Outdoors: Badwater Ultra Marathon / Mt. Whitney Race Report

Tuesday, July 31, 2007 - 12:26 AM

One of the most gruelling races on planet earth.



Our height-challenged author, mere metres from the summit, don't step back Louisa...




The view from the start, don't look back now....Death Valley U.S.A.



The challenging terrain hiking to the top of Mt. Whitney

Friends,


Last week, we completed the Badwater Race: The 135 mile ultra marathon running race that began in Death Valley, the lowest point in the Western States, wound over 3 mountain ranges, and finished at the portal of Mt. Whitney, the highest mountain in the Western States.

Temps soared to 126 F and never dropped below 105 at night. Tom Triumph,
my friend and our athlete, completed the race with the assistance of our outstanding 6-person crew, in 38:57 minutes (race cut off is 60 hours). This landed Tom in 20th place, out of 80 teams. The race presented some challenges (heat, wind, dehydration, sleep deprivation), but level heads prevailed. Our crew are all ultra runners and this proved to be an asset.

In 38 hours our team consumed 40 gallons of water, 38 bags of ice and sickening amounts of Eload and powerbars. Hydration was always an issue, and the incessant heat and wind made the simple task of breathing quite challenging.

The day following the conclusion of the ultra marathon, our team climbed and
summitted Mt. Whitney (total of 1450 feet elevation). Round trip took us 18 hours.

Priceless experience.

Life is meant to be lived from the top down - so climb, run, jump, lift, swim, bike - and keep moving forward with friends by your side. Life is beautiful.