Badwater Ultramarathon

The Badwater Ultramarathon describes itself as "the world's toughest foot race". It is a 135-mile (217 km) course starting at 279 feet (85 m) below sea level in the Badwater Basin, in California's Death Valley, and ending at an elevation of 8360 feet (2548 m) at Whitney Portal, the trailhead to Mount Whitney. It takes place annually in mid-July, when the weather conditions are most extreme and temperatures can reach 130 °F (54 °C). Consequently, very few people—even among ultramarathoners—are capable of finishing this grueling race.

Originally, the run was conceived as being between the lowest and the highest points in the contiguous United States: Badwater, Death Valley [−279 feet (−85 m)] and Mt. Whitney's summit [14,505 feet (4,421 m)]. The two are only eighty miles apart on the map, but the land route between the two points is substantially longer, 146 miles (235 km), because of detours around lakebeds and over mountain ranges. Additionally, since the finish-line is 11 miles (18 km) from the nearest trailhead, anyone who competes over the 146-mile (235 km) race-distance must be capable of a total physical effort of 157 miles (253 km). Due to the two mountain ranges that must be crossed between Badwater and Whitney, the course's cumulative elevation gain exceeds 19,000 feet (5,800 m).

In later years, as the United States Forest Service required summit permits to climb Mt. Whitney, the official course was shortened to end at Whitney Portal. The Badwater-to-Portal course is 135 miles (217 km) long, with 13,000 feet (4,000 m) of cumulative elevation gain. Forest Service regulations do not allow competitive events in the John Muir Wilderness.

The hike between Badwater and Mount Whitney (via the treacherous salt flats in Death Valley) was first made in 1969 by Stan Rodefer and Jim Burnworth of San Diego.

Al Arnold first attempted running the route in 1974 but was pulled off the course after eighteen miles (29 km) with severe dehydration. After vigorous sauna-training and desert-acclimatization, he attempted the run again in 1975. This time, a knee injury aborted the run at fifty miles. In 1976, training injuries kept him from even beginning his annual attempt on the course.

...
Wikipedia