Racers finish the Badwater Ultramarathon

Jorge Pacheco of Los Angeles wins the Badwater Ultramarathon, the 135-mile race from Death Valley to the Whitney Portal above Lone Pine, Calif., with a time of 23:20:16, according to the race’s website. Akos Konya of Oceanside, Calif., came in 29 minutes later to the finish line. The women winners hadn’t yet been announced.

It was a rough night for runners. Just as folks passed Stovepipe Wells around 5 p.m. Monday, organizers announced a rerouting of the race because Highways 130 and 190 were closed due to mudslides caused by heavy rains in the area, according to the race website. This meant event director Chris Kostman had to come up with a replacement course — and fast.

” ‘All racers will run to the standard 102.9 mile location … and then TURN AROUND there. Racers will then run BACK to Panamint Springs Resort,’ which was designated as the finish,” is what was reported to runners.

But somehow Caltrans crews worked their hardest to clear the course and two hours later, racers were told that they would be able to proceed to the Whitney Portal at 8,371 feet in elevation. Whew!

There are so many great runners in the race this year including Badwater legend Pam Reed of Tucson, Arizona, and “ultramarathon man” Dean Karnazes of San Francisco.

– Mary Forgione, Los Angeles Times staff writer

[Photo: A lone runner in the Badwater Ultramarathon race on Monday by Richard Hartog / Los Angeles Times]

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 11:18 am by Mary Forgione and is filed under California, National Parks, News, Tips & Advice, Outdoors & Adventure, Palm Springs, Summer. 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.