“I broke the 146-mile Death Valley record in 2012. Then I lost it. Now at 55, I’m taking it back in 2026.”
Note: scheduled for August; exact date to be determined.
“This challenge was created by a man [Marshall Ulrich] who had already conquered every ridiculous foot race there was. At some point, there was nothing left to do but invent something worse.
The Badwater 146 mile solo self-contained race in Death Valley record is one of those challenges.
It takes place in the hottest place on Earth. A barren stretch of desert that hits 130 degree temps, where legend says it melts the soles off your shoes. And you can cook an egg on the sizzling black top.”
“In 1999, Marshall was the first person to cross Death Valley solo-self-contained to the top of Mt. Whitney. He set the record time of: 77 hours and 46 minutes.
The record stood for 13 years. Not many even tried to break the record because of the ridiculous difficulty and danger of it. The handful of people who tried, failed. None ever finished.
Until…. 2012: Croix finished in 72 hours and 18 minutes – breaking the previous 13-year-old record by almost 5 hours. Three days later the new record was broken again by Bogdan “Bogie” Dumitrescu in in 70:40.
Bogdan broke his own self-supported, solo record again in July 2013, completing the journey from Badwater Basin to the summit of Mt. Whitney in 60 hours and 18 minutes.
The self-contained record currently stands at 57 hours and 18 minutes, also set by Bogdan “Bogie” Dumitrescu in 2014.
“I believe that someone can finish this course in under 48 hours, solo-self-contained unassisted. Whether or not I can do it, time will tell – literally. But that is what I am training for,” says Croix.
I’ll be frank. I don’t have the confidence that I did when I was 41. I was fearless because of ignorance. The invincibility of youth. The record was a conquest.
Now, I’m cautiously optimistic.”
“Can I do at age 55, what I did at age 41, and do it 25 hours faster?
I believe I can.
I am training to make it happen.“
“The tentative date August 4-6. The reason I say tentative, is because it is weather dependent. If there is an abnormal rain, or record-setting temps, the start time may be delayed. Like any race.
The scheduled date is flexible, as long as the crossing is completed before midnight on August 31. This means that is something goes wrong, and I did not beat the record on the first attempt, I have the month of August to recoup, return and try again”, explains Croix.
