The
first official Badwater Ultramarathon sister race and Badwater Ultramarathon
Qualifier, "BADWATER: Salton Sea," was held on Monday and Tuesday,
May 6 and 7, 2013. For this inaugural race, Badwater Ultramarathon veterans, as
well as the 2013 Badwater Ultramarathon race field, to enter and lead teams to
compete in the event. I was asked
by a Badwater veteran, Chris, to be on his team with another Badwater veteran,
Danny. I was very nervous to
commit to it because I had not been training to compete in an 81-mile race, and
because when I heard Badwater veterans would be a part of it, it made me
timid. In order to be in this race
you had to have one Badwater veteran on the team. The man who puts on Badwater put on this race. For those who do not know, Badwater is
a 135-mile ultra marathon in Death Valley during the month of July. You have 48 hours to complete it. Badwater is often touted as the most
difficult ultra marathon race in the United States for its Eastern Sierras high
elevation climbs, and crazy hot Death Valley temperatures. So, when I was asked to be a part of
this race, I am sure you could see why I was nervous to commit. I would only
have a month to train for it. We
assumed that the people who were involved in this race would be a level above
me because they have competed in Badwater. My boyfriend Ryan, did not want to me compete in it because
even though I won my first ultra marathon, he felt it was too short notice
because he knew I had not been training for it. After a lot of back and forth debates with myself, I decided
to sign up. I told myself I will
try my best and take this race on as a challenge.
The
BADWATER: Salton Sea route was approximately 81 miles from Salton City
(elevation 125 feet below sea level) to Palomar Mountain, the tallest mountain
in San Diego County (finish line elevation: 5500 feet above sea level.) There
was a total elevation gain of 9000 feet.
Eight
of the 81 race miles passed through Anza-Borrego State Park on the California
Riding and Hiking Trail from near Borrego Springs to near Ranchita.
Team Format
All
race entrants must enter and race as teams of three runners (all male, all
female, or co-ed divisions), remaining together for the duration, sharing one
support vehicle with at least two crew members. For 2013, a maximum of just 20
teams were accepted and every team must include a Badwater Ultra marathon
veteran specifically invited by AdventureCORPS to captain a team.
All
members of each team must remain together while running (within 10 meters) at
all times. Teams must make their presence known at all Time Stations located
along the route and may only depart each Time Station together. Team arrival
times at Time Stations will be recorded and made public. All members of each
team must run the entire distance and cross the finish line together to be
considered Official Finishers.
The crew
My crew consisted of Ryan, my boyfriend who crewed me in my
first ultra, Javelina Jundred, and Ken, a friend of mine. My dad tagged along for the first 53
miles. There were specific rules
stating they did not want to have any spectators during the race.
BADWATER: Salton Sea would technically be my second ultra
marathon. I want to run Badwater
in 2014, which means I need three 100 ultra marathons under my belt in order to
qualify. Knowing this would be a
qualifier I took this race as a challenge. Not only to finish it, but to learn more about ultra running
from other runners and about myself.
The race started at 7 am.
The next 41 hours will be the longest time I have been awake/ on my
feet. Even though it was only 81
miles, and my first ultra was 101.4 miles, it took a longer amount of time to
complete it. All the stopping, and
walking my teammate Chris needed caused us to be a little over 26 hours to
complete this race.
We were going strong in the beginning, jogging, but
steadily. In the beginning of
ultras you need to prepare yourself for the many miles you have in front of
you. As a runner, you cannot go
out fast, or else you will not have the energy for a strong finish. The first 35 miles were windy. I knew I could pull our team by having
them follow behind me, allowing them to draft off me as I block the wind for them. We did this for about the first 35
miles. At about mile 30, my
teammate Chris was starting to have issues. I still cannot grasp what was wrong with him, but the next
51 miles took forever. From the
start of the race to about mile 30, the temperature was around 89 with a head
wind. At this point, Ryan and I
made the decision to change the way I was eating. We realized that this wasn’t going to be the race we had
prepared ourselves for, which meant to decrease my salt intake, and stick to
more base foods. “Salt” is a term
we use for electrolytes supplements.
In these pills there are different types of sodium that help the body
retain water, and replace electrolytes the body uses through extended periods
of exercise. But when you are
going at the pace we were going its better to save your kidneys. Once we got to mile 35 we had to make a
stop for Chris at the hotel where the time check in station was. We had to wait for 30 minutes because
Chris needed to be checked out by medical. This is where my crew changed my clothes getting ready for
the weather to change. I actually
sat down in a chair. This normally
would never happen, but I thought what the heck, we will probably be waiting a
while. At this point we were in
Borrego Springs in town. 5 miles
ahead would be the beginning of a climb that would bring us up to the S22 peak
where the weather would be around 40-degrees. Once Chris was ready to go, we headed out again. At mile 41 we headed up an 8-mile trail
up to S22 peak. This is where we
would not see our crew for a couple more hours. Ryan prepped me for the climb by putting a hydration pack
with 70 ounces of water on me with food, flash lights, space blanket, matches,
and first aid kit. We climbed
several thousand feet in 40-degree temps and rain. The higher we got the colder it was. As it got colder, the more I was
itching to run. I kept praying my
teammate would feel better so we could get this over with and finish
already. We could see teams off in
the distance now because by this time it was dark out and we could see their
lights. At about mile 47 we were
coming up the climb, and I could see someone coming towards us with a light
reflecting vest. That was when I
heard someone say “Kate”.
That was when my heart filled with excitement. It was Ryan. He
ran out on the trail from the top to come find us and make sure we knew our
way. There was heavy cloud cover,
so the moon or stars could not provide light for us. That was probably the most excited I got the whole race. It was a long climb at a slow
pace. I felt alone through it
because I was realizing my teammate was not going to get better, and may even
drop out. Seeing Ryan made me not
feel so alone anymore, because I knew that he understood what I was going
through. He knew I wanted to
finish and I wanted to finish by pushing my body beyond its limits. For me that is the joy of ultra
running. Pushing your body and
mind to its fullest potential and challenging yourself. Ryan was able to motivate Chris at this
point telling him we were almost done with the climb. Thankfully Ryan was wearing extra clothes. He gave me his jacket and gloves.
They were a lifesaver the rest of the race, without it I probably would of
froze. Once we got to the top we
saw our crew car.
Again we sat in the crew car and waited for Chris to rest and be checked
by the medic. Our poor crew had to
wait outside in the rain and wind while we sat in the car and ate soup. Our crew loved us too much. This was where everyone changed into
warmer clothing; me adding another jacket under the one Ryan gave me, and Chris
and Danny putting on pants. We
took off again. At this point I
wanted to run as fast as I could to keep warm. The sad thing was I couldn’t run too far ahead because that
would break the distance rule from my team. Danny allowed me to run ahead and come back to them so I could
keep warm. I kept up with this
process for a good portion of the remainder of the race. The best way to describe this situation
was I was like the rabbit trying to get my teammate to want to catch up to me,
while Danny, my other teammate was the motivator, trying to make sure no one
quit.
Ultra running does not only show how physically fit an
athlete is, but how mentally strong they are. It tests every part of you.
Chris kept getting into the car, not realizing every time he
did so he was cooling his body off, making is harder for Danny and I to stay
warm.
Chris walked while I ran a half-mile up, and would run back
to them. I needed to stay warm,
running was the only way I could do so.
Technically yes that was against the rule, but by this point I was
thinking of it as my own survival and I was trying to keep the distance as
tight as possible. With all the
running I did back and forth, that would cause me to sweat. Then when Chris would stop I would get
COLD because I was all wet from rain and sweat. At one point after Chris stopped at the car for about 15
minutes for another nap… I stood there freezing… Ryan told me to run ahead a
bit to warm myself up. As I was
running off, my teeth literally would not stop chattering. That was when I knew from now on I
needed to look out for myself.
At mile 52, 12:10 am in the morning, Chris decided he needed
to stop on the side of the road to take a 20-minute nap. It was about 40 degrees, windy, and
raining. Our crew was only a mile
and a half up, but he wanted to sleep on the side of the road. While he did so, Danny and I ran up and
back around him to try to keep warm.
At mile 56 at about 1:10 am Chris decided to run again after
another 15-minute nap. This was
the first time we were all running again since mile 35. At mile 60, at about 2:26 am teammate
needed to walk again. This was
when I continued to run back and forth to keep warm. By this time my crew became very impatient. They were so tired from being up all
day, and were starting to realize they had a long night ahead of them as
well.
We got to mile 70 at about 6:09 am. We were about 11 miles from the top of
Palomar Mountain, where the finish line would be. Our crew kept going, because they didn’t want to stop and
make more delays.
At race mile 79, with 2 miles to go, 9:10 am and 39 degrees
out and rainy, a race broke out between us and another team. We finally caught up to someone. Our team was motivated to pass them
when the van of first place finishers came by us. They were able to cheer Chris on to keep moving forward.
The race was finally over. It took us 26:35:00 to complete it.
I have never wanted to run so bad in my life. I felt like I was like a caged horse
ready for someone to give me the okay to run to the finish line. I have the mentality, the faster you
run, the sooner the race is over.
I would much rather push it hard for 16 hours and kill myself than be on
my feet and awake for 28 hours. We
had 28 hours to complete the course.
Now you have to remember, not only are we awake and moving,
our crew is as well. They have to
be awake this whole time, caring for us, watching over us, making sure we have
enough food, water, electrolytes in us, keeping us cool and warm. As a crew, races like this are just as
taxing on them as it is for the runner.
Some word of advice to other ultra runners out there, your crew is your
heart and soul. Always remember
when you are having a tough race; your crew is as well.
What I learned
I was very fortunate to run this race, because I learned a
ton about myself, my crew, and ultra running in general. Danny was able to give me a ton of
incite on what ultra running is all about. To me, Danny is a legend in the sport. He is known for always finishing the
course, and right after he will go and run the course backwards.
Through this race, Ryan and I were able to test different foods
and ideas for hydration. I was
able to learn better ways to fuel myself during the race, as well as what a
runner should and should not do when in pain. I look forward to my next challenge, wanting to continue
with 100-mile races. I am so
fortunate that I finally found what I am passionate about.
After this race I realized I can do Badwater, and I am
excited to take that on as my next challenge.
