24 Dec
LOS ANGELES (AP) — It's the hottest, hardest, most grueling foot race in the world, says Shannon Farar-Griefer, who has run the Badwater 135 ultramarathon through Death Valley five times.
That's exactly why she keeps coming back, she says, and why every ultrarunner has it on their bucket list.
The race takes the bravest of runners 135 miles through the hottest place on Earth in the middle of the summer.
Next year, for the first time in 37 years, runners won't be able to tackle the Badwater 135. Death Valley National Park recently put a moratorium on foot and cycling races through the desert hot spot 200 miles east of Los Angeles while they study ways to make the events safer.
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Chris Kostman, whose AdventureCorps sponsors the Badwater 135 and several other endurance competitions in the sprawling desert park, questioned the need for such a review. He said his organization has held 89 such events there since 1990 without a serious incident.
"There have been no deaths, no car crashes, no citations issued, and only a few evacuations by ambulance after literally millions of miles covered on foot or by bike by event participants," he said in an email to supporters.
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Runners take part by invitation only, and to be considered for admission, one must have completed three or more 100-mile races.
"Although it is considered the world's toughest foot race, we have an 89 percent finishing rate," Kostman said.
