RACE MAGAZINE: Click here to download the 2008 edition (2 meg PDF file).
EMAIL NEWSLETTERS: If you are racing or if you are crewing, you should be receiving the regular email updates from the race office. If not, please subscribe to the newsletter right away at the link above!
IMPORTANT FORMS: All entrants need to download the Crew Waiver, the Medical History Form, and the Check-In Form. Please have all crew members complete and sign the Crew Waiver. Bring all these forms, fully completed, to Racer Check-In on Sunday. Be sure to pay your $20 per car Park Entrance Fee at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center BEFORE you come to Runner Check-In.
RACE DATE: Monday-Wednesday, July 14-16, 2008.
DISTANCE: 135 miles.
WHO: An international, invitational field of up to ninety endurance athletes representing approximately twelve countries and twenty American states. Click here.
APPLYING TO ENTER: The Badwater Ultramarathon is, and always has been, an invitational race. See above for the 2008 application timeline. Click here for the qualifying standards and application procedures, which will be further revised for 2009.
OFFICIAL CHARITY: The official charity of the Badwater Ultramarathon is the Challenged Athletes Foundation. One of the goals of the race is to raise awareness of, and funds for, this organization. The Challenged Athletes Foundation was created on the belief that people of all abilities should have the opportunity to pursue a life full of physical activity and of sports. Be they recreational or in pursuit of a gold medal at the Paralympic Games, people with a physical disability are limited only by their access to funding. Click here for the info and learn how you can support this wonderful organization. You may donate online in a simple, secure website hosted by kintera.org on behalf of CAF by clicking here.
PERMITS: This event is held under permits from the Inyo National Forest, Death Valley National Park, California Department of Transportation, and Inyo County. (If one of them won’t issue us a permit, this race is history. So don’t screw up!)
MANDATORY RUNNER CHECK-IN: 12:00-2:00PM, July 13, 2008, Visitors Center Auditorium, Furnace Creek, CA. Every runner must personally attend at some point during the two hour timeframe. Photo identification is required for all runners. Please bring the completed Runner Check-In Form and signed waivers for all crew members and the runner. All paperwork must be complete before walking in the door. Be sure to pay your $20 per car Park Entrance Fee at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center BEFORE you come to Runner Check-In.
MANDATORY PRE-RACE MEETING: 3:30-5:00PM, July 13, 2008, Visitors' Center Auditorium, Furnace Creek, CA. Every runner and at least one crew must attend for the entire meeting We highly recommend that all crew members attend.
MEDIA MEETING: There will be a brief, mandatory meeting of all journalists after the Pre-Race Meeting in the auditorium.
HOTELS: We have reserved blocks of rooms in Furnace Creek, Stovepipe Wells, and Lone Pine during our event. Information about our special pricing is provided ONLY to confirmed entrants in the race, as well as media and sponsors. That special information is necessary to make reservations and to secure the special rates that we have obtained for Badwater Ultramarathon racers, crew, and staff. Entrants, media, and sponsors: do not delay in making your reservations; the Death Valley and Lone Pine areas are very popular destinations in the Summer.
STARTING LOCATION: Badwater, Death Valley, CA, 282 feet below sea level.
STARTING TIMES: 6:00AM, 8:00AM, and 10:00AM, July 14, 2008. Up to 30 runners per group, as assigned by the race organizers. Runners may attend only their assigned start time. Runners must check in, ready to race, 30 minutes prior to their start.
ENDING LOCATION: The end of Whitney Portals Road, above Lone Pine, CA, on Mt. Whitney, elevation 8360 feet. The race does not continue up the Whitney Trail further onto the mountain.
ENDING TIME: The event is officially over 60 hours after each starting group, so either 6:00PM, 8:00PM, or 10:00PM, July 16, 2008.
COURSE RECORDS: Men’s: Valmir Nunes, 2007, Brazil: 22:51:29. Women’s: Jamie Donaldson, 2008, USA, 26:51:33.
AWARDS CEREMONY: 6:00PM, Wednesday, July 16, 2008, Lo-Inyo Elementary School, Multi-Purpose Room, Lone Pine, CA. All racers are encouraged to complete the race in time for this event! Official Finisher T-Shirts and Sub-48-Hour Buckles will be awarded to all who attend who earned them this year. Pizza and drinks will be served. No charge (up to six crew per runner).
POST RACE BREAKFAST: 8:00AM to 10:00AM, Thursday, July 17, 2008, Seasons Restaurant, 206 South Main Street, Lone Pine, CA. This will be an informal get-together, planned to provide one last opportunity for Badwater runners and crew to get together and share stories. Juice, coffee, muffins, yogurt, and the like will be provided. Room for 75 people total! First come, first served. No charge.
AWARDS: All racers who begin the event will receive a Badwater Ultramarathon t-shirt, hat, Race Magazine, and a goodie bag. All racers who officially complete the event within 60 hours will receive a commemorative certificate, a finisher’s medal, and a finisher's t-shirt. All racers who officially complete the course within 48 hours will also receive a commemorative Badwater Ultramarathon buckle. (Certificates will be sent in the mail after the race. Buckles and t-shirts will be awarded at the Awards Ceremony in Lone Pine.)
RACE HEADQUARTERS: This will be set up in at the Furnace Creek Ranch, then in Lone Pine at the Dow Villa from the first evening onwards. Time Station splits will be collated here and updates posted to the race website on a continual basis.
WEBCAST: Spread the word that we will post time splits, commentary, and images on a continual basis for the duration of the 60 hour race. We will be "live" throughout the race in July, plus we keep the entire webcast archived forever. We will post time splits, results, images, video, audio, and much more, beginning a few hours after the start of the race. As for time splits, keep in mind that the first time station is 17 miles into the race and it will take people several hours to get there. And remember, this is a webcast, not television. You have to be patient and keep in mind that you are not "viewing" the race in "real time." That said, it's going to be great! (Please do not email us or ask us to pass along any information to any runner during the race. We don't even check email during the race. Enjoy the show, everyone!)
DONATE YOUR LEFT-OVER GEAR: After the race, when you're staring at coolers, folding chairs, umbrellas, and things you can't get on the plane with you, please donate them to a good cause! Click here for links to the Lone Pine Chamber of Commerce, Good Will of Santa Monica, and the Las Vegas Rescue Mission. Thanks to Elizabeth Mullen of www.litterproject.com for her help with this effort.
DRIVING DISTANCES:
Las Vegas Airport to Furnace Creek: 140 miles
Los Angeles Airport to Furnace Creek: 250 miles
Lone Pine to Las Vegas Airport: 240 miles
Lone Pine to Los Angeles Airport: 210 miles
DIRECTIONS TO FURNACE CREEK FROM SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA:
NEW! Pdf download of the best route to drive to and from Death Valley. Print this and use it for your drive to and from the event!
Here is the coolest and most direct route from LA (or anywhere that passes through Mojave on the way to Death Valley): Reset odometer to zero in Mojave and take Hwy 14 north. At mile 20, veer right onto Randsburg Road. At mile 32.2, stay straight (not right). Go left at the t-intersection junction with Hwy 395 at mile 40.5. At mile 43.6, turn right on Searles Station towards Trona (easy to miss). At mile 50, a t-intersection, turn left to Trona. At mile 58.4, another t-intersection, turn right on Hwy 178 towards Trona. Pass through Trona, including its Chevron Gas and Mini Mart, at mile 71.0. (Be sure refuel here; They are nice people nad have a remarkably clean restroom!) Trona must have been featured in The X-Files, don't you think? NEWS FLASH: One can now buy an espresso, latté, or chai in Trona at the Desert Holly Espresso at 82856 Trona Road. This is a bit after the Chevron, on the left, by the Rite Valu. Halleluhah! Tell them Chris at AdventureCORPS sent you!
At mile 104, you have two options. If it's nighttime or you don't like a little adventure, turn left towards Death Valley via Hwy 190. At mile 117.5, turn right at the t-intersection on Hwy 190 towards Death Valley. You will now ascend the infamous Townes Pass (elev. 4965'), known worldwide from its presence on the Furnace Creek 508 race route. You will go over Townes Pass, pass through Stove Pipe Wells (gas, mini mart, hotel, and restaurant), then arrive at Furnace Creek at mile 170.
Your second option back at mile 104 is infinitely more fun and interesting, as well as even quieter. It's truly epic and feels like going back in time a few zillion years. So, at mile 104, if it's daylight and you have a working spare tire in your car, stay straight towards "Death Valley via Wildrose" instead of veering left as in option one. You will ascend over Emigrant Pass (elev 5318'). But first you'll go over three very short gravel stretches. They are only a few tenths of mile each and are easily passable in a normal car (not to mention on a road bike), unless there's a storm dumping on you. Be sure to check out the neat little oasis-like canyon you'll pass through. At mile 113.5, go left at the t-intersection towards Stove Pipe Wells and Furnace Creek. At mile 121 you'll summit Emigrant Pass. At mile 134.3, turn right at the t-intersection with Hwy 190 towards Furnace Creek. You'll pass through Stove Pipe Wells at mile 143.5 on your way to Furnace Creek, which you'll reach at mile 168. Voila!
DIRECTIONS TO FURNACE CREEK FROM LAS VEGAS AIRPORT: From Airport take I-15 south several miles to exit for Nevada Rt. 160 and go west toward Pharumph 55.8 miles. There, make a left on Bell Vista Rd. and go to dead end (Armogosa Opera) House and make a right. Then go 1/10 mile and make a left of Stateline Rd. (becomes CA 190 once you enter CA) and continue straight to Furnace Creek.
RELATED WEB LINKS: Click here for more useful information relating to the event.
