Badwater Ultramarathon: 135-mile race starts in cooler-than-usual temps

It appears to have been a cooler than usual start to the 2008 Badwater Ultramarathon, the grueling 135-mile route from Badwater in Death Valley National Park–the lowest point in the Lower 48–to the Whitney Portal, about 8,371 feet in elevation above the town of Lone Pine, Calif., according to the race’s website.

The staggered start of the race began at 6 a.m this morning. The Weather Channel recorded a brisk 94 degrees Monday morning, according to the race’s website.

[Click the photo above to see a gallery from the 2008 Badwater Ultramarathon.]

Steve Matsuda reports on the race’s website:

“The early morning drive to Badwater is foreboding, ominous. The sky is obscured by an eerie blanket of darkness as a glimpse of light begins to emerge slowly over the Funeral Mountains to the west. But the best thing about the drive is that the road is open. Threats of thundershowers that could have closed sections of the course, including Badwater Road, have failed to materialize thus far, and the 2008 Badwater Ultramarathon is about to begin.”

Runners hit Furnace Creek Ranch at mile 17.4, Stove Pipe Wells at 41.9, Father Crowley’s Turnout at 80.2 and Keller (a small mining town) at 107.8. And consider this: While you are cozily sleeping in bed, they’ll still be running through the night.

Last year’s winner, Valmir Nunes, finished in a record 22:51:29 with Akos Konya close behind at 23:47:47. Pam Reed holds the women’s record at 27:56:47. The final finisher last year logged 56:31:35. This year there are 82 contestants, so stay tuned….

–Mary Forgione, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

[Photo: A runner between Badwater and Furnace Creek on Monday. By Richart Hartog / Los Angeles Times]

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This entry was posted on Monday, July 14, 2008 at 9:17 pm by Mary Forgione and is filed under California, National Parks, Outdoors & Adventure, Palm Springs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.