Mojave Death Race Race Report 2017

 Mojave Death Race Race Report


I was lucky enough to be invited to run the Mojave Death Race with the Redlands Fire Department.  They have been doing the race for several years and operate like a well-oiled machine.  The race takes place in the Mojave Desert Preserve outside of Nipton, CA.  It is a team race with 250 miles of running, biking, and mountain biking.  There were 24 separate legs and we divided them evenly between 8 team members.

The race started at 7am and it was already starting to get warm.  The race day forecast was 110 degrees.  We had a van and truck to support our team.  The truck carried all the bikes and the van had most of the gear.  One vehicle would drive ahead to the next checkpoint with the person who was doing the next leg.  The other vehicle would support the athlete racing.  That vehicle would drive ahead of a mile or so and wait to see if they needed anything.  This normally consisted of cold water and ice.  We carried a Spot GPS beacon while racing and handed it off like a baton.

    I did not start until around 1pm on leg #8.  It was a fairly flat run of 7.2 miles.  The thermostat read 104 degrees and there was a headwind around 15 mph.  I had been anxiously waiting all morning to run.  I filled my bandana with ice, jogged around and waited at the checkpoint for my teammate.  It was hot, the headwind felt strong and I ran as hard as I could.  It was so hot that my handheld water felt like it was burning my hand.  I managed to pass three teams and finish in 55 minutes.  

    My next leg was #13 at around 5:30pm.  This leg was 9.2 miles of 100% uphill.  The thermostat now read 109 degrees.  I used ice in my bandana and hat.  The sun was setting but the heat was relentless.  The asphalt was so hot my feet were on fire.  I was running into the sun and it was blinding.  My team leapfrogged me around every mile.  At mile 8 the sun disappeared behind the mountains and I switched to night ops mode.  And then it was over.  I was able to pass two teams and finish in 1 hour 23 minutes.

    I was fortunate enough to run leg #24 and finish the race.  It was around 5:30am and the sun was rising.  The beautiful golden line painting the ridge of the surrounding mountains.  I was tired, it had been a long night and I wanted us to finish in under 24 hours.  This leg was 7.4 miles and ended with a 4-mile climb to the finish.  As soon as the sun was up so was the heat.  I was able to pass one last team before finishing in 1 hour 2 minutes.  We finished the race in 23 hours and 45 minutes.  

    It was an incredible experience and I am lucky to have raced on such a great team.  Thanks to everyone for the help and support.  

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