Badwater Salton Sea race report 2017

Badwater Salton Sea 2017


Team ‘Four Legs Good, Two Legs Bad’ finished Badwater Cape Fear in 18h 46m.  We got 3rd place in the 2x Man Team Division and 4th place overall.  The race started at the Salton Sea and went 81 miles west, ending on top of Palomar mountain.  It’s a team race where you and your teammate have to stick together and run the entire race together.  We had to stay within 25 yards of each other at all times.  There are no aid stations, instead, you have a support vehicle that has 2 crew members and all your hydration/nutritional needs.  I coerced Willem into racing it with me by buying him an entry for his 50th birthday.  Since we constantly train together, I knew that we would work well as a team.  Thanks to his wife for allowing me to steal her husband yet again.  I then convinced my girlfriend Lauren and buddy Russell to crew me.  I sometimes think crewing is harder than actually running the race.  It was a long day for everyone.

Raceday.  I woke up at 2am with the standard nervousness that race day brings.  It was a quick 1.5-hour drive down to the Salton Sea.  The race started right on the water’s edge.  Although the Salton Sea is beautiful, the smell is suffocating.  Luckily we were running away from it.  We started strong.  The first 7 miles were pretty flat and we just cruised along.  We shared some miles with Pete Kostelnick and chatted with him about his transcontinental running record.  The man is incredibly humble and down to earth.  Around mile 13 Willem started having some pretty serious stomach issues and it slowed us down a bit.  Then came the heat.  The combination of the heat and a sour stomach almost took Willem down.  We started some cooling measures with ice and changed a few nutritionally things that weren’t working.  We also started having our pace vehicle stop every 2 miles.  I stuck to my water, coconut water with carbopro, chia seeds, and red bull combination and it worked well for me.  Did I mention it was hot?  As ultras go the suck came and went.  Willem had good miles and bad miles.  We just keep grinding.  At mile 40 we got to the trail section.  Nine miles of beautiful Anza Borrego desert trails with thousands of feet of vert.  Willem and I smoked this section.  We were in our element.  We also saw the most beautiful Big Horn Sheep and countless cactus and plants in full bloom.  It was gorgeous.  Thanks to Jimmy Dean Freeman for the incredible course markings.  Then the road grind continued.  Around 6:45 we switched to night ops mode.  Blinky lights and reflective gear.  Not a huge fan of this section as the majority of drivers were not very accommodating to us running along the road.  And then came the suck.  We had a 11-mile uphill grind with 3k vert to the top of Palomar mountain.  And it was terrible.  I loved it.  We finished.  We made it.  Team Four Legs Good!  So much fun.  I would highly recommend this race, Chris Kostman (RD) always puts on incredible experiences.


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