What Really Happened: RedBud
No sport is worth paying the ultimate price. RIP Josh Lichtle
Josh Lichtle as an amateur racer. Photo courtesy of childhood friend April Hodges
At any given AMA National Motocross or Supercross race, there are 10s of thousands of people there to enjoy the sport. They show up to enjoy the racing, the camaraderie, the competition, and the one-on-one nature of the sport we all love. And the life lessons to be learned from the sport are numerous and valuable if you pay attention.
But what really happened at RedBud is that we all got a lesson about what really matters in life, and motocross racing doesn’t. Not really.
This past weekend we lost Josh Lichtle. Like most racers at any AMA National, Lichtle had been racing motocross since he was a little kid, and he and his family have been a staple in the motocross community for almost 20 years. Lichtle would’ve turned 24 next month.
Reports say that Lichtle passed away this weekend from heat-related issues coming from racing at the RedBud National. And no matter how much anyone likes motocross, it’s not worth this. No sport is.
Switching gears, though, I have talked in the past about the need for the AMA and/or MX Sports to take heat index – how the heat actually feels due to combining temperature and humidity – into account at their races.
Temperature just doesn’t cut it.
The temperature at RedBud topped out at 93 degrees, and the relative humidity throughout the day averaged out at 73 percent (although it topped out at 90 percent). Calculating those two numbers together to get the heat index, that’s 118 degrees Fahrenheit, or 48 degrees Celsius.
That’s a dangerous temperature to be out in at all, much less be exerting yourself. And as I have pointed out before in columns for other magazines and websites, motocross is especially difficult in the heat because motocross gear prevents your body from cooling itself naturally.
The human body is cooled by sweat evaporating off of the skin. You get hot, your skin beads up sweat, and then the evaporation of that sweat cools your skin, and more importantly the blood underneath, just like a radiator in an engine cools the coolant contained therein.
Well, you need a large portion of your body to be exposed to the air for this to happen, and you also need to stop doing what’s causing you to become overheated in the first place. In motocross, racers won’t ever stop before they see the checkered flag, which is problem number one. And the second, more important, problem is that they’re covered from head to toe in riding gear, preventing their body from cooling itself through natural means. This is why Brett Metcalfe, who has suffered heat stroke a few times in the past, was wearing an active cooling vest in the second 450 moto at RedBud.
In order to cool effectively in the natural way, racers need to wear less gear, which is essentially like asking them to sacrifice one type of safety for another.
Josh Lichtle at RedBud, his last-ever day of doing what he loved. Photo: Anthony Sansotta
And the problem here is that I’ve said it before that heat is not a joke. I said in a previous “250 Words” column for Racer X Magazine’s website here on June 9, 2010 that “People can and will die from heat exhaustion,” and that the AMA or MX Sports needed to come up with a policy that calculates heat index and shortens races a certain amount depending on the number. Obviously, that hasn’t happened yet, and unfortunately now an athlete has died from heat exhaustion at an AMA event.
And before anyone says anything about guys being tough or whatever, remember the AMA shortens races due to wet weather, such as Budds Creek in 2009. So, if races are shortened due to rain and/or lightning (in other words, safety reasons), why wouldn’t they shorten them for heat index?
It’s extremely unfortunate that it had to come to this, but it’s often the case in life that changes are made reactively instead of proactively. Hopefully, Josh Lichtle didn’t die in vain, and changes will be made.
No sport is worth the ultimate price.
RIP Josh Lichtle
Addendum: It should be noted that the AMA and MX Sports definitely do have a policy in place for hot days at the Nationals; the race doctors can speak up about the heat and recommend the races be shortened at any point during the race day, and if they do speak up, the sanctioning body will do what the doctors recommend. But as we understand it, the medical staff didn’t believe there was a reason to shorten the races or anything along those lines at RedBud. - Steve Cox
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Comments
September 25, 2011 4:12 pm
I disagree, if you love something, its worth it, he passed away doing what he loved, I raced to day and got to over heated and started puking, take ice baths at the track and drink water and Gatorade, rip josh, ur truly missed
August 10, 2011 4:12 am
I am still truly heartbroken.. You were one of my best friends. I will never ever forget you. I love you so much, Josh. You did die doing something you love, perfect finish. I miss you so much. More and more everyday. It’s crazy to think I talked to you maybe an hour before all of this happened.. Ride in peace up in Heaven. Where the dirt is always perfect. <3
See you soon, buddy.
August 4, 2011 4:23 pm
My heart is missing Josh 100%, he was living life in the motocross world and enjoying it with speed!
July 20, 2011 1:40 pm
OMG, I was so shocked to hear of this and am so sorry for Josh’s family and friends. Who would think this would happen these days. You don’t think of the heat getting so bad, but this year here in the midwest is totally devastating. It sounds like he had an awesome career and life while he was here and I am so pleased that he and his family have so much support at this time. Motocrossers stick together and support their fellow riders in a way that no other extreme sports do. God Bless you, Josh and your family & friends.
July 18, 2011 9:17 pm
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/event.php?eid=144424158968786
Ride day in memory of josh Lichtle, sponsored by powersportsconcepts.com and valley motocross (valleymotocross.com)
josh lichtle merchandise can be purchased at powersportsconcepts.com with all proceeds being donated to godspeed811.com
July 18, 2011 12:15 am
I grew up racing against Josh, and it’s a heartbreaker that something like this happened. First and foremost I send my deepest condolences to his family and kin. Secondly, totally agree that the temperature that is supposedly what it is and what it REALLY is depends entirely on the humidity. I once raced Tommy Hahn in KS and it was about 110 out but DRY heat. I still puked in my helmet during the moto and managed to pull out a W against one of the best riders in the world. Point being, take it from a racer, we are die hard, will do anything just like Josh did to get up and drag the bike across the line… NO MATTER WHAT. I’m lucky I didn’t keel over from heat stroke… That’s just what is engrained into us as kids. The whole moral to this story is, MORE TRACKS NORTH OF NEBRASKA DURING THE SUMMER!!!! I KNOW WINTER SUCKS BUT COME ON AMA… BRING BACK AGENCY, MO. I guarantee Jeff Emig would endorse that. He GREW UP IN THE KC AREA, He’d hype it like there was no other track on the circuit… It it time to take the riders health into account because we can’t afford to lose rider to stuff like weather conditions… we lose enough to tragic accidents as is.
July 17, 2011 5:44 pm
As an old school racer from the Midwest during the 70′s, we used to have people throw buckets of water on us as we rode by to try and cool off. Perhaps some form of misting might work as well. It certainly is worth a try. We never lost anyone to heat stroke, but I can admit that heat definately affected our riding and judgement.
In this day and age of technology, there has to be a simple answer. Fans be damned. Promotors need options and absolute rules that say when tempuratures reach a threshhold temp, then racing stops. Period!
Josh was an adult capable of making his own decisions. But in amature ranks, you see kids much younger out racing under similar conditions, and PARENTS not taking appropriate control measures to ensure their children are safe.
Not all the blame is on the Promotors or sanctioning body. Parents also have a responsiblity to think beyond finishing position and points. Live to race another day has new meaning now. Just hope others are listening…
July 16, 2011 9:30 pm
I am very sorry for this family’s loss. My son is the most important thing in my life and I cannot imagine losing him as Josh’s family now faces. I also cannot imagine that the equipment manufacturers who make a fortune off of the safety equipment for this sport will be able to excuse further delaying making changes. Small cooling fans can easily be mounted in helmets and boots, NASA has been using chemical cooling inside of tubes to keep their astronauts cool for decades. Seems like a pretty silly total lack of effort by the equipment manufacturers to have done nothing but put vents, ridiculous in fact, and bordering on negligent.
July 15, 2011 8:50 am
As a physician I have been medical director in charge of many races and sporting events for over 45 years. Although the conditions have many many times been marginal or worse I, We, have never lost an athlete to heat stress syndrome. The key is to be proactive, be prepared, and although sponsors do not like it stop the event or change the circumstances of it. Ie, shorten it, run it earlier in the day, have ice immersion baths available, and hydrate the athletes before, during and after the event. Premature death in the athlete must be prevented. Retro-active posturing will never work. I have an instrument that intstantly gives out the temperature and humidity and then the heat index. That is recorded throughout the events and at various parts of a course, I.e sun and shade, etc. So that I can tell what the athlete actually is experiencing. Also a college of mine, Dr. Douglas Casa of the Kory Stringer Institute is a strong advocate for prevention of death in heat stress events.
Hope this news gets through to prevent injuries and deaths.
Dr. Jon of Michigan Center for Athletic Medicine and American College of Sports Medicine
July 13, 2011 12:59 pm
that’s why you saw that ice vest being worn by I think it was Bret Metcalf that weekend. I think the protection companies need to start thinking in that direction from this tragic accident. This way maybe something good can come out of this tragedy. So it wont happen to future riders all due to Josh Lichtle’s sacrifice. RIP brother. All of us MX riders will see you later on that big track in the sky. I am calling out all the big protection companies on this. Call it the JL cooling vest in his memory.
-Charlie Biancheri
-Biancheri Racing
July 9, 2011 8:58 am
No relationship to rider but my son races 50/65 classes and I often see him to the point were he is over heated. I’m constantly pushing the water bottle in his face but like many racers he doesn’t like to eat/drink during racing because of the nervisness that comes with racing. We love racing and will continue but I hope and pray that something good comes out of this tragedy. I know that it woke me up. Everything we do in life and/or any sport we partisipate in can come with a price. Unfortunately on this day motocross lost a very special kid as are all racers.
RIP Josh
July 7, 2011 4:44 pm
This is a tragedy. Even though many races are raced in high temperatures, this one was one of the worst I’ve been too. And I’ve been to them all numerous times- Lorettas, Freestone, you name it. Even though the AMA gives the medics the right to call it, do the medics completely understand what these riders are going through out there? Unless they’ve raced before, and I highly doubt they have, then they don’t. Unless the medics are tending to a rider, they usually are riding around on their pit vehicles or sitting in the shade somewhere. They don’t feel the heat like the riders do. They need to come up with a better rule- maybe one that gives the AMA more ruling because this clearly DOES NOT WORK.
July 6, 2011 6:14 pm
First off people please keep in mind that this IS NOT about who is at fault or what happend! DO NOT MAKE STUPID COMMENTS ABOUT WHO IS IN SHAPE, OR IT IS SOMEONES FALULT! WE ALL JUST LOST A WONDERFUL PERSON AND AMAZING ATHLETE!
My heart goes out to the whole Litchle family. As a long time friend, I can say you are all great people and Josh is truly a person I can only say great things about. This makes me so so sad and he will never be forgoten. He was a great racer and always enjoyed his company as a great person.
Please know that so many people care and hurt with you over Josh. Everyone is here for the Litchle family now, and forever.
July 6, 2011 6:09 am
Josh Lichtle was a good friend. We met years ago when he trained and lived at GPF in my hometown of Cairo Georgia. I am also in the military and this tragedy could have been avoided. In the military we use a system to calculate temperature and humidity called wet bulb. This system establishes a heat index. We then determine the safe periods of exposure to said heat and we act accordingly. The higher the index, the lower the amount of exposure. If the AMA had such a system in place incidents like this could be avoided. To the Lichtle family, my deepest sympathies. Just know that Josh was loved by many and he will be missed, but never forgotten. The last time I saw him was last year at the Houston Supercross and as always he had me in stitches. I haven’t laughed like that since. If your day wasn’t going well, you could just pay Josh a visit and it would automatically get better. God speed Josh.
July 5, 2011 9:54 pm
I just heard the news about Josh about an hour ago from my son, a fellow racer, Brian Holt when he stopped by my house tonight to tell me that Josh had evidently ridden during practice and suffered heat stroke (We believe on Sunday) .
I arrived at Redbud alone Wednesday night with the camper & was able to park right behind the drop-gate on the night track- front row! …what a great time we had all weekend…the “boys” showed up Friday afternoon, raced that night on night track and I enjoyed (even with the horrific rain) the time at Redbud. We departed around 11AM Sunday as Brian’s bike was trailered back to Elkhart, Indiana by a friend and he could no longer race for the weekend. I believe we were already gone when Josh’s situation occurred.
I can’t begin to verbalize the “kick in the gut” I felt as a “Moto-Mom” when Brian told me the news about Josh…& it wasn’t even my child. There is nothing I can say or do to lessen the loss that the family is enduring right now……..absolutely nothing. I saw his picture on the article and he was a very handsome young man….I wish he and my son had known each other longer. Brian and Josh would have made nice “moto-buddies” & then maybe us Mom’s would have met each other as well. Jewels.
July 5, 2011 2:36 pm
Totally heartbreaking. At least he left doing what he loved most. Rest in peace Josh.
July 5, 2011 10:28 am
Sending thoughts and prayers. It’s hard to lose those we love…especially when they are so young. Please accept my Sympathies.
Cathy
July 5, 2011 5:50 am
truly a sad loss, great guy, I grew up watching him and enjoyed hanging with him and friends….god speed josh.. we will all once again be together one day
July 4, 2011 11:16 pm
They don’t need to shorten the races, WORCS races are 2 hours for the pros and they run in 105 degree weather at most so-cal events in the desert.
RIP Josh, you’ll be missed!
July 4, 2011 9:40 pm
That article says it all!! The Addendum on the other hand: ARE YOU TELLING US THAT ACTUAL DOCTORS DIDN’T THINK THAT 118 DEGREES IN THAT GEAR WAS TOO MUCH? 1) did they go to medical school online or at all?; 2) Why do we trust these quacks? The “addendum AKA excuse” has just INSULTED & reminded us that our RIDERS your ATTRACTIONS, are obviously NOT the priority to the tracks the AMA or MX Sports, you should be ashamed for even suggesting that poor excuse!!! Please don’t let this tragedy be in vain! RIP Josh
July 4, 2011 9:09 pm
It’s a shame to have lost another rider. Make gear that cools yourself now
July 4, 2011 9:07 pm
What a terrible tragedy. My condolences to the Lichtle family. I’ve been concerned about the issue of riding and competing in the heat, in fact I’ve written published articles on the subject. I’ve always wondered why of all motosports, motocrossers don’t utilize hydration systems. Virtually all other motosports do. Hare Scrambles, Enduro, Road Race, MotoGP all use camelback or built-in hydration systems. If riders are needing IV hydration, it would make sense to get water during the race.
Regarding the subject of vented gear, most modern riding gear is vented, at least to some degree. My Fox riding pants and jersey are vented, helmets have vent openings and even some boots are vented. Granted, it’s still hot, but there should be some air circulating. The poster who commented on the effort to restart the bike is probably on the mark, and Lichtle may have had other factors involved, perhaps a concussion from the crash.
Brett Metcalf’s decision to wear the cooling vest seems like common sense, considering the conditions, although a passive system might be more fail-save than the one he was using.
July 4, 2011 8:54 pm
What a terrible tragedy. My condolences to the Lichtle family. I’ve been concerned about the issue of riding and competing in the heat, in fact I’ve written published articles on the subject. I’ve always wondered why of all motosports, motocrossers don’t utilize hydration systems. Virtually all other motosports do. Hare Scrambles, Enduro, Road Race, MotoGP all use camelback or built-in hydration systems. If I recall correctly, Doug Henry used to require IV hydration between motos – why not have the hydration right at hand during the moto?
Regarding the subject of vented gear, most modern riding gear is vented, at least to some degree. My Fox riding pants and jersey are vented, helmets have vent openings and even some boots are vented. Granted, it’s still hot, but there should be some air circulating. The poster who commented on the effort to restart the bike is probably on the mark, and Lichtle may have had other factors involved, perhaps a concussion from the crash.
Brett Metcalf’s decision to wear the cooling vest seems like common sense, considering the conditions.
July 4, 2011 8:29 pm
Gee, maybe you should look in to new doctors.
July 4, 2011 7:05 pm
It is my understanding riders would not be cleared to race if they recieved treatment for heat. I can’t think of a better way to keep them from seeking treatment.
July 4, 2011 5:44 pm
The heat was soo extreme at red bud on saturday we left before the race was over my familys health is way more important than any sport then we walked a mile to find our car and parking lot was not marked with numbers or anything what a death trap that place is in extreme conditions!!That race should have been canceled due to the heat!
July 4, 2011 5:17 pm
This is indeed a somber moment for the motocross community, and somewhat an eye opener, it always weighs on ones heart when something like this happens, but i believe casting blame is rather inappropriate, all moto riders know what they take on when they set wheels to the track, as far as shortening laps, i wholeheartedly agree, and the AMA should take heed to this tragedy, but i would not put one bit of fault on the organization.
R.I.P Josh, you will be missed.
July 4, 2011 4:49 pm
First and foremost, my condolences to the family and friends of our fallen MX brother. Second id like to state MX is the most dangerous/physically demanding sport on earth. I bet it was hot similar to my Iraq adventures in 119 degree weather, with so much humidity your LOS ( Line of sight) is barely a mile and a half. We are required to wear full battle dress ( bdu’s cover rifle amo etc.) … That being sad Hell no should we change moto lengths, this is Motocross. If anything the AMA should have some form of physical just like the military does. This is only MY OPINION but I believe its the Professional riders responsibility to be in extreme shape or pull off the track.
July 4, 2011 3:34 pm
He was an awesome guy and will always be missed. A great rider with great talent. All my thoughts and prayers go out to his family.
July 4, 2011 2:50 pm
RIP Josh Lichtle. This cat broke both his ankles and legs numerous times, has rolled everything and anything with 2 or 4 wheels and always seems to get right back up kicking ass. Josh was tough as nails, and one of the most talented motocross riders in the country. He was a great friend, a role model, and the funniest kid you’ll have ever meet. I’m so glad that I had the opportunity of knowing him, he is certainly a person that one cannot forget spending time with. Love you and will miss you Josh. RIP