Badwater Ultramarathon is acclaimed as ‘the toughest foot race on earth.’ After running it, I would definitely agree. It was the hardest race of my life, the most gruelling and the only time in my life that I actually got a glimpse of what hell would be like. And it wasn’t pretty.
The Badwater ultramarathon is a single-stage 135 mile (217km) road race through Death Valley, California, which starts at the lowest point in the USA, 282 feet below sea level, to the finish at Mt.Whitney Portals which is up Mt. Whitney at 8,360 feet above sea level. The original series of the Badwater 135, which was first held in 1977, had runners go all the way to the top of Mt Whitney, which ends up off-road and a very steep climb to get to the top. However, it was adjusted to go to Mt. Whitney Portals which is on road and a good place to finish (I could not imagine the rest of the climb to the top of Mt. Whitney and am in awe of those who had in the early years of the race achieved this feat).
To qualify in applying for Badwater, you must finish at least three 100 mile, single-stage running races, or the Brazil 135-mile race. Other races such as adventure-racing, iron man races and other ultramarathons also help your application. Of those that apply, 45 runners that have never run Badwater before are selected, as well as 45 veterans (those that have run it previously). Another 10 runners are selected at the discretion of the Race Director. U.S. citizens and international runners can apply, but from the pool of applicants, 100 ‘lucky’ persons are chosen.
Death Valley, California, 15th July 2012: we arrived at the race registration in Death Valley the day before the start of the Badwater race. My crew consisted of three friends: Molly Sheridan and John Vigil, both 100+mile runners from Las Vegas, and Darryl Chiles, a 100-mile runner from the UAE. Molly had run Badwater previously and John had crewed 3 times before. It was Darryl’s and my first Badwater experience. The registration took only about 30 minutes, but you could feel the excitement from the runners and crew, and you could also feel the heat. It was a ‘cool’ year, with temperatures below 120F (48C), but it was a different type of heat than what I was used to in Dubai.
I had trained out in the heat in Dubai, running in 40C+ temperatures to get acclimated to hot weather and although it was very tough, I didn’t mind it, and I felt ready to race in the heat. But the heat in Death
Valley was intense. It was a searing heat, one that pierced the skin. As I would discover the next day, it was like someone was burning your skin with a laser with no reprieve.
We lined up for the race registration and some friends from previous races were also there. Ray Sanchez was there for another Badwater run. Mario, the race director from the Brazil 135, was there to crew, with a warm welcome and smile from ear to ear. Chris Kostman, the Badwater race director, was there to welcome each runner to the race. Molly, Darryl and I bought a white, long-sleeved Badwater shirt at the registration, as these would come in very handy for the race. After agroup photo by the pool and a team photo with Dean Karnazes, we headed to the only open restaurant for lunch in our hotel at Furnace Creek Ranch, which was buzzing with runners. I hadsome time away from the crowd as I started to get a little more nervous leading into the race. When we got to our room to unpack, I discovered I had left all my medical kit at home in Dubai. Thankfully, Molly and Darryl had some spare kits, which were the essentials that I would need. We spent the
afternoon securing the race magnets onto the car, getting the supplies sorted and having a bit of rest in the room. We had a good solid dinner and got an early night’s rest.
We woke relatively early at around 6 a.m., and were able to get ready for the race start with relative leisure since we were in the third and final wave of runners at 10 a.m. The first wave started at 6 a.m., and the second followed at 8 a.m. We headed over to have breakfast and then went across in our team van to the race start. I was very nervous leading into the start. I still had the remnants of a cold I had been trying to shake for two weeks before Badwater, and I could still feel it in my blocked ears and throat. I had only done light exercise in those two weeks in an attempt to shake the cold, but unluckily, it had lingered and was still there for the start. As we drove to the race start, we passed those 6a.m. and 8a.m. start group runners. Everyone was well covered in white and at the time I could not understand why people would cover up, thinking it would be better to wear less clothes –cooler. I soon found out why this was so. The sun was just too intense.
At the start, I spoke with Ashley Walsh who blogs on UltraChicksUnite. I chatted with some Florida-based runners, including Chris Roman. I met Mario again, and all 10a.m. runners then had a group photo.
We were each weighed before the start. So, with ten minutes until the start time, we all formed a line across the asphalt and waited for Chris Kostman to announce the start of Badwater 2012. With a click of the ‘start’ on the Garmin, I was off – running on that white line.
It was a fast start for a run of that distance; with most of the top runners in that start group, the pace was very quick. The first leg of the race from Badwater’s starting line to Furnace Creek (where we hadstayed the night before) felt quick and okay, although it was hard to breathe. Each breath was coming through a sheet of phlegm (yuck, I know) at the back of my throat. The heat made it worse. I was running the first section faster than planned, but it was a struggle to breathe. I could only stomach sweet drinks and sweet food. I was taking on a lot of aqualyte (and continued to do this all of the race, although it became more and more watered down as the race progressed), as well as juices and fruit (watermelon and pineapple were awesome). Mycrew were great and stopped frequently as they were passing me fresh bottles of aqualyte, dowsing me with water, handing me fruit and a selection of juices.
After the first 10km, Molly suggested I put on my long-sleeved white shirt as I was getting too much sun exposure and she was right. Long sleeves were the best option. Getting dowsed constantly with water was essential. Other runners had crews with sprayers and although John had suggested this, I had not thought it necessary until I started to run. In hindsight, long, thin white pants, a long, shaded hat, and a sprayer would have helped.
From the start of the race until Stovepipe Wells, which was around 42 miles (c. 60km), I struggled and did not feel good. The breathing problem was the worst of it and I never felt comfortable during this section. The intensity of the sun and the heat was also hard to take. Starting at 10a.m. was not a nice or easy introduction to the heat of the day. The 8a.m. start would have been better. However, I still made reasonable time within this section, but it was a struggle.
A lot of runners and/or crew stopped to refuel, etc. in Stovepipe Wells, and it was just before this aid station that we started passing runners from earlier waves. After Stovepipe Wells, I got a blister and quickly pierced and covered it. After a short time running on it, it was okay. As the evening set in and as I progressed up the hill, I started feeling nauseous. A strong head wind set in and my stomach felt bloated and unwell. During this night section for the first time in my life, I went across to my crew vehicle and said I felt sick and needed to sit down, and immediately started projectile vomiting…three times. Everything came up and I was in tears. I felt unwell and had never thrown up on a race before so it came as a big shock. I didn’t know how I would keep going and felt faint and tired, as well as shaky. I couldn’t take anything in except sweet things and this had made my stomach go awry. Molly suggested I take on a shake and John agreed.
They gave me an Isagenix shake made from a packet with water added; it was like a meal in a drink. It was the only thing I could digest and it helped give me sustenance and get me back on the road.
I was back walking up that long, long hill with that strong head wind for about an hour, then I grabbed Darryl’s arm and started throwing up again. I had to take time-out again to sit down and ended up lying down in the van. I was also cold and shaking then so my crew covered me in jackets/towels/sleeping bags. I felt like I couldn’t go on and was weak. After about 20 minutes, my crew were trying to give me different things to eat for some energy. After a bit of food and alternating between the shake and diluted aqualyte, I was back on the road, chugging on to the top.
During the time I was lying in the van, apparently no runners passed: it seemed like everyone was taking a time-out.
After what seemed like an eternity and being very sick of the wind, we finally made it to the top. By then Darryl was making the best snack (something that I could chew and digest – all other salt-based foods I just couldn’t chew or swallow, it was too dry). He was making avocado on Doritos/crisps. I was back to running after the top of the hill, after Towne’s Pass, and felt much better as I had regained energy, running down the hill towards Panamint Valley. This part was deceptive because you could see the aid station, but it was a long, long way away. My crew kept stopping and handing me fluids/avocado-delights as I passed and very often, so for them it was tough as they were not resting. They were doing a great job of keeping me going. The distances were very twisted in my mind.Whilst my crew were saying one distance, I was adamant it was a different one. After a long, long downhill run, we finally ended up in Panamint Valley, where we began another uphill.
Darryl paced me for a while here during which Molly and John refuelled the car and got some supplies. To our delight, they had bought soup and to Molly’s disappointment she had got herself an ice cream that was off. (To Be Continued)
Published in August 2012
