Badwater Begins!
Today marks the official start of the 2007 Kiehls Badwater ultramarathon. 90 athletes -runners, triathletes, adventure racers and mountaineers from around the globe began launching into the 135 mile race from Death Valley (280′ below sea level) to Mt. Whitney Portal (8360′).
Many of these competitors are racing for a greater cause - charities such as Religious Teachers Filippini, MPD foundation and dozens of others. Of particular interest is Lisa Smith-Batchen who will be running a total of 300 miles for the MPD foundation. Lisa has been blessed with the gift of running and will make her second consecutive ‘Badwater Double’ attempt.
This should be a very exciting race, as three of the top Badwater finishers in previous years will be participating: Marshall Ulrich (4x winner), Dean Karnazes (2004) and David Jones (1997). The rest of the roster is equally impressive, consisting of many repeat Badwater finishers, training coaches, motivational speakers and authors. The level of athleticism, experience and total body knowledge at Badwater is second to none!
Don and Gillian of ZombieRunner will be patching feet and keeping competitors in top shape this year, along with John Vonhof and others. Most competitors are aided by their crew, who will keep them hydrated, in good shape and pushing on.
Check out the live webcast produced by the folks at AdventureCORPS.
