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Every July, a congregation of the world’s fittest marathoners and ultramarathoners, and arguably the craziest, gather themselves and their wits in a somewhat nondescript part of the Californian desert very aptly known as Death Valley. They meet to run a race.
No problem, right? That’s what these people are supposed to do.
The temperature at the start of the race is somewhere in the region of 130 degrees Fahrenheit or 54 degrees Celsius. Add to that the fact that the race lasts 217 kilometers. Add to that the fact that the race starts at 282 feet below sea level and ends at 8300 feet above sea level going through the kind of elevation changes frequently seen in the backgrounds of primary children’s landscape drawings. Men and women run this race and they live to tell their tales. Why do they do it? They do it for pride and to test themselves, but mostly they do it for a buckle; a belt buckle.
I’m sure most of us have formed opinions on the typical marathon runner being a strong, lean athlete from an impoverished African country. But in the 2013 ‘Badwater 135’, (217 km = 135 miles) as it is commonly known, the 96 participants hailed from the following continents:
65 North Americans
16 Europeans
9 Asians
3 Australians
3 South Americans
Not one participant from that Woodstock of endurance running; Africa. Nothing about this race conforms to logic, especially the fact that 81 of them finished.
Hopeful participants must submit their resumes, in the hope that the race organizers approve their credentials and invite them to run. “Candidates with a lot of previous marathon and ultramarathon experience are looked upon favorably.” Just like your regular audition. That is why this big daddy of extreme races has a near zero mortality rate. Once approved, the participants must bring their crew and equipment to the desert on their own dime. The race is not backed by any major sponsor and is the least bit commercialized. That’s probably why we know about the Asian X Games and the Winter Olympics but not the Badwater 135.
The oldest runner at the 2013 ‘Badwater 135’ was 76 year old Karsten Solheim. The fastest male runner was Carlos Alberto Gomes de Sa clocking 24:38:16. The fastest female runner was Catherine Todd clocking 29:55:29. But they weren’t the only winners.
Some of the problems runners face in these extreme conditions are urinary and bladder problems, nausea and vomiting, sheer exhaustion, dehydration and the inability to keep fluids down. However, the most common cause of retiring from the race is severe blistering on the feet. Marshall Ulrich, a wholesale meat distributor and participant at the 1999 ‘Badwater 135’ suffered from ‘Black Toe’ which is basically blistering under the toenails which is so severe that the toenails pop out. In what can only be described as a moment with an equal mix of insanity and inspiration, he decided that he would remove all his toenails surgically before the race. He did it, and he finished sixth overall that year clocking 35:52:00.
Every time runners undo their shoelaces and change their socks, they must evaluate their blisters and must burst them simply to be able to fit into their shoes once more. Normally a crew member does the honours, but one dear lady named Maria de Jesus, proficiently, judiciously and a tad recklessly decided to burst her own blisters. Not one for the make-up artists, that’s for sure. She dressed them, powdered them, got back up and continued running. She finished the 1999 ‘Badwater 135’ in 20th position clocking 43:10:00.
Chris Moon has one prosthetic arm and one prosthetic leg. He describes himself as a charity fund raiser who runs around the world raising money for children with disabled body parts. He was asked how it feels to run in the desert, to which he quipped, “It’s like getting a hair dryer, setting it on high and putting it in front of your face.” He finished the 1999 ‘Badwater 135’ in 30th position overall clocking 53:48:00. “God made the desert so that man may find his soul,” he says. I cannot emphasize enough that he ran with one prosthetic arm and one prosthetic leg.
The participants run pretty much non-stop except for bathroom breaks and to rest for maybe an hour when they reach a lodge along the course. The rest of the time, they make do with sleeping by the side of the road for a few minutes. Mind you, unlike the marathons in cities, these desert roads are not shut to public traffic while these people run. They have to run by the side of the road and avoid speeding trucks.
Runners have very able crew members and their importance can never be understated. They provide them with constant encouragement and fluids. They cook for them in the desert when they need food. They probably keep the belt buckle for a few weeks in turn. They deserve to anyway.
Death Valley promises everything a nightmare should, and people go back there year after year. They are not masochists; they are just in search of something far beyond our powers of comprehension. We can laud and we can praise, and our jaws will indeed be left dropped; but we will never truly understand what they are after.
As one participant summarized, “there are times when you quite happily lie down at the side of the road and go to sleep; but the thing is you can always go one step beyond your limits and that’s what’s so fascinating about doing something like this. You don’t think you can go another footstep but somehow if you’ve got a good enough reason, you’ll keep on keeping on.”
