Chicago's William Gane is hoping to finish the 135-mile Badwater race in California this week. View Full Caption William Gane

EDITOR'S NOTE: Follow William Gane's 135-mile run here.

CHICAGO — William Gane has one goal for taking on the world's toughest running race, the Badwater 135: "I just want to finish the damn thing."

If he does, the Old Town 40-year-old will become just the third Chicago resident to complete the epic 135-mile trek from Death Valley to Mt. Whitney, California in the event's 39-year history. Chicagoans Adrian Belitu and Nikki Seger both finished twice, with Seger taking more than 54 hours to complete one of her attempts.

The Badwater 135 is considered by many to be the world's most difficult and dangerous ultra-distance run, although no one has ever died competing. Last year, 79 of the 97 runners finished, the fastest in 23 hours, 27 minutes and ten seconds.

Chicago's William Gane is hoping to finish the 135-mile Badwater race in California next week. View Full Caption William Gane

The run starts at 280 feet below sea level and covers three mountain ranges with a total of 14,600 cumulative vertical ascents. The race begins Monday at 9 p.m. for Gane, and by Tuesday afternoon, temperatures likely will be in excess of 115 degrees, and could climb to 120-plus degrees.

"It's one of the most inhospitable and brutal landscapes there is," said Gane, a Northwestern graduate, native of England and vice president for technology firm Bureau van Dijk in the Loop. "It's brutality and beauty. If you don't respect it for a second, you're in a world of trouble."

Gane is one of 97 runners competing, including 46 rookies. He will be joined by a crew of four who will travel with him in a van at all times, providing fluids, food and clothing replacements as needed. Gane will be wearing white shorts, shirts, hats and bandanas — anything to repel as much heat as possible. His hats and bandanas are specifically equipped with pouches that hold ice cubes. Those articles of clothing likely will need to be refilled with ice every few miles, Gane said.

Gane doesn't plan to sleep and has no time goal for finishing.

The Badwater 135 has an ultra-stringent application process, and Gane's background includes a host of worthy accomplishments. When applying to run in January, he included the fact he's finished the Leadville 100 — an exhausting 100-mile race at extreme elevations in the Colorado Rocky Mountains — plus completed 100-mile events in Phoenix and Jacksonville, Florida, on back-to-back weekends, both in under 24 hours. He also has a military background in the UK reserves, and he trained for two years in the desolate Black Mountains of Wales.

Earlier this summer, Gane spent four days in Death Valley, which once registered a world-record 134 degrees, running about half the course. He said his body felt OK afterward.

He spends most of his time training locally on the lakefront, running seven to 10 miles a day during the week and as much as 35 miles daily on the weekends.

Gane is running for two reasons: to inspire others and to promote gender equality. He was raised by a single mother, Margaret, and said that allowed him "witness gender inequality first-hand." Ultra-long-distance races also consistently show that women finish near or sometimes ahead of men, Gane said.

"My philosophy is that anyone can do anything," said Gane, who is running for Chicago's branch of Girls on the Run, which inspires girls to achieve their dreams through healthy activities like running. "I want to promote gender equality and hope it's echoed across business, home and every walk of life."

Badwater race director Chris Kostman described Gane as a "true sportsman."

"More than just a fierce competitor, he's a true sportsman and is dedicating his athletic pursuits to greater causes," Kostman said. "We are excited to see him race from Death Valley to Mt. Whitney next week."

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