I started the Badwater 135 this year with the personal goals of a.) finishing the race, b.) beating my time from 2011, and c.) summiting Mt. Whitney. I was successful in only the first, but the tale in which it was accomplished goes without merit as the most difficult ultramarathon I have ever completed.

This year’s Badwater Ultramarathon was held July 15th-17th, following the race’s operating procedures of beginning on a Monday. The members of my crew were Jon Kinzer (crew chief and crew member from 2011), Josh Unger (my cousin’s husband), and Jacob Cabanero (UNLV student, and great trombonist!). Josh, Jon and I drove out early Saturday morning before the race to Las Vegas where the Cabanero family graciously put us up before our stay in Death Valley.

Sunday morning we loaded up the van and drove to the park, approximately a two-and-a-half hour drive. We checked in to the race, visited with old friends, and got our rooms at The Oasis (insert link). I was wrapping up my Master’s Degree from the American Band College, so I took great care to devote as much time as I could to finish up my last big project (due two weeks after the race)

Monday was a very lazy day. I ate what seemed to be an extraordinary amount of food and slept as much as possible. The nighttime start would present some interesting challenges not faced with the 2011 edition of the race. The ability to go two nights without sleep would prove to be extremely difficult, and facing the intense heat the region is famous for would not present itself until approximately mile 70.

Myself and Jacob presented the anthem as a trombone duet before the race began. I was stacked in the latest wave, which started at 11 PM. RD Chris Kostman counted us off and the race was soon underway. It was a beautiful night out with a full moon and I found I didn’t even need a headlamp to see where I was going. I was still careful of my pace though, as it was a blistering 100 degrees farenheit outside. I wore an ice bandanna around my neck for the majority of the race, reminding me of my mantra: “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” I believe that is what helped me be successful on this race.

I rolled through Furnace Creek a little after 2 AM Tuesday without much hassle. From here, the topography ebbs and tides a bit more on the way to Stovepipe Wells. I was careful of my effort level, as the race has a new, difficult cutoff at mile 50 starting at 10 AM mandated by the Park Service. While I felt confident I would make this cutoff, 26 people had missed it the previous year,which was cause for alarm. Before long, the moon was setting, and the sky was starting to light up with the dawn of a new day. By the time 6 AM had arrived, I was 35 miles into the race and could see the 2nd checkpoint, Stovepipe Wells in the distance. By now, evidence of heat sickness was starting to appear in the road, leaving me satisfied that I was still running and eating well.

I reached Stovepipe Wells in about 8 hours and twenty minutes, a good bit off 2011 pace, but not enough that I was worried about my goals for the event. I enjoyed the use of a real restroom and began the climb to Towne’s Pass. This climb, while completely runnable by anyone with a halfway decent fitness level, goes from sea level to just about 5,000 ft. As I began the long climb up this pass, I realized that I would be much closer to the critical 10 AM cutoff at mile 50 than I wanted. I carefully pushed my effort level higher and reassured myself I would make it in time. At 9:49 AM, a mere 11 minutes before the cutoff, I passed through and continued on with my race. My crew met me not long after and cooked up some delicious hamburgers.

I was doing well at this point, which helped set me up for success as we descended into the Panamint Valley. From my analysis, this would be the most challenging portion of the course. While I had been exposed to hot weather constantly during the earlier miles of the race, this portion would be done during the hottest part of the day. The temperatures rose as we dropped in elevation and the wind picked up. I took an extra precautionary measure of placing another ice bandanna inside my hat, cooling me off even more. Nuritionwise, I was mainly eating watermelon, bananas, and delicious coconut water, as these were tried and true methods that I could stomach well during these longer runs.

By the time I was in the Panamint Valley, the wind was blowing constantly and gusts reached 30 MPH. It was blazing hot and 115 degrees farenheit outside. I remember at one point, looking down and seeing my legs getting torched from ice water draining the sunscreen off my legs. I spent much of the remainder of the race using aloe vera and far more sunscreen than any person should to help mitigate the damage. I felt great, otherwise, and slowly made my way towards the third checkpoint at mile 72.

I reached Panamint Springs a little over 16 hours(review), a good bit of time slower than before. I began to worry that my ability to beat my previous time of 32:46 would not be possible and I would have to abandon my attempt to summit Mt. Whitney after the finish. I did my part to not let it get me down, and took an extended rest stop in Panamint. The medical personnel were gracious enough to let me sleep on one of the beds in the cottage, a small two-room motel at Panamint. After an hour down, a delicious cheeseburger and more calories, I got back on the road.

Departing an aid station of any sort can be a bit of a drag when you’re tired and don’t want to keep moving. However, I felt great leaving Panamint Springs and worked with passion going up the climb towards Father Crowley. I remember getting bad blisters on this stretch of the course from 2011 due to the angle of the road, and did my best to stay on the dirt shoulder to mitigate any foot problems. It was interesting doing this portion in daylight as I could see a couple miles ahead easily. I was dismayed at how close the higher portions of the course were, thanks to the switchbacks. I worked away at the mileage, watching the shadows slowly overcome the road as night approached. I shared conversations with Catra Corbett, Candace Burt, and Chris Moon. All are incredible runners I hold in high regard.

I blew through Father Crowley before nightfall and made it a goal to reach Darwin, mile 90, by midnight. We were successful in this goal, although I wished I was at mile 100 by that point (in the 2011 edition, I was at mile 102 by 25 hours). I was not feeling very good at this point, as the second night of running proved to be extremely exhausting. I took 30 minutes down, using nothing but a camping sleeping pad and my pillow. I remember tapping on the glass of our crew vehicle to wake my crew up, but apparently it was not enough. I started running down the road, but realized after 3 or 4 miles that my crew must not have woken up. I flagged another gracious crew vehicle to go get them. At about 1:30 AM, I had my crew back with me. I was having a really hard time staying awake at this point. I took another 15 minute nap at mile 95. I was so tired, I wanted to quit. No quitting though. To quit in the ultra is like quitting in life. You just can’t do it. I reached the 100 mile mark at 2 AM, 27 hours into the race. I took one more nap, and set a goal to stay awake the rest of the night.

Frappuchinos for caffeine proved to be extremely useful. I was using a small spray bottle to spray my face and keep alert. Members of my crew took turns pacing me to keep the mood pleasant. The full moon was out again, illuminating the countryside and giving us an impressive view of the Sierras, home to Mount Whitney, the eventual finish line. I knew it was far. I tried not to let it get to me. I found myself racing the heat again, as the second daytime portion would definitely be difficult with 100+ miles on the body. I worked hard to make good ground before the sun rose. As the early light of daylight started to illuminate the ground, I took joy in the fact that I would finish my second Badwater this day.

The road to Lone Pine is boring and miserable. The road sometime stretches on and on, and you will watch your crew vehicle disappear into the mirage of distant water. As an added bonus, there were the flies, who wouldn’t leave me alone. I’m sure I stank to high heavens. My saving grace was the constant swapping out of freshly soaked t-shirts from the cooler. My foot was starting to hurt pretty bad on the bottom. I wasn’t feeling the best, but I continued to run. Thoughts of my fundraiser and the countless number of people I imagined were following my race online gave me drive, and so much of it. I continued the pattern done 100 times over: run, eat, walk, drink. I can’t give enough credit to my crew. Jon, Josh, and Jacob busting their rears to give me a simple task: one long run. So many hamburgers on that tiny propane stove, grilling with cars flying by at 60 MPH.

The morning came and I soon found myself getting closer to the town of Lone Pine. It was surreal being back in civilization after so much time spent in the desert. The Sierras towered above us as we made the right turn onto the Lone Pine main road. I arrived at the time station around 10:15 AM. I stopped for a respite knowing the formidable task ahead of me: 13 miles with 5,000 feet of climb to the finish. I had hoped to complete a summit of Mt. Whitney this day, but my slower pace and looming Master’s Degree deadline proved too much for this.

Upon leaving Lone Pine for the finish, I strategized on two more breaks: one at 5,000 ft above sea level, and another at 7,000. At this point, my foot was hurting very badly. I succumbed to the temptation of a single pill of ibuprofen. That did the trick. I had several frappucinos, knowing that the chance of a GI imbalance at this point of the race wouldn’t be likely. It was great going through the amazing scenery of the Alabama hills, hearing the thunderous roar of lone pine creek. I worked hard, and tried to make sure I was running every time a car passed me. I was in full-on competition mode at this point, I just wanted to pass as many runners as I could. I took a brief respite at the 5,000 foot mark, but pushed on ahead. It was over 90 degrees Fahrenheit outside at this point, and it would only cool down if I ascended in altitude. When we reached the 7,000 foot mark, I decided to skip the planned break, opting instead to finish that much earlier. We ascended the large switchbacks observable from mile 95…so close. I enjoyed the incredible scenery and enjoyed the incredible journey I had the immense privilege of doing again. Before long, the finish line was in sight. I ran across the finish with my crew, elated to have succeeded at this difficult race once again. My official time was 39:12:21, 48th overall. I raised over $5,000 for new band instruments for underprivileged youth at my school, which is a great feeling. We are only granted one lifetime, and I’m happy to try and make a difference with my abilities while I am able.

Before/After Feet

Equipment

Strava: phone application. Strava Stats! Portable USB battery Garmin 310XT + HR monitor Brooks Cascadias running shoes Superfeet insoles Stay-Cool Bandanna Moeben arm and calf sleeves Asics running shorts

Nutrition

Coconut Water Gatorade (powder mix) Ice More ice Even more ice Watermelon Banana and Nutella sandwiches Hamburgers Watermelon Grapes French Fries One ibuprofen Starbucks Caramel Frappucinos

Stats

134.5 miles

240,000 steps

16,200 calories

17:26/mile average