What is Badwater?
The Badwater Ultramarathon, or simply Badwater as it's called by those who run (or dream of running) it, is a hell of a race. Quite literally, a hell of a race. It's so overwhelming that very few who take part escape unchanged.
It starts at Badwater, the lowest point in Death Valley (and the Western Hemisphere) and ends at the top of the Mt. Whitney portal road, 135 miles away.
To ensure maximum insanity, the race is run in July, when course temperatures typically max out between 125f and 130f. The names of places along the course are fitting: Badwater, the Funeral Mountains, Dante's View, the Devil's Golf Course, Furnace Creek, the Devil's Cornfield, and Stovepipe Wells are intimidating to first-timers and well know to veterans of the race.
Two things make Badwater different from other ultramarathons: the distance and the heat.
Back in 1977, when Al Arnold made the first crossing, the course continued all the way to the top of Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the lower-48 states. That meant that the course was originally 146 miles. Of course, there are no escalators down, so you had 11 miles back down, for a total of 157 miles. The course now stops at the top of the Mt. Whitney Portals road due to permit issues, and that's been the official distance for quite a few years. There are other races that are longer (including the well-known Marathon des Sables), but many of these are stage races run over five or six days. Badwater is run non-stop, entirely on asphalt (most ultradistance take place on dirt). By the time you finish, the bottoms of your feet feel like they've been worked over with hammers.
Even though you might not think it, there are lots of people in the ultrarunning community who could probably run (and walk) the 135 miles. What knocks people out is the penetrating, punishing heat. In 2001, one of my pacers couldn't take her earrings off because the metal was too hot to the touch. In 2002, on a training run, I tried to lay down on the side of the road, but couldn't...ground temperatures can reach 180f, and it burned my back to lay on the ground. In 2003, when I worked for the race, we had one runner who had to be transported to the hospital, and took 7 bags of i.v. fluids.
If you rest, the clock keeps running. You take cat naps, stealing 15 minutes here and there, but try to avoid long breaks. Aside from losing time, your body starts to stiffen, and getting started again is not pleasant. If you finish in under 60 hours, you get a finisher's medal. If you finish in under 48 hours, you also get a belt buckle. (The belt buckle award is common in ultra-running for finishing in a set time. The sport started as an offshoot of distance horseback riding events, when buckles made sense.) Usually about 1/3 to 1/2 of the runners "buckle."
But finishing. Ah, yes. I've said before that it's like coming into heaven. The last mile or so, after 134 miles of desert, you enter the finish area, pine trees all around, running water, and cool air unbelievably rich. A finish line like no other, a simple ribbon stretched across the road for each runner as he or she crosses. Then rest.
It starts at Badwater, the lowest point in Death Valley (and the Western Hemisphere) and ends at the top of the Mt. Whitney portal road, 135 miles away.
To ensure maximum insanity, the race is run in July, when course temperatures typically max out between 125f and 130f. The names of places along the course are fitting: Badwater, the Funeral Mountains, Dante's View, the Devil's Golf Course, Furnace Creek, the Devil's Cornfield, and Stovepipe Wells are intimidating to first-timers and well know to veterans of the race.
Two things make Badwater different from other ultramarathons: the distance and the heat.
Back in 1977, when Al Arnold made the first crossing, the course continued all the way to the top of Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the lower-48 states. That meant that the course was originally 146 miles. Of course, there are no escalators down, so you had 11 miles back down, for a total of 157 miles. The course now stops at the top of the Mt. Whitney Portals road due to permit issues, and that's been the official distance for quite a few years. There are other races that are longer (including the well-known Marathon des Sables), but many of these are stage races run over five or six days. Badwater is run non-stop, entirely on asphalt (most ultradistance take place on dirt). By the time you finish, the bottoms of your feet feel like they've been worked over with hammers.
Even though you might not think it, there are lots of people in the ultrarunning community who could probably run (and walk) the 135 miles. What knocks people out is the penetrating, punishing heat. In 2001, one of my pacers couldn't take her earrings off because the metal was too hot to the touch. In 2002, on a training run, I tried to lay down on the side of the road, but couldn't...ground temperatures can reach 180f, and it burned my back to lay on the ground. In 2003, when I worked for the race, we had one runner who had to be transported to the hospital, and took 7 bags of i.v. fluids.
If you rest, the clock keeps running. You take cat naps, stealing 15 minutes here and there, but try to avoid long breaks. Aside from losing time, your body starts to stiffen, and getting started again is not pleasant. If you finish in under 60 hours, you get a finisher's medal. If you finish in under 48 hours, you also get a belt buckle. (The belt buckle award is common in ultra-running for finishing in a set time. The sport started as an offshoot of distance horseback riding events, when buckles made sense.) Usually about 1/3 to 1/2 of the runners "buckle."
But finishing. Ah, yes. I've said before that it's like coming into heaven. The last mile or so, after 134 miles of desert, you enter the finish area, pine trees all around, running water, and cool air unbelievably rich. A finish line like no other, a simple ribbon stretched across the road for each runner as he or she crosses. Then rest.
posted by Greg Minter at 12:08 PM
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