Tell Me Again What "Badwater" Is?

The Badwater 135 is held each year in July, when temperatures in Death Valley are likely to be hottest. 

When I say “hottest,” I don’t mean hot in the traditional sense of the work; after all, the hottest temperature ever recorded in Death Valley was 134 degrees.  One should note this also stands as the hottest atmospheric temperature ever recorded on earth.  On earth.  Sure, that was back in 1913, but make no mistake: Death Valley got its name for a reason.

The course itself covers 135 paved miles through Death Valley National Park and Inyo County, traveling through the remote towns of Furnace Creek, Stovepipe Wells, Panamint Springs, Darwin, Keeler, and Lone Pine – with a detour, this year, toward Olancha due to flooding.  Starting at 282 feet below sea level and topping out 8,360 feet above sea level at the Whitney Portal, the course was originally conceived to go from the lowest point in the contiguous United States (the Badwater Basin at -282 feet) to the highest (the peak of Mount Whitney at 14,505 feet above sea level).  Current permitting regulations do not allow official events on the actual mountain and permits to climb are limited, thus “reducing” the original course to its current 135-mile incarnation.  Over the course of the event, runners encounter 13,000 feet of ascent over three mountain ranges, with 4,700 feet of bone-crushing descent.  It is not for the faint of heart or weak of shin, and the 48-hour cutoff time is not nearly as generous as it might sound – the average finishing time is 40 hours!

The challenges of Badwater are unique and separate:

Heat:  With an average high of 117 degrees but temperatures above 120 quite common, the heat is one of Badwater’s better known challenges.  Training and preparing for the heat are equally as important as getting in the miles; to quote one of the yearly pre-race emails – “If you’re not ready for the heat, you’re not ready for this race.”

Elevation:  The elevation change, especially in the final miles, is particularly tough for those who live at sea level.  It’s not even easy for people who live at altitude; there’s nothing like having the oxygen slowly sucked out of the air after running 122 miles through the desert!

Remote Location:  The towns of Furnace Creek, Stovepipe Wells, Panamint Springs and Lone Pine are spaced out across the course and extremely small.  Each boasts a single convenience store and one or two hotels, with Lone Pine being a bit larger.  Depending on when you run through the towns (i.e. middle of the night), you may have further complications, as these are your only opportunities to replenish runner supplies - the most important and valuable of those being ICE – as well as for your hard-working crew to get a meal!

 

And about your crew: these two to four people, trailing you in a van the entire race to ensure you are fed, watered, cold, and alive, are working so much harder than you.  The runner gets an unfair amount of the glory; without the crew, they DNF or die.  That knowledge, however, weighs heavy.  The idea that there are people willing to give days of their time and energy for you to pursue a dream is powerfully humbling.

 

The Course:  Last but not least are the challenges of the course itself, one that combines the challenges of extreme heat and extreme hills into a mélange of dismay and running ecstasy.  The Badwater course covers what is sacred ground to me, but it comes at a price.

Badwater Basin to Stovepipe Wells (42):  The first 42 miles feature a steady diet of rolling hills, many of which rise to the level of “walkers,” but are still some of the easiest running miles of the course.  With the nighttime start, we’re likely to be treated to somewhat tame temperatures between 90 – 105.  You can’t go out too fast though, because this is still the easiest 42 miles of the course – meaning swift and brutal payback for those who try to bank time.

Stovepipe Wells to Towne Pass (59):  At approximately mile 42, you begin a 17-mile climb from sea level to 4,956 feet at an average uphill grade of 8%.  That means some of it is runnable; some of it is not.  The last five miles top out at a solid 10% grade.

 

Towne Pass to/and Across Panamint Valley (72):  There’s no rest for the weary, as the next 10 miles serve up a bone-crushing descent into Panamint Valley.  Ever run down an 8% grade?  I have, and it hurt me for a week.  And I was only pacing DB through that specific session.  Hence, downhill training on a treadmill.  HARD.

 

Then you get four flat-ish miles across the valley floor, which is likely to be a convection oven of misery.  Based on my current pace predictions, I’ll run through here in the heat of the day, just when the mountains are trapping all 115(ish) degrees of dry heat into a living sauna experience for me.

Panamint Valley Floor to Darwin Turnoff (mile 90):  Surely you’re bored with a relatively flat road by now, so you might as well climb some more.  Eight miles of a hard climb, going from 1,970 feet to 4,000 at Father Crowley’s Point.  I got fooled here before, in spite of my many years of crewing.  The climb continues, though more mildy, for another ten miles, topping out at 5,050 feet.  One is rewarded with some of the most stunning views on the course, but this climb, in the heat of the day, was particularly brutal.

Darwin Turnoff to Lone Pine (mile 118):  The darkness descends here, as one runs 28 miles through a second night – and often a brain fog.  The miles are blessedly flat, but it’s also easy to feel as if you’re on the world’s only outdoor treadmill.  This year, flooding from snow melt has necessitated a detour from the original course, which now includes a 21-minute drive between mile 118.5 (Point A) and mile 118.5 (Point B) for runners and crew alike.  This drive allows the detour while preserving the course distance at 135 miles; as I told Chris Kostman, the esteemed Race Director: “Mother Nature may be in charge, but you are a hell of a negotiator.” 

(Commerical break:  This is also where I'll be listening to my crowd sourced playlist the most!  Learn more about how you can contribute a song HERE.

Lone Pine to Whitney Portal (135):  After getting out of the van, two miles to Lone Pine proper followed by two rousing miles through Lone Pine itself, often all a runner needs to get revived to begin the final climb.  Though brief, the run through Lone Pine, the largest town on the course and the site of race headquarters, is truly special.  Finally, a left hand turn onto Portal Road starts the final ascent, having saved the best for last.  Only a cruel and wickedly beautiful climb remains to the finish, gaining more than 5,000 feet over 13 miles.  30-minute miles are not uncommon once reaching the sharp switchbacks, but if you’re lucky enough to climb the mountain at night it is absolutely magical - looking down at the lights of Lone Pine and Keeler, I’m often reminded of the movie “The Grinch who Stole Christmas.”  It’s so incredibly, indescribably beautiful.  And for a special treat, as you climb closer and closer to the finish line at 8,360 feet, the oxygen is gradually sucked out of the air.  It’s the most amazing and cruel finish line in the world, and it’s worth it.

 So that’s it.  That’s Badwater.  The reason for the hills, the sauna, the days in which I’ve done six 5-mile runs each an hour apart.  To call it a race diminishes it; to call it an experience leaves so much unsaid.  It’s simply Badwater.  And to have a second chance at this once-in-a-lifetime adventure is a gift for which I am profoundly grateful.