Hawk100 - Birthday run

I don't know what I was thinking, I chose to run a 100-miles on my Birthday this year!  Well, it sounded like a good idea when I signed up in January for a September race.  A lot had happened since  I signed up, including Badwater135.  This was my first race after Badwater135 at Death Valley in July.  I was still mentally and physically recovering from that humongous effort, and wanted to run the Hawk100 with my heart, enjoy the experience and most importantly, have fun.

Hawk100 in 3 words: community, trails, joy!

Pre-race: It was an easy flight to Kansas City, MO and a short drive to Lawrence, Kansas.  The preparation and days leading up to the race felt very relaxed.  I was not worried about the weather, flooding, trail conditions, my conditions, etc.. as I have been pondering, I like frequently do, on where life has brought me and what was ahead of me.  We had lunch with a colleague who retired in July and lives in KC.  It is always nice to catch up with out-of-town friends when you are in their town.

Once I reached Lawrence, we drove around to buy some last minute supplies at the local Walmart and visited the KU campus, which was very nice.  The KU campus was a combination of older historic buildings and new modern ones.

Nice and clean in the 2nd loop

The Race Directors, Sherri Klover and Ami Weidler-Hyten, have put so much heart into this race, it really shows.  The original course from the previous year has been impacted severely due to the flooding this year.  During the days leading up to the race, they kept us posted through the facebook group on the course preparation and readiness. They kept marking and re-marking the course, to ensure we stuck to the original course and aid stations as much as possible.  In many cases, the course runs right into a large flooding of water, then you know that it's time to turn.  

The course markings were EXCELLENT.  The race team had taken extra efforts to ensure runners of all distances had the correct directions in the course.

The course had some very scenic and beautiful sections

When I told people that I am running a race in Kansas, their unanimous comment was, "its all flat in Kansas, right?".  Well, this course was nothing but flat. It is a very enjoyable beautiful course, even with the alternate course route.  Huge rocks and roots makes it interesting to keep the runners busy. If you take your sight off the footing, the chances are, you may take a fall. 

Mud all over me from the few falls

I have been training on roads since the beginning of this year due to my other races being on roads. I wanted to test myself returning to the trails.  And this was a good one.

The course was a 25 mile loop, with 4 aid stations that were fully stocked with all kinds of hydration and nutrition one can ask for, along with a ton of super helpful volunteers.  The volunteers absolutely took care of me.  Whenever I ran into an aid station, one volunteer filled my hand held water bottles, and another one took care of me. A huge thanks to all the volunteers and supporters at the race.

Loop-1: Enjoyable, learning the course, and keeping good pace.  Met some wonderful folks.
Loop-2: It started getting hot, slowed down a bit, kept moving.
Loop-3: It started getting dark. Halfway through the loop, it started heavy rain.
Loop-4: Skating through the mud and trying not to fall. (spoiler alert: I took multiple falls and slips).

Seen on the course: hawk (of course), deer, snake, opossum, skunk, frogs, and heard sounds of other creatures that I couldn't recognize.

 The event also has 50-mile and marathon distances. On Saturday, we ran with more runners and it thinned out on Saturday night and Sunday morning.  For many hours, I hardly saw anyone.

The wonderful RDs: Ami and Sherri

The aid stations were placed in decent distance from each other, they had all the food and drinks one can ask for and some of the nicest folks one can meet.  At one point of the race, around the end of loop-3,  I got a second wind and started sprinting for a few miles.  

Like other ultras, I went through many thoughts including "this is fun", runner's high, chatting with fellow runners, suffering, thinking of losing weight, "should've done more cross training", nausea, "why am I not perfecting my hydration", etc.

At the end of the day, running a 100-miles is never easy, but like I say, "running is a state of mind" and its the human will that takes you to the finish line.

This race had everything it advertised and more.  I am looking forward for this race to grow over years and more and more people to enjoy this hidden gem of a trail in Kansas and to enjoy the love of the local community.

Keys100 - an ode to crew angels

Sunday 9 am: It was mile-88, temperatures were heading to over 100F heat index, the sun was blazing down on me,  I have been running for over 27 hours by now, without a crew or pacer, and a major shin injury in my right leg! I can feel myself staggering on this cement side walk that was going up a bridge... a lot had happened until then....

All smiles, but this is within the first 25 miles

Pre-race: I flew to Ft. Lauderdale on Thursday before the race weekend, as I had planned a few days off from work around Keys100 ultra-marathon.  I will be going to the Florida Keys for the race any ways, why not stay a few extra days.  My friend Melissa Kaiser from the Chicago area ultra-running community had joined me for this trip as she had also signed up for the race.  We drove to Key Largo and stayed at the Courtyard Marriott, which was conveniently positioned next to the packet pickup and the race start line.

A relay team we met before the race

We went around Key Largo and spent most of the time prepping for the race, buying last minute stuff, packing for the race, etc.  On Friday, we drove our rental car to Key West, dropped it at the hotel near the finish line, and got a ride from David Castro and his crew back.  Melissa had met David in the Keys100 Facebook group and this is the best person we may have ever found on Facebook randomly.  We will come back to his crew, but these 3 crew members - Rita, Polly and Michael, are the best.

I went out for a shake-out run with David, Dave Krupski, Luis Cocco the day before the race.  My long-term goal is to get the 6-pack like these dudes :D

Shake-out run

We attended the pre-race meeting and picked our packets. The Race Director, Bob Becker, is a veteran ultra marathoner, and he is one of the kindest people one will ever meet.  I met a few running friends - Grant and Susan Maughan, Steven Kellet and others. 

Grant Maughan

Keys100 is a point-to-point road ultra marathon from Key Largo to Key West.  You follow the mile markers (MM) in descending order from 100 to zero.  Unlike other races that I have run, the mile markers indicate how many miles left in the race.  So, MM60 is 40-miles into the race and 60-miles left.  There are aid stations (AS) every 10 miles, and water/ice stops at 5 miles between aid stations.  So, you start at MM100, at MM95 you have an unmanned water/ice stop, at MM90 there is a manned aid station, at MM85 there's an unmanned water/ice stop, etc.  You get the point.

There are 2 types of runners in this race: crewed or un-crewed (aka screwed).  You can have a crew follow you in a vehicle which will essentially provide you with your supplies.  Or, you can be screwed, depending on aid stations, stores and other crews - who turned out to be the angels who saved my race. 

Race morning (Saturday) - it was an easy walk to the start line.  The 100-mile runners start in waves every 5 minutes starting 6 am. My start time was 6.15 am.  I met Billy the Trainer (this dude runs the entire race with the American Flag and is aiming to break the record for most 100s in a year, I wished him Good Luck).

Billy the Trainer

My wave started at 6:15, and I kept a steady pace. I was dripping sweat within a few minutes. While it was not too hot, I could feel the humidity.  It's Florida after all.  For the first 20 miles, I was running at a comfortable pace and I could feel the heat and humidity increasing.  

Rainbows were beautiful

I met Cass Tinkoff around mile-10 when she was cheering for runner and called out my name. I knew Cass by name, but never met her.  Around mile-20, I asked if she had any ice and they also gave me a bottle of gatorade, that I gulped in a few seconds.  They were supporting Rachel Belmont, whose mother and Cass were the crew.  A little later, their runner Rachel Belmont ran past me, I didn't see Cass and Rachel's mom after that. Very thankful for their help.

Cass and her crew gave me water, ice and gatorade 

At mile-25, I felt a discomfort on my right shin, I knew something was going on that didn't feel right.  But if you know ultra-runners, you know we just keep going.  Sometimes these aches and pains will pass, sometimes it will heal in a few days after the race.  Little did I know that this one is here to stay for a bit.

At mile-30, I looked down at my right shin, it was swelling a bit and I had major discomfort with every step.   I ran past David Castro's crew van many times. David was targeting a 24 hour finish.  But he had some GI issues early on and was a few minutes behind me.  His crew was a major help to me.  They gave me water, ice, banana and offered anything else that I needed from their fully stocked van, that really looked like a General Store.  Without them, I don't know how my race would have went.  I asked for a KT tape, and both me and Michael didn't know how to put it on.  I just wrapped it around my shins and started moving.

At the mile-40 aid station, my right shin had swollen to the size of a tennis ball.  I asked the medic if she had some KT tape and if she could take care of the swelling.  She googled how to apply the tape on shin area, and did a fantastic job of taping me.  From here on, I couldn't fully run. The pain was so bad that I almost moved to a fast shuffle walk.  If I ran a few steps, I had shooting pain. And the swelling got bigger and bigger.

Sunset at the beginning of the 7-mile bridge was beautiful

There was a lot of hype about the 7-mile bridge.  This bridge started at mile-53.  No crew or aid station for 7-miles.  The sun started going down around that time, but it started getting scary to see the oncoming traffic.  The shoulder was wide enough or a person to run.  The parapet on one side, the water beneath it and traffic on other, along with a bit sleepy feeling was not good.   Around mile-4 of 7, I saw lightning.  The rule was, if there is lighting, you can get on a crew car, but you have to start over. I didn't want to do that, as the lightning was afar. I started running with my painful right leg, and sprinted to the aid station at the end of it, mile-60.  I got some ginger ale, drank it and immediately threw up.  Nausea is a real thing in these race.  Considering the super hot weather, lack of hydration and nutrition, not having a crew, it all caught up to me.  I just sat there for 5 minutes on the ground. Had a ginger chew and started my hike through the night.

The night time was not bad, except it didn't cool down. I felt like, I went from a microwave level heat to oven level heat. There was no wind, felt super muggy, and I had to push to push through it.  I was getting hungry for real food.  The aid stations had chips, soda, etc. but not ramen.  At mile-70 aid station, I had to sit for a bit as my nausea was getting severe, and I had run out of ginger chews I was carrying.  I heard someone call my name, "Sivaaaaaaa!!!!!". It was my friend Melissa.  She had dropped off after mile-50 as she was not enjoying the journey anymore and didn't want to go over the 7-mile bridge alone. Running 50-miles in those conditions is no joke.  That's 50 miles more than most people on this planet. I really didn't know how to respond to her dropping off, as I know Melissa had prepared and trained very well for this race.  I exchanged a few words, she gave me some of her ginger chews, as she was riding with the medic to the finish line, picking up others who had dropped.

I saw a whole bunch of Key Deer when I ran past this Keys, they were beautiful and provided some necessary distraction.

I have to say, I could have dropped off this race at mile-25, 30, 40, 60, 70, 90 or 95.  That thought kept crossing my mind due to the heat stress on my body and primarily my right leg was in a very bad shape.  This was my big race before Badwater135. I kept telling myself that this is my "training" run. I kept telling myself, if I bail out of this, how the hell am I gonna run 135 miles in Death Valley?! I kept talking myself out of dropping.  Sometimes we are brave, sometimes we are stupid.  This race could fall under either categories.

At mile-75, I had a hot grilled cheese, which felt like heaven.  When one goes through these ultras, though it is a self-imposed torture sometimes, it also helps learn the value of many things: people, community, food, water, nature, etc. I spent a lot of time thinking about how to push through life during times of hardship.

Miles and miles of Moon

The sun started coming up, and back to heat and humidity over 90F early in the morning.  I kept pushing though mile markers.  Many crews helped me, I didn't have the energy to ask for their name or take a selfie, but just kept thanking them for their generosity and kept moving.


Though I was fast hiking, I passed many runners in the last 20 miles, as I was not stopped every couple miles since I didn't have a crew.  Once again, David's crew helped me with some food.  He passed me around mile 85.  I was so happy for David that he overcame his nausea and GI issues and got a second wind to push through.

Around mile-90 I could feel the sun on my head, and was losing control over my cadence.  I felt I am going to pass out.  I stopped for a bit, washed my face, filled my hat with ice (which I kept doing at every opportunity), and took a caffeine tab.  This woke me up!! At one point, we had to go around a bridge, which I think added extra mileage, but at this point, my only goal was to get to the finish line.

The last 5 miles felt like forever. I ran into my coach, Dave Krupski, a couple miles before finish. He had dropped off due to some personal issues, and was on a run by the beach in Key West. Seeing him perked me up.  And I kept pushing to the finish.  It was nice to see the tourists cheer for me.

And finally after winding through the entire Key West, I could sense the finish line.  I ran limping to the Finish Line, where my friend Melissa and a whole bunch of people were cheering.  THANK GOD ITS OVER!!!!!!!!

This race was a real test to human endurance and I had my first major running injury, which I didn't know at that time.  This race taught me a lot of things, most importantly not to give up.  I will write another post on what I learned from my injury but for now just knowing that Keys100 was a great race.  It was a tough one in the hot and humid conditions, but highly recommended for those looking for a unique challenge.

With Bob Becker, RD

Running Badwater135 - The World's Toughest Foot Race At The Hottest Place On Earth

It is extremely difficult for me to put into words how I feel about the honor of being invited to run Badwater this year.  This was the most difficult physical challenge that I have taken on in my life. This blog post is a humble attempt to share my experience in preparing for and competing in Badwater.  Please note, I am still raising funds for the Challenged Athlete Foundation, it is an important cause that I will talk in detail later in this blog.

Badwater is a 135 mile (217 km) non-stop foot race in California. It starts 282 ft. below sea level at Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park and finishes at the Mt. Whitney portal at 8,300 ft above sea level. The Badwater 135 course covers three mountain ranges for a total of 14,600 ft of cumulative vertical ascent and 6,100 ft of cumulative descent.  Death Valley records the hottest temperatures on planet earth. In this blog post I will do my best to summarize the experience from start to finish, in the hopes that future runners might learn something from my experience. I’m honored to be a part of the Badwater family for the rest of my life. 

THE INVITE: Badwater is an invitational only race, and it is a great honor and privilege to be invited to run Badwater. To get into the race, one has to meet qualifying criteria like previous Badwater completion, three 100 mile races in the previous 18 months or one of a select few races mentioned on the Badwater website. The application process asks for in-depth information about the applicant including thought provoking questions like, “Are you a good person?” or  “What have you learned from your races?” The Badwater committee independently rates the applications and whoever cumulatively gets the maximum points is invited to run in the race. There are approximately 50 rookies (first timers) and 50 veterans (those who have run before) invited each year.

I happened to be on a flight from Orlando to Chicago this February while the Facebook Live streaming this year’s field was announced.  When I heard my name get announced, I was in shock and awe. It truly took a couple of days to sink in. I asked Dave Kruspki to coach me, as he has run Badwater before and has crewed and paced other runners.  Getting a coach was very important since I have been using training plans from the internet for the past couple years, and wanted to put in a solid training effort for this monumental race. 

Excited having watched the Badwater 2019 field announcement, couldn't care much for Jeff Goldblum

Overall during the 5 months of training, I took Badwater very seriously.  I had signed up for other races before I was invited and used those as 'training' runs for the big race.  I ran Badwater Cape Fear in March, Badwater Salton Sea in April, and Keys 100 in May. Thus, I used the first two races of the Badwater Ultra cup as training runs for the Badwater 135. 

Badwater Cape Fear 51-miler was my first attempt to run a Badwater race.  It was a serene experience in the beaches of Bald Head Island, in North Carolina. I had to fight double high tides and run in ocean water for a good part of the race.  I had a sense of peace and joy at the end of this race.

Badwater Salton Sea 81-miler is a unique race with a team concept, where a 2 or 3 member team has to run together the entire distance. It was one of the most beautiful locations because of the views of the mountains near the Salton Sea, which is 2 hours east of San Diego).  This race taught me how to push through altitude sickness and to think on my feet to get to the finish line. I have to say, this race really prepared me for Badwater 135. It was not only the distance and elevation but also I learned how to run a race with a crew in a van that was also serving as a mobile aid station.  

Keys 100-miler was exactly 2 months before Badwater135, where I ran as an uncrewed runner (also called, screwed) with no support crew van. It was hot and humid Florida weather from Key Largo to Key West. Though I successfully finished the race, I ended up with severe tendinitis near my right leg shin.

BADWATER ULTRA CUP: Badwater Ultra Cup is a three-event series consisting of  the 51-mile Badwater Cape Fear in March, 81-mile Badwater Salton Sea in late April, and the 135-mile Badwater 135 in July. Those who complete all 3 races in one calendar year will receive the honor of Badwater Ultra Cup.  I had already signed up for the first two races before I was invited to run the 135, so I was excited to be eligible for the Ultra Cup challenge. 

While my training for all of these races was ramping up in March and April, I also started focusing on a clean diet, cutting off alcohol, quality sleep, heat training and other factors that would hopefully help me to be in peak condition.

THE INJURY: Keys100 was a hot and humid tough race.  Going into it, I was of the mindset that I would use the conditions as a training for Badwater. But unexpectedly, I developed a leg injury during the race, and that put me out of commission for over 5 weeks.  During this time, I focused on physical therapy, non-impactful cross-training (Stairmill, stationary bike, treadmill on incline) and heat training in the sauna. For some reason, when I was injured and couldn't run, my mental determination grew exponentially. I woke up at 5 am every single day including weekends, and hit the gym for an hour on the stairmill, stationary bike or treadmill and 30-60 mins in the sauna.  I never once let myself think that I wouldn't be able to run Badwater, and I never complained about my tennis ball sized swelling on my right shin. I’m a firm believer that asking for a pity party will not help me in my training. 

PREPARATION: In addition to the training, diet, and sleep, I also cut off caffeine a few weeks before the race. The hope was that this would help caffeine kick in even stronger during the race. I have tried this in the past and it usually was effective.

I kept thinking that I have to give my best at this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and give my all. I do not come from an athletic background, so I wanted to ensure that I would give 100% to the Badwater experience.  I kept telling myself when I had bad days, tough training days, or long work days that I have to continue to be consistent in my training and not worry about not being able to run. I had run other long distance races including several 100-mile races, so during my injury I knew that I needed to focus on my fitness in whatever form that took. The injury was a blessing in disguise. If I was not injured, I would have just run 6 or 7 days a week and not focused on cross-training.  The injury helped my body recover from non-stop running for months, and to focus on cross-training, stretching and heat training.

My Crew @ Badwater Basin

My crew included Johnnie, Tim, Anastasia and Priya. We chatted about various race items and had a conference call a week before the race to go over certain things.

I also had a virtual crew chief, Amy, my partner in crime.  She created several lists and documents that we used to prepare for the race.  She also created various binders with documents including course maps, checklists, rules, etc. to be used in the van and before/after the race.

I appreciate that the Badwater organization encourages runners to raise funds for worthy causes. I decided to raise funds for the Challenged Athletes Foundation, an incredible organization dedicated to making someone’s dreams of racing, swimming, or running come true.  Their mission is clear: give those with the desire to live active, competitive lifestyles every opportunity to compete in the sports they love.

PRE-RACE: Flying to Las Vegas, driving to Death Valley National Park and staying at Furnace Creek all felt surreal, and of course hot.  It was over 125 F the day before the race. We purchased all the race supplies at Walmart in Las Vegas and drove the van to Furnace Creek.  We found it helpful to order some supplies ahead of time using the “Ship to Store” function; this allowed us to save both time and energy during the supply run. 

After settling in at the hotel in Furnace Creek, we drove to the Badwater Basin to take some pictures and sightsee.  My mind was thinking of a 100 different things, from how to pace myself during the race, how to handle the heat, how to communicate with the crew and pacers to what did I miss packing, what if I get nausea (which has been a big issue in my recent races), what if we run out of ice, what if the crew van breaks down, etc. I was glad that we went out to see the National Park to take my mind off these worries a tiny bit. 

On Sunday, we collected our race BIB number and the swag bag, and we also took some pre-race pictures. We attended the pre-race meeting for runners and crew chiefs which was very informative. Following that, we took a group picture of all 95 runners in front of the digital thermometer, which showed 125F.

I met several race veterans including Grant Maughan, Pete Kostelnick, Frank McKinney, Bonnie Busch and many other cool people.

RACE DAY: I woke up very early on race day.  The race start was not until 8 pm, but I couldn't sleep well the previous night.  I had a good breakfast buffet, packed all the race supplies I had brought, and met with my crew to go over the various things that I would need during the race. During the race we discussed topics like clothes, shoes, toiletries, nutrition, hydration, etc.  It started to sink in that the race was in a few hours. I then closed the window blinds and the door to get a good sleep before the race, but made a rookie mistake. I had fallen asleep for about 15 minutes when room service knocked on the door. I couldn't go back to sleep, but I laid awake with my eyes closed for the next 4 hours worrying about not getting enough sleep, and being awake for 48 hours.

Start Line

RACE START: I got up at 6 pm, ate a sandwich as pre-race meal, took a shower, got ready with my race gear.  My crew minus Anastasia drove me to the start; because Anastasia was pacing me for the first section, she stayed back at the hotel to sleep. 

When I got dropped off at the start line, I was weighed in.  It is very important to maintain certain things during this hot race, such as not losing too much weight.  Another health checkpoint is urine color and frequency, which is a good indicator of one's nutrition. We took the start line picture, listened to the national anthem and just like that I started running the Badwater135.

Somewhere in Death Valley

During the first few miles, I tried to maintain a decent pace, holding myself back from running too fast.  A fellow runner told me in the first few miles, "if you feel like you are running slow, run slower.” I had water in one handheld water bottle and Hammer Heed (an energy drink) in another. Within the first few miles, I start smelling the energy drink and that gave me nausea. My crew leapfrogged me, and met me approximately every couple miles.  I asked them to exchange Hammer Heed for Gatorade powder mixed with water, which worked for a couple miles until that caused me to be nauseous My crew kept note of what I ate and drank, and the frequency of my peeing. So far, apart from nausea, the race was going fine.

And then my first puking experience came up without any notice. I had around 130 miles and over 45 hours to go, so I knew that this was too early to be puking. But, I didn't let the thought worry me too much. I tried to cut back on the energy drinks and focus on solid food and water as hydration. Ginger chews were my saving grace for nausea. I would encourage all runners to be open-minded about having a variety of food, energy drinks, and nausea remedies ready for every race. It’s important to experiment with different things during training runs of course, but during the races your body might respond differently to certain types of food or drink. Though we had brought many different types of food, I survived mostly on Cup Noodles, the Walmart equivalent of Ensure, ginger chews, and coconut water during the race. 

Somewhere in Death Valley

There were 4 places in the 135 mile course with access to stores and bathrooms: Furnace Creek (mile 17), Stovepipe Wells (Mile 42), Panamint Springs (mile 72) and Lone Pine (122). I made sure to stop at every bathroom. We also had a quick pit stop at Furnace Creek, where we picked up Anastasia. 

In all this, I focused on simply moving forward. My goal was to reach Stovepipe Wells (mile 42) at the earliest and climb to the first time cut-off at 50.5 miles with as much cushion as I could build.  Race rules dictate that my pacer can join me at mile 42, and I was happy to have Anastasia join me then. This was about 6:30 am, so she supported me as the sun started to scorch us both. I reached the first time cutoff with a 45-minute cushion. This was about 15 minutes behind my goal, but I did not dwell on that.

The next cut-off was at mile 72. This 22 miles involved approximately a 10 mile ascent and a 10-mile descent, and it was hot as f***.  Anastasia and I ran as much as we could and power hiked any climbs.  

The sceneries all along had been magnificent. But during this stretch is when I had a surreal spiritual experience.  All I could see were huge mountain ranges, massive and distant, with a single road winding through them, and I felt like a speck soaking all this in in slow-motion.  The sceneries were truly alien.

When I reached mile 72 at Panamint Springs, I had a burger that my crew had bought for me.  It was hard to swallow, but I knew that I needed solid food. After this short break, we started climbing up Father Crowley.  This was a steep, windy ascent where the crew cars were allowed only to park at 8 designated spots during the 13 mile climb. I started feeling ill right off the bat.  Within the first mile, I threw up all the burger and Coke I had consumed, but at least I felt good after that. We continued our ascent in a decent pace. I put on music and started jamming up the climb.

I had downloaded two books to listen to during the race: David Goggins' “Can't Hurt Me” and Michele Obama's “Becoming”.  I listened to the first half of Can't Hurt Me, which was a really motivational book. Goggins and I have many similarities in life.  Even though I knew that he had run Badwater, when the chapter on the race came up, I was super excited while he was describing the same course that I was currently running.

At some point during this stretch, Anasthasia felt sleepy and headed to the van to take a nap, so Tim started pacing me.  My quads were completed shot by then with all the downhill running. My IT band was an issue right from the beginning as we were running on one side of the road, which means my body was constantly at a slight angle, which is not ideal.  At one point near mile 52, I tried to get into the van to sit for a minute, lost my traction and fell on the gravel on the side of the road. I cramped my left leg and right arch, and had to be helped to get up. I appreciated that Tim asked me during this time, “Are you hurt or cramping?” This helped my crew to realize what they needed to do to support me. I was able to continue to race after just a few minutes when my cramps subsided. 

As one would experience in ultras, I started doing mental trail math at mile 84, as I was getting concerned about not meeting the next time cutoff due to my pace. I came up with a new goal: reach mile 90 within 2 hours.  Then I hoped to run each of the following 10 miles within 3 hours each. This would help me to know if I was running on pace, slow or faster. There could be no reason for such mental math, but when you are out there in the wilderness, a lot of things go through your head and my goal was to keep abreast at a decent pace so that I can build a cushion in my cut-off before reaching mile-122 at Lone Pine.  

Tim and I continued at a steady pace towards Lone Pine, which was more than a 50k to go. We talked a bit on various topics.  I saw two shooting stars, one on Monday night and one on Tuesday night. We also heard fighter jets at night, which is a Badwater tradition.

As Wednesday morning was approaching, I started hallucinating a bit.  The rocks and bushes started appearing as alligators, lions, tigers, horses, etc.  For some reason, my body felt really good for the entire distance of the race, and my mind  was sharp. I was able to tell Tim, “I think I am hallucinating”, and focus on the race ahead of me. Hallucinating is relatively common during the evening portion of ultramarathons, so this didn’t worry me too much. 

At mile 96, I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore.  By this time, I had been awake for more than 45 hours.  I took a short 25 minute nap and started running again. We reached mile 100, but we still had 35 miles to go.  I started my relentless forward progress. At this point, the sun was coming out on the second day. We were running towards Lone Pine through salt beds, which didn't smell the greatest but I am sure we didn't smell that great either...

As we were approaching Lone Pine (mile 122), I was getting antsy and asking my crew, “How far to Lone Pine?” at every mile.  The sun was getting hotter and I just wanted to get to Lone Pine with as much cushion as possible. I reached Lone Pine 3 hours before the cutoff, and I had run 39 hours at that point. After a very short break, I started climbing Mt. Whitney to get to 8,300 ft of elevation. This was the toughest part of the course, as I had already been awake for almost 2.5 days and had ran 122 miles. For the remainder of the race, I knew that the heat and elevation would be steep and the roads would be windy.

The crew stopped as much as they could during this climb.  Just seeing them every time was a good mental break for me.  At some point, with 5 miles left to go, I was getting seriously dizzy.  So, instead of looking at the steep mountains to either side of me, worrying about the wind or the windy roads or about the vehicles coming at us, I kept my focus on the white line, which would get me to the finish line.  Tim was of tremendous help to me during the last several miles. He offered to do anything as a pacer, though he was tired and in pain and fighting his own fatigue.

FINISH LINE: The last 3 miles were torturous.  And finally after all the miles, the heat, the climbs, the nausea, the pain, the fatigue... I saw the finish line.  My crew and I ran towards the tape and just like that we were done.

It had taken me 44 hours 12 minutes and 39 seconds to run 135 miles. By the time I went to sleep at 11 pm Wednesday, I had been awake for over 65 hours with one short nap break. It was a whirlwind of a journey indeed.

I broke down into tears at the finish line. I got the coveted Badwater buckle from the race director Chis Kostman, along with the Badwater Official Finisher t-shirt. This is Kostman's 20th year of directing Badwater, what a great accomplishment. We took a lot of pictures there.  It was very emotional to have completed this huge race, and I have no words to express how I felt. 

Chris Kostman

I am planning to write a detailed blog that will be much more technical in nature with my running checklist, packing list, purchase list, crew stuff, etc etc. so that others can benefit from my experience. I will link it here when ready.

PRODUCTS USED: PATH Projects, Altra, Salomon, Suunto 9, Outdoor Research, Trail Toes, 2Toms, Amphipod, CEP, Balega, Gatorade, Gu, Hammer Heed.

Badwater Salton Sea - "no I in TEAM"

"I feel light headed, and feel like I may pass out any time", said Johnnie when we were reaching mile-25 of 81-miles!  The temps were reaching 90s, and the sun was beating down on us.  There was a mild breeze and occasional cloud cover, but none of it mattered in that elevation and heat.

Ornery Mule Racing team

Badwater Salton Sea is an unique race spanning 81-miles distance, 9000 ft elevation, temperatures varying from 98F to 38F, from hot sun to cold rain and many more variables... The race is mostly on roads except an 8-mile section (at around mile-40.6), which was super duper hard to climb with rocks, cactus, rattle snakes, etc. Another unique feature is, there are 2 or 3 person teams that has to run together, "not a relay". So, you are only as fast as the slowest team member, which is OK as long as you support each other to the end. There are a couple of tight cutoffs after miles 35.2 and 40.6, which the participating teams should reach within 9 and 11 hours respectively.  Otherwise, they cannot proceed. While it may sound like a lot of time, the variables are numerous to achieve it.

Beauty all around

The race starts 234 ft below sea level at Salton Sea, where the sea is shrinking.  Basically, the start line was where once the sea used to be.  One can smell the dead fish while running the first almost 7 miles through Salton City.

At the Start Line

It was warm in the morning, a bit breezy on our back. The teams started running in their own paces, many teams took off ahead of us or passed us. My team included Johnnie Stevens and Brad Gorski as my fellow runners. Michele Hartwig and Ed Mayhew as the crew.  The "team" is all 5 of us.  In fact, without the crew, we will not be qualified to run.  Most importantly, without our crew, we couldn't have made it.  The three of us decided to go at a steady slower pace right from the beginning.  We ran side-by-side in the beginning, once we hit the highway, we had to run in single file.

miles and miles of single file running

At mile-14, Johnnie goes, "Guys, I know this is too early in the race but I don't think I am gonna make it"... we had a chat while running and convinced Johnnie to continue to run.  Johnnie was mostly leading the pack and setting the pace, as I tend to run faster at the beginning of races.  Don't we all do that mistake!  As I was running behind Johnnie, I could see his skin get redder and redder, but I didn't say anything.  We checked on each other every few minutes.

When I looked around, the views were impeccable. It is almost like someone had photo-shopped mountains in many layers, in many colors. There were the brown mountains in the front, then the dark green, then the blue, then the grey... it was super pretty.

Layers of mountains, beautiful views

The trip to San Diego from Chicago event less.  I had lucked out, as there were over 600 flights canceled that day due to the snow storm in Chicago after my flight took off.  We rented a mini van at the San Diego airport, that can also serve as a mobile Aid Station, and drove to Borrego Springs.  Borrego Springs is at mile-35 of the race course, and the packet pick-up is also there.

The runners check-in, team photos and pre-race meeting was awesome.  The Race Director, Chris Kostman, and his team do a great job in making everyone feel welcome.  You also chat with runners you know, and meet new runners and crews.  The pre-race meeting was over an hour, where the RD reminds everyone of the rules, and more importantly the restrictions and safety regulations on the route.  Since most of the route is on the roads, where there is regular traffic, it is up to each team to ensure 'safety first'.  At the end of the pre-race meeting, he also gives shout outs to runners and crews. I went up to the front when he called the "ultra cup" runners (those who are running Badwater Cape Fear, Badwater Salton Sea and Badwater 135 in the same year). Then all Salton Sea runners go up, all the team names get called... its really a celebration of the people.

I met my coach, David Krupski, before the pre-race meeting and at the start line.

After the pre-race meeting, we decorated our van with the Ornery Mule Racing team banners and stickers. Kudos to Michele for taking super extra effort to prepare all the stuff.  Our van would have won, had there been a van decorating contest.  It really looked like a Racing Van.

The Race Director, Chris Kostman, said in the pre-race meeting that "There is no I in TEAM".  At mile-25, "There was no J in our TEAM either"!! J = Johnnie , get it? Coming back to Johnnie, when we stopped at mile-25, we had the break-up talk.  Brad was rightfully concerned about Johnnie, so was Michele and Ed.  I was asking him to take a short break, and continue with us.  Johnnie was concerned that we won't make the time cutoff if we keep slowing down.  After a few minutes, and ensuring that he really wanted to stop, Brad and I took off.  Looking back, it was the right decision, we can always run the race again, but don't want to put oneself in danger.

After the break-up talk

We had a 15 minute cushion to reach the first cut-off location. From this point, we started running steadily, passed a few teams, and we reached the first cut-off at mile 35.5 with a 30-minute cushion.

Michele had a gourmet sandwich made for both of us. Brad and I chatted a bit running to the first check point, as we have never met before this weekend, but we knew of each other.  When we took off after the check point, there were head winds, that I predicted over 40 mph.  The wind was so bad, that a band-aid from my knee that I had applied on a scrape from couple weekends ago, ripped out and flew away.

When we turned at a road, couple miles down the road, the wind subsided, but now there were not many runners or crew vans on the road.  We continued to the next checkpoint at 40.6 miles with a 1-hour cushion.  We took a break to change clothes, as there was no support for the next 8 miles, we were going up a hard mountain trail with no road access. We will not be seeing our crew for over 8 miles.  We had mandatory gear to show to the race volunteers, and carry all our hydration and nutrition with us.  From past years, the fastest team finished in 2.5 hours and slowest team 6 hours.  We predicted we will finish  between 3 and 4.5 hours (not knowing what is going to happen soon).

We wore tights and changed t-shirts. I took my Arteryx puffy coat if it gets cold up the mountain.  300 yards into the trail, my puffy coat had fallen off as it was tied to my hydration vest. I asked two runners who were behind us if they saw a small pack, they said "Yeah, about 200 yards back".  I ran back and picked up my jacket, rolled into a ball in a small bag.  I also didn't have place in my hydration vest for food, so, Michele had pinned Cheetos in a zip lock bag to my hydration vest.  I had taken some 5-hour energy and half a bottle of Frappucino with almond milk before starting the trail section.  When I ran back to get my coat, I had a bad feeling.

Brag carried the puffy coat bag in my hand for the entire trail section

The next two paragraphs are gonna turn gross.  If you have low tolerance for grossness, skip two para and read ahead.

We may have climbed like quarter mile up the rocky mountain, my heart was pounding so hard, my face had turned red, and I couldn't climb anymore.. and BAM, I threw up all the stuff I had ate and drank.  Wiped my mouth and started hiking the tough trail up.  Brad, who is very good with trail climbing, said 'wow! this is TOUGH!!".  We may have gone a mile, with me stopping every 10 seconds to take a breather... I felt my heart is going to blow up.  I suddenly started feeling sleepy.  I just lay on a grass next to the trail with my head placed on a huge rock. Rested my eyes for 5 minutes and was ready to go.  I was hungry now.  Within another mile of climbing, I took out the Cheetos bag and munched on it.  5 minutes later, I puked orange liquid Cheetos out. Now, I am totally nauseated and can't drink water from my vest, as my water was so warm.

Brad offered his hydration tube, which was cold.  I used his water.  Within another quarter mile, my left eye contact lens came off. Now, I couldn't properly see!! My hands were full of Cheetos and dirt.  I sucked Brad's water, spit it on my hands, cleaned my contact lens and put it back into my left eye.  "Desperate times calls for desperate measures".

Cheetos

From this point till the end of the race, my nutrition intake was null to minimal, and I was hungry the entire distance.  We will climb another half mile, I will put my hand on a rock and let my high heart rate go down.  It was hot and tough. Once when I looked up, the view was so pretty, Brad and I took some pictures.

This was a common occurrence for the entire 81 miles.. We will be suffering through heat and pain, but when we lifted our head, every single time we went "WOW! what a pretty view"... the course is indeed beautiful.

"WOW! What a pretty view, lets take a picture" (one second, I am holding my heart, next second, smiling for a selfie)

The last few miles, I asked Brad if I can put on some music, which gave me a bit of a kick to my mood, and we started moving faster... we kind of sprinted a couple miles as much as we could in that rocky trail course, and suddenly the road just came up on us, that we stopped for a moment and asked a volunteer, "is this the end of the trail?"

"Is my hair OK?"

A few more things happened during the trail run.  Brad carried my puffy coat the entire time, I can't thank him enough for that.  He must have felt so bad for me.  When I laid down and struggled, I continued to say, "I won't quit", "I won't quit", as I saw worry in his face.  Every time we took a picture, I asked, "is my hair OK?".  And the most important part was, Brad saw a rattle snake, and a pair of runners we crossed saw 3 rattle snakes. None of them told me, but Brad said he was thinking where to bury me when I was laying on the grass, if rattle snakes bit me.

Now, back to the road. It was fully dark and our crew van was right there.  I pulled Michele aside and updated her on my puking situation.  She gave me potatoes dipped in salt.  I had a couple of those. Within a minute, I ran to the side of the road and threw up everything I ate.  The situation was NOT good, and we had over a 50k to go.  By this time, the temps were falling and we put on our coat and started back on the road.

We gained some miles at a decent pace, running and run-fast hiking.  At mile 69ish, we started the climb towards the finish line.  The last 13 or so miles is just upward climb.  You don't know the ups and downs when you are driving a car, but man - you can really feel it.  I was leading the pace as I felt good physically, except my throat was sore and my stomach was HUNGRY.

Yeti

At around mile-50, there was an Yeti statue, a convenient store where they had hot soup.  I had a cup and that settled well in my stomach.  At around mile-75, I asked if we had any pepperoni, and ate a couple.  That helped.  In between, I couldn't eat or drink anything.  I could feel my stomach grumbling in hunger.  But it was amazing on how the human body ran on reserves for so many miles, climbing up the elevation.

We climbed a good part of the last section during night. Our crew van met us every 2-3 miles.  On occasion, we told them to go ahead a few more miles when we didn't need anything.  We had a few more miles to go when the sun came up, and the entire surrounding was misty.  Our van closely followed us, mostly for Michele to take pictures and videos, as we both were DONE with eating or drinking anything. We just wanted to get to the finish line.  But the miles were brutal, especially the last 3 or so miles was steep climb. It is almost like the RD has found the last house and the top most location to place the finish line.  We passed a few teams, some of them were delirious, but everyone knew we are getting near the finish and there were smiles, though we were in pain.

And there it was, the FINISH LINE . We were glad it was over.  All smiles and hugs and some tears.  We got the beautiful buckles, took pictures, had a soup and a sip of warm beer, changed to warm clothes and took off.

Friends forever

I was getting emotional heading towards the Finish Line.  The hug at the Finish Line to my team - Brad, Johnnie, Michele and Ed was one of those I will remember forever.

Post-race airport beer is the best