Runnin' in the Twilight Zone

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.