Badwater 135 crew chief/pacer report 2017

 Badwater 135 crew chief/pacer report


Badwater 135 races from Badwater Basin in Death Valley (-280’ below sea level) to Mount Whitney Portal (8,300’ above sea level). My friend Jared Fetterolf asked me to be his crew chief this year.  Jared has finished BW135 three times previously and has an equally impressive race resume.  

We used a minivan with three crew members.  The back of the van had 3 accessible coolers.  A yeti cooler with just ice, a cooler with a spout for just ice water and a cooler for food and cold drinks.  We had a container that had all the dry food and a 3 drawer unit that organized everything else (clothes, medical, etc.).

Jared was in wave 3 which started at 11pm.  Wave 3 is reserved for the fast runners because they have a lot less time to get to all the time cut-offs.  The start was hot and humid.  The humidity definitely added a new and challenging aspect to the race.  The race started off fast.  We would leapfrog Jared every 2 miles and switch out his ice bandana and water bottles as he ran past us.  Food was shoved in his mouth and he just kept cruising.  The first 42 miles are run without a pacer.  Around mile 27 Jared started to suffer a bit.  His stomach was sour and his pace slowed.  The struggle with a sour stomach at Badwater is it compromises your ability to take in water and calories.  The lack of water can lead to extreme dehydration issues and the lack of calories just makes you feel lethargic.  We tried all sorts of things to fix the problem and around mile 45 things calmed down.  The pacing began at mile 42 and so began the first real climb to Towne Pass (4,956’).  This is a long 17-mile climb and the sun is now up and blazing away.  After Towne Pass, you drop down into Panamint Valley.  It was a nice downhill run but the valley was probably the hottest part of the race.  And crossing it before getting to Panamint Springs required a lot of ice and a lot of cold water.  Tourists flock to this area and it was entertaining to see all the hipsters dressed in black; taking selfies and jumping shots on the white sand.  Things continued to go well for Jared and we were making up a lot of time.  After Panamint Springs we had another 8 mile climb up to Father Crowley (4,000’), que the Ozzy Osbourne.  We caught an absolutely incredible sunset dropping down on the other side of Panamint pass with Whitney illuminated in pink.  Unfortunately, Jared’s stomach issues returned and the night pace slowed a bit.  We were all getting a bit delirious at this point which made it fun at times and challenging at others.  Jared grabbed a 20-minute nap and soldiered on.  Around mile 110 he was fully recovered and we started charging ahead again at a decent pace.  For the last 25 miles Jared had very few issues.  Lone Pine always taunting us out in the distance.  It always looked so close, even though it was miles away.  We could see the blinking car lights up on the portal road to Whitney, so close but so far away.  Some hot soup, a 10-minute nap, and a red bull later we were in Lone Pine.  13 easy miles to go.  His legs were heavy but he still managed to run the flatter sections.  We all took turns pacing him a mile at a time and it made the 13 miles go by very quickly.  With 2 miles to go, we were able to pass one last person and then we hit the finish tape.  So happy for Jared and I cannot wait to attempt it next year.

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