Badwater 135 

Globally known as “the world’s toughest foot race”, Badwater 135 takes place every Summer in Death Valley, California, USA.
The most challenging part of the race is the heat, as temperatures can reach 130 °F (54 °C).

Up to 100 BadAsses yearly toe the line and attempt to cover the 135 miles (217 km) route non-stop, from the bottom of Death Valley to high on Mt. Whitney.

It started with Al Arnold’s original trek from Badwater to Mt. Whitney in 1977. Arnold, an ultrarunning pioneer and human potential guru, competed in a solo effort: it was just him and his support crew against the elements and the clock.
It took four more years until Jay Birmingham also completed the course, in 1981. The official head-to-head race began ten years after Arnold’s pioneer trek, in 1987, and has been held annually since then without serious incident, fatality, or any citations issued by any branch of law enforcement.

It was the British Eleanor Robinson who won the first Badwater Ultramarathon in 1987 in 52:45:00!
The first male finisher in 1987 followed more than 6 hours later with a completion time of 58:57:34.

Why do we do events like this?
“On one side of the coin, taking on a 200-plus-kilometre ultra is already a huge challenge. Adding in the heat of Death Valley to total climbing of over 13,000 feet makes the Badwater race a real monster! However, when you flip the coin it has to be seen as one of the greatest races in the world! It is impossible to describe the stark beauty and call of that desert with snow covered mountains looking down at you while you are struggling along in that heat. But, far beyond the pain caused by the temperature, distance, desperate fatigue and multiple loss of toenails, is the comradeship and joy of being part of such an event in a part of the world one would not ordinarily visit.

There is a magic to the place which seems to draw runners back time and time again,” says Geoffrey Hilton-Barber, official 2005 Badwater 135 finisher.

Death Valley is the largest U.S. National Park outside Alaska with 91% protected wilderness, including low valley floors crusted with barren salt flats, rugged mountains rising as much as 11,000 feet, deep and winding canyons, rolling sand dunes, and spring-fed oases.

The race contributes to several charities to conserve the environment because “We care deeply about the natural world for we are intrinsically linked with it and because we want to enjoy these events in their awesome natural settings for a long, long time. Here is what we are doing, so far, to mitigate the impact of our events, as well as some current thoughts about doing better.”

It’s a self-sufficient race. Runners must arrange their own crew and vehicle to provides them with all needed support, like water, ice, food, gear, pacing, and medical care.
“Simply put, without the crew, there can be no runner, so I’m thankful to Eric for sticking with me for the whole run. Crew members have to train for the heat, be alert, and take this very, very seriously. It could be a matter of life and death,” says Badwater pioneer Al Arnold.

Overall course records
Pete Kostelnick, 28, USA, 2016: 21:56:32
Alyson Venti (Allen), 34, USA, 2016: 25:53:07

Qualification requirement
At least ONE of these requirements must be met prior to applying:

• You have officially finished the Badwater 135 (the actual race held since 1987; “solo” efforts will not be considered, except those made prior to 1990) AND have completed at least one significant ultra running event (or significant ultra cycling or triathlon event) in the previous 12 months other than the Badwater 135.
• You have officially finished at least THREE running races of at least 100 continuous miles in length, at least one of them in the previous 12 months. Exception: Officially finishing the 81-mile BADWATER SALTON SEA race “counts” as one 100-mile race for this qualifying purpose. (Please see the list of Preferred Qualifying Races below.)
• You have officially finished the Brazil 135+ (either 135 miles in 48 hours or 160 miles in 62.5 hours) AND have completed at least one significant ultra running or other endurance sports event in the previous 12 months.

Registration Badwater 135
The Badwater 135 is, and always has been, an invitational race. Applicants will be considered purely upon their race application and its specific written merits.

The application submission period for the race begins yearly in January. A committee of four race staff members, one of whom is the race director, will then review and rank each application on a scale of 0 to 10. The ranks will be tallied and the top 45 rookie applicants and the top 45 veterans with the highest scores will be invited (rookies and veterans compete separately for 45 slots for each category) on February 14. At that time, or later, up to ten more applicants (rookie and/or veteran) may be invited at the race director’s discretion, for a total of approximately 100 entrants.

It is anticipated that the race field will include women and men from twenty or more countries and twenty or more American states.
As a result of this strict selection, ca 70% of the participants is capable of finishing this grueling race within the time limit of 48 hours!

Badwater Ultra Cup
AdventureCORPS is an athlete-run firm that initiated and owns the Badwater Ultra Cup, an annual three-race series of the 51-mile Badwater Cape Fear in March, continued with the 81-mile Badwater Salton Sea in April and concluded with the STYR Labs Badwater 135 in July.
Those runners who complete all three events in the same calendar year are featured on the Badwater.com website and their virtues are extolled throughout the Internet and in BADWATER Magazine.

The video in this article is embedded with permission of Tom Leigh Knight, who holds all copyrights.

Image by LoggaWiggler