Death Valley and Foot Care

You may wonder what Death Valley has to do with adventure racing. I used to have the same question until I spent five days providing foot care to racers in the 2000 Badwater Ultramarathon race across the barren and lonely desert in southeastern California.

I was invited down to Death Valley by Ben and Denise Jones to help the runners as they raced the heat for 135 miles from the lowest point in the US to Whitney Portal at the bottom of Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the US. Ben is the Badwater Mayor and Denise is the First lady. Each has run Badwater three times. Now they dedicate themselves to helping runners. Denise and I talked after the event and discussed the uniqueness of Badwater. Some of what follows is applicable to foot care and some to adventure racing in general.

We found that the runners at Badwater do not have the same problems as the runners of events like the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run. Badwater is done on a road where the runners’ crews always have access to their runner. The crews are generally well versed in foot care and know what works for their runner. They do not experiment during the race—solutions have been worked out beforehand. At Western States crews are allowed at only certain aid stations to manage their runners. All other times the runners count on aid station personnel for their support and foot care needs. Although well intended, sometimes that help they get is not the best for their feet.

Every crew has an extensive foot care kit and they know how to use it. Many runners pre-tape their feet before they start and then re-tape as necessary. Every runner has several pairs of shoes. The runners are what you might consider “over prepared.” Some pre-cut the toes out of shoes because they know their feet will swell in the 125-degree air temperature, energy sapping heat, where you can fry an egg on the road. They work with their crews to fix problems before they develop. In adventure racing your team is your crew and you are theirs.

There are only a few runners who are able to finish Badwater without some form of foot taping to fix blisters. It is the taping that enables them to continue. When they struggle up towards Towne Pass, with 80 miles more to go, and the wind oven-baking your skin and burning your lungs, runners realize that without the taping they would not finish. In adventure racing your training is your preparation. Without it you do not finish.

One thing that has been learned at Badwater is that calluses cause more extensive problems than usual when feet blister. The thickened skin is of value under normal conditions, but here things are not equal. Friction wins out and blisters develop deep under the callus. These blisters are very difficult to fix and become very painful. In adventure racing too these calluses can haunt you. Just like the extra training that you had planned to do but could not fit around everything else life threw at you.

Badwater is a mental event. There is no technical running, no trails—the whole distance is on pavement, all on the same side of the road.  It becomes a matter of one foot in front of the other. Repeat and then repeat over and over for 135 miles. When the mind says, “Stop” the runners have to use everything available to them to overcome the mind’s advice to quit. Good foot care is one tool that allows them to focus on moving. Some runners are able to maintain such a high state of mental toughness that they continue through the pain of blisters and raw skin when they open, even to the point of bleeding. They are able to detach themselves from the pain and only stop when they are at the finish line. Then they deal with whatever they have been focusing past. Adventure racing require the same mental toughness.

Even though Badwater is a competitive event the crews and runners help each other. This may not be easily applied to the dynamics of adventure racing, but allow me to make a point. In any sport communities are built. Ultrarunning is a close-knit community of runners who challenge themselves to personal bests, most without any chance of ever winning an event. Draw a parallel between this community and your team. You must work together as a team and share your knowledge, including training secrets, the best gear, and foot care skills. There is also no dishonor in helping a member of another team or in sharing secrets with other racers. This is a good way to further your knowledge base. It happens all the time in other sports.

The Death Valley Badwater Ultramarathon may not be an adventure race in the strictest sense, but like much of life, it is an adventure in focusing and overcoming what life tosses at you. Whether it is in foot care, a specific sport’s skill, teamwork, map reading, mental toughness, or any other element of adventure racing, your training helps you prepare for your next event. Just like life itself. Each day is a preparation for the next day. Be prepared.

John Vonhof

Vonhof@pacbell.net

Fixing Your Feet: Prevention and Treatments for Athletes, second edition