opportunity to tell people how much they meant to him. A charismatic dreamer, visionary, and lifelong seeker of new and uncharted experiences, Jason lived fully and without fear. It is impossible to detail all of the roles that Jason played in the lives of the ones that he loved because his spirit is too big to be bound by words.”
This wasn’t the first fatality during the race. In 2021 three cyclists were hit by a car on U.S. 1 in St. Johns County in the early morning hours of the event. Troy Manz, a 46-year-old military veteran and doctor in residency in Indiana, died at the scene, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The other cyclists were his fiancée, Trish Wilkinson, and Barbara Gilmore, both of whom suffered serious injuries.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: What is known about the Sea to Sea Adventure Race fatality in Florida?
Reporting by Scott Butler, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
