Badwater 135 ultramarathon returns to Death Valley
The Mount to Coast BADWATER 135 Ultramarathon (Badwater 135) is returning for its 39th year and will once again begin in Death Valley National Park.
Set for July 27 through July 29, the non-stop running race will start at North America’s lowest point at Badwater Basin, 282 feet below sea level. Badwater 135 will conclude at Whitney Portal, 8,360 feet, the trailhead to Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States.
The course includes three mountain ranges for a cumulative vertical ascent of 14,600 feet and cumulative descent of 6,100 feet. Badwater 135’s race time limit is new for this year, being lowered from 48 hours to 45 hours.
Ninety-eight athletes, consisting of 28 women and 70 men, will be participating in this year’s race. Twenty-four American states are represented at this year’s race including Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington and West Virginia.
In addition to America, 20 countries will also be represented at this year’s Badwater 135, including Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Ecuador, France, Hungary, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Philippines, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
This year’s Badwater 135 is set to feature 33 previous race finishers and 65 ‘rookies’ which a press release describes as, “world-class ultra-runners who have the necessary running credentials to not only apply for, but be selected, to compete in the race.”
The 135-mile ultramarathon is the final event of the Badwater Ultra Cup, a three-part series that began with March’s Badwater Cape Fear, a 51-mile race in North Carolina, followed by April’s Badwater Salton Sea, an 81-mile race in California.
AdventureCORPS, producer of more than 175 endurance sports events, hosts Badwater 135. The event is held under permits from Death Valley National Park, California Department of Transportation, United States Forest Service and Inyo County while collaborating closely with each entity.
Running fans can follow the race through a webcast during its duration at tinyurl.com/3mr9ffsm. Time splits and results can be viewed at tinyurl.com/yt5n6vb7.
For more information about this year’s Badwater 135, visit badwater.com.
To learn more about AdventureCORPS and its other events, visit adventurecorps.com.
Contact reporter Elijah Dulay at edulay@pvtimes.com
