MARSHALL ULRICH: BADWATER QUAD FOR STARVING CHILDREN

    The Badwater Quad Started in Badwater, Death Valley on July 20th @ 6:10 in the morning. The elevation begins @ -282 feet below sea level and the course route travels approximately 90 miles through Death Valley eventually ending 146 miles later at the top of Mount Whitney 14,500+ ft. These represent the lowest and highest point in the contiguous United States. Total elevation gain for the one way trip approaches 19,000 ft. total and temperatures range from the mid 120's to below freezing. The route is retraced back to Badwater descending into three major valleys, Owens, Panamint and Death Valley. Elevation gain for the return is approximately 5000 feet making a total of 24,000 feet for the out and back (double Badwater). Then it is a matter of turning around and doing it all over again to cover a course of 584 miles including 48,000 feet elevation gain and 48,000 feet elevation loss for a total of 98,000 ft. change.

    The first trip up went well and was relatively uneventful with the highlight being the summit of Mount Whitney in just under 48 hours. Already possessing the one-way record to the top, I felt no urgency an took a conservative approach as I needed to plan for the three next crossings. Turning around after spending 20 minutes at the top I headed back down on the trail and road to Badwater. My crew of four people (Lisa Smith Batchen, Bob Haugh, Gary Kliewer and Diane Grecsek) leapfrogged ahead every half mile or so, with food water and ice, that would be my lifeline for the next 10+ days. After running continuously for the first four days, stopping only for short sleeps and occasional naps that would average 1 1/2 hours per day--we reached Badwater breaking the old double record of 105 hours by almost nine to finish in 96 hours and seven minutes. We were entered in the actual Badwater Race that would begin early the next morning, so we had time to regroup and get a good night’s sleep.

    On the morning of the 25th, we started the Badwater race with 71 other people, once again on the way to the top of Mount Whitney. Twenty-five miles into the third crossing I started experiencing tendonitis on the forefront of my left shin. It became so painful to run that we devised a way to ace bandage a bag of ice to the front to reduce the swelling and pain. Approximately 20 miles later the same fate would befall the right leg. Now the crew had to deal with icing and wrapping my legs every 20 to 30 minutes throughout the event. Having packed ice for my legs on the trail to Whitney and using trekking poles to help bear the weight, we arrived in approximately 185 hours to set a new triple crossing record. The fourth and final consecutive crossing had never been accomplished before as we set out down the trail from the Top of The Mountain.

     At the start of the second "double" I had acquired four more crewmembers to help along the way (Jay Batchen, Courtney Bouva, Ernie Rambo, and a freelance photographer David). Fatigue had set in and it became increasingly more difficult to move forward still sleeping no more than one and one half hour a day. The temperatures had risen from highs in the lower 110's to the mid 120's. Blisters began appearing on the sides and balls of the feet making it necessary to cut portions of the shoes that were causing friction away with a knife. Having worn out one pair of shoes the first double, I was now in the process of wearing out a second. After many ice changes and constant movement we reached Furnace Creek and headed South 17 miles to Badwater and the finish. Temperatures were now 126 degrees with a 30 mile an hour headwind. As we struggled South and after what seemed to be endless time, we reached Badwater to become the first to do A "Quad" Badwater (four consecutive in a row crossing from the bottom to the top and back again, only to do it all over). Elapsed time was approximately 253 hours (10days and 13 hours).

     It should be noted that this was a fundraiser for starving children and also our goal was to raise awareness for the cause. For information and to donate check out website www.helpingthekids.org.

Marshall Ulrich