It starts on Monday - July 14, 2008. It is a run of 135 miles (217 kilometers) in one of the most challenging venues imaginable. The Badwater 135 is “non-stop from Death Valley to Mt. Whitney, CA in temperatures up to 130F (55c)”.

link: The Badwater Ultramarathon

The men’s record is just under twenty three hours. The women’s record is slightly under twenty eight hours. Jim Benike, a runner who has done the race, had this description of part of the run: “It was beautiful. The trail down was long and slow. I didn’t feel bad I just couldn’t move very fast nor accurately and there weren’t any good places to fall.”

The participants of the Badwater 135 may be a gathering of some of the planet’s toughest athletes. Senator Gramm will not find many whiners at Badwater.

Catherine Forsythe