Deep in the hellacious wasteland of Southern California’s Death Valley lies the lowest geographic point in the United States—an area known as Badwater.
As the name implies, this is an incredibly desolate and inhospitable place, with temperatures that have been recorded up to 134 degrees Fahrenheit.
Suffice it to say, if you don’t have spikes, claws, and a bad attitude, you have no business being there.
The surrounding areas go by such comfy-couch names as Devil’s Golf Course, Furnace Creek, Stovepipe Wells, and Butane-Butt Pass. (Okay, we made the last one up).
As chance would have it, about 80 or so miles to the east of Badwater stands Mount Whitney. Peaking at 14,505 feet, it is the highest elevation in the continental USA.
So, what do you do when the lowest and highest points in the USA are a mere 135 miles apart? Well, you run a race, of course—from the depths of Badwater to the top of Mount Whitney.
The annual Badwater Ultramarathon brings together a few dozen athletes of questionable sanity, who spend 2–3 days in July developing blisters, cramps, and heat exhaustion as they attempt to complete the 135-mile race.
To give you a visual of the ordeal, the athletes run on the white line along the shoulder of Death Valley Road, to avoid sinking into the soft asphalt.
