Sometime in July, racers travel to Death Valley National Park in California to run one of the hardest ultras in the world: Badwater 135. They line up at the Badwater Basin in Death Valley (otherwise known as mile zero) which is adjacent to the lowest pool of saltwater in North America.
After the starting gun goes off, the racers are on their own for the next 135 miles. There are no aid stations anywhere on the course so runners must put together a crew to meet at various locations for supplies. There are however, multiple towns that crews and runners can stop in.
The racers run through the National Park and into the Inyo National Forest before crossing the finish line at the portal of Mount Whitney, the highest point in North America.
History of the race
The race was created in 1988 and was originally called Badwater 146 but was changed a year later to 135 because people needed a permit to climb Mount Whitney.
Before the race was even made, people had hiked over half of the course, with the first person being Jean Pierre Marquant of France in 1966. Three years later, trials between Badwater and Whitney were made by Stan Rodefer and Jim Burnworth in 1969.
In 1974, the first person to try and run the course was Al Arnold, however, he only made it 18 miles before he was pulled off due to dehydration. He tried the course yearly and finally completed it in 1977 after 84 hours. Arnold has never been back to complete the course since then.
In 1987, Badwater 146 was officially considered a race and had multiple people break Arnold’s record after the course became public. There was no set trail for the course in the early days, which made many runners try and find shortcuts through the desert.
Since the change of the course in 1989 , there has been an official trail that runners should follow.
The trial and checkpoints
Badwater is a stright-forward trail with the hardest parts being the heat, which can reach temperatures of 100 plus, and the elevation change.
Runners start at mile zero and don’t reach the first-time checkpoint (Furnace Creek Ranch) until they are 17 miles in. Here, crew members can stop to fill up for gas and other supplies that the runners will need.
The second checkpoint (Stovepipe Wells) is when runners get to sea level 42 miles into the race. This stop has all the same stuff as the last checkpoint.
The third checkpoint (Towne Pass) is one of the hardest checkpoints because runners gain 5000 feet of elevation and have to pass the 50-mile mark by the first morning of the race.
The fourth checkpoint (Panamint Springs Resort) is 72 miles into the race and provides runners and crew the first chance to stop and eat a real meal. People can also use the showers if they bring their own bathroom supplies.
The fifth checkpoint (Farther Crowley’s Turnout) is 80 miles in and there is another 5000 ft rise in elevation that runners go through.
The sixth checkpoint (Darwin Turn off) is 90 miles in, and at this point, each checkpoint is 10 or so miles out from each other. This stop doesn’t have anything that can be beneficial but runners can see the finish from here.
The seventh checkpoint (Keeler) is mile 108 and this stop also doesn’t have much in it that benefits runners or crew.
The eighth checkpoint ( Lone Pine) is at mile 122 and is the last stop that has stores where the crew can restock their supplies or runners can use an actual bathroom.
The last checkpoint (Portal Road) is at mile 131 and runners must start putting on extra layers before they go up the switchback trail because temperatures can get to 30 degrees or below.
The finish is the MT. Whitney trailhead where a small burger shack is waiting for runners.
How to qualify
To get into Badwater 135 applicants have to jump through some hoops. First, this is an invitation-only race that has a strict application process.
Only 100 people will get accepted into the race and running resumes must be top-notch. The resumes must show that runners have participated in at least three races that are 100 miles or more, and one of them must be within the last 18 months of the race
Race officials don’t only look for good runners, but also good people who have volunteered at different racing events.
The last part that runners need to do to be considered for the race is to answer five job-like interview questions. Some may require an essay format while some may only require a few sentences.
Records and finishers
Since 1987 Badwater 135 has seen 2,107 finishers with the most being in 2018 with 99 finishers. Badwater categorizes their finishers into age groups starting at 10 and going up by 10 until 80.
The youngest finisher for men was U.S. citizen Nickademus Hollen who completed the race at 19. He finished in 2009 with a time of 33 hours 21 minutes and 29 seconds.
For the women,the youngest finisher was Kylee Fredrick who was also 19 and from the USA. She finished in 2024 with a time of 36 hours 13 minutes and 31 seconds.
For the oldest finishers of the race, there are two extra categories. One is from 1987-2010 in the 60-hour finishing time frame, and the other from 2011-present in the 48-hour finishing time frame.
The oldest finisher in the original finish time frame for men was Jack Denness who was 75 and from the UK. He finished in 2010 with a time of 59 hours 13 minutes and two seconds.
David Jones is the oldest finisher for men in the new finishing time frame. Jones was 71 and from the USA, he finished in 2023 with a time of 42 hours 15 minutes and 54 seconds.
For the women, the oldest finisher in the original finish time frame was Sigrid Eichner who was 64 and from Germany. She finished in 2005 with a time of 52 hours 45 minutes and 46 seconds.
Linda Quirk is the oldest finisher for the women in the new finishing time frame. Quirk was 70 and from the USA, she finished in 2023 with a time of 45 hours four minutes 42 seconds.
Badwater 135 may seem like a dangerous and stupid race to the average , but to an ultra runner, it would be a dream to be chosen to race it.
The runners who get invited to go and run Badwater 135 not only have to come up with an intense workout routine, but also have to acclimate their body to the heat and elevation differences through specific training.
Not only are runners training their bodies for this race, but they also have to train their minds to get past any doubts or roadblocks they are faced with to complete the race.
With every Badwater 135 finisher, it proves that something that sounds almost impossible is very possible.
