The Badwater Ultramarathon, for those of you who don’t know, is one of the world’s toughest races. It starts at Furnace Creek (elevation -280 feet) in Death Valley and finishes 135 miles away at the Mt. Whitney Portal at an elevation of 8,300 feet.
Temperatures at the start of the race often exceed 120 degrees. It crosses three mountain ranges for a total ascent of 13,000 feet and a total decent of 4,700 feet. Needless to say this is not a race for the faint of heart.
This year South Valley Running Club will be sending four members to crew for Pam Reed. Pam won the race outright in 2002, and has a good chance to win the women’s division this year.
Pam is one of those amazing elite runners who can knock off a marathon before lunch any day of the week. She spoke at an SVRC club meeting a couple of years ago and one of the nicest people you could ever meet.
Good luck to Pam and the SVRC crew, Kim Moyano, Julianne Whitelaw, Lynn Astalos, and Dr. Kevin Stuart.
The race starts on Monday July 16 and you can learn more at the Badwater web site: www.badwater.com
