HI TEC BADWATER 146 1993

This year's race was the same format as the last five. We assembled at Tino's Restaurant at the Furnace Creek Ranch about four hours before the start of the race. We had refreshments and began renewing acquaintances as six of the twelve registered runners were returnees. Marshall Ulrich was here for the fourth time. Jack Denness and I were here for the third time. Joe Franiak, Bob Givens, Keith Pippin and John Shehadey were here for the second time. You would think that we should know better! We figured out who the others were by asking. It is hard to determine who the runners are from the crew members and pacers. Chris Stai, Race Director from Hi Tec, introduced himself and his crew of Karen Raby, Erin Dahlquist and Pam Riggs. He announced that there would be no vehicle support side by side with the runners and that the vehicles should leap frog ahead the next mile or so to meet the runner. This is for safety as per the California Highway Patrol, the United States Park Service, Caltrans and the County of Inyo Road Department. All of these agencies are involved with the race. The United States Forest Service is also involved the last five miles to the Portals as well as on the trail to the top. In addition, the runners must follow the highway to the Portals and not use the previously accepted trail short cuts in order for the support people to keep track of the runners. The goodie bags were handed out which contained the race shirts, bib numbers, water bottles and hats as well as a race book with instructions and a log to keep en route. Marshall Ulrich gave a few pointers on how to tackle the course and avoid injury. He then invited everyone to his wedding which was to take place on the top of Mt. Whitney 42 hours after the start of the race. As it turned out the only other runner who would have been able to attend was Joe Franiak (details later). I was given a chance to speak. The group was informed that I, as "Mayor" of Badwater, had had a meeting on 07 04 93 at Stovepipe Wells Village with the Town Council, namely, Tom Crawford, Richard Benyo and Rhonda Provost. We were happy to note that there had been no acts of terrorism since the alleged assassination attempt when I was to be inducted as "Mayor" on 07 04 92 at Badwater. All of the health care, environmental, gay and abortion rights issues had been resolved. The only outstanding issue was that of the endangered species. It had been moved and seconded and approved that the only endangered species was the ultrarunner. In regard to extra support, Southern Inyo Hospital provided the 5% Dextrose in Normal Saline which I had in the U Haul right near the casket. I couldn't do this event if it weren't for my mortician and trainer, Dwight Van deWalker. Fluids and/or the casket would be available upon request. For shade, are potted palm trees were donated by La Florista of Lone Pine. A presentation was made of a drawing of this year's belt buckle designed by a local artist, Kerry Powell. Crystal Geyser wanted to be recognized for contributing Alpine Spring Water for the event. Forty cases were distributed to the runners and crews. We then disassembled and headed 17 miles south to Badwater for final interviews with the media and for picture taking. At 282 feet below sea level the temperature was 120 degrees and the south wind was blowing at about 25 mph. Ahead of us were 146 miles of which 70 are level, 20 downhill descending 5,000 ft. and about 60 uphill ascending 20,000 ft. That's an average of 333 ft/mile while climbing.

I was reaching for my arm chair when, all of a sudden, I noticed the other eleven runners bolting northward toward Furnace Creek. This gave me a chance to practice my "start slowly and taper off" (as per Joe Oakes) technique. I strolled out on my planned 15 minute per mile pace and watched the others streaking out in the distance. Full coverage whites (Frog Gear) and a Sequel cap with a visor and shroud for face and neck protection were worn. We had about 1 hour and 40 minutes of direct sunlight before the sun dropped below the Panamint Range. There was no moon, so after about 2130 it was pitch black and easy to get disoriented in the darkness unless I went by "celestial" navigation. The Big Dipper was right in front. Reflective gear was in order along with my visor so I could dip my head downwards when an on coming vehicle would come. I also side stepped off the highway when I would see a vehicle come from the front or hear one come from the rear. The tourists don't hesitate to pass each other even if it is right where a runner happens to be. Finally I resorted to using a small flashlight. We all tended to travel forward in the on coming traffic lane. This got tiresome mile after mile on the surface canted to the left. Also, the asphalt was hotter than the dirt surface along the side of the road. I switched back and forth and, at times, traveled in the right hand lane if there was no traffic. As the night wore on, the flashing tail lights from the crews ahead got further away. I have gotten used to this phenomenon and was content with it for the first twelve hours. My motto is "Get out of the Valley" and "Don't sleep when the sun is down".

My wife, Denise, who is also the "First Lady" of Badwater, and my crew and pacers, Dave Thorpe and Charlie Stalnaker, know how I travel and what I need. They make sure I take time out to weigh myself to see if there has been too much gain or loss, therefore enabling me to regulate fluids, carbohydrates and salt. I wear a Camelback filled with ice and the crew alternates drinks among water, Gatorade, Club Soda, and Classic Coke. Carboplex is added for calories. The crew hands me Zip loc bags filled alternately with gum drops, fig newtons, and salted tortilla chips. Every so often, I eat a turkey and jack cheese sandwich on dark bread. Later on, pieces of cold cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelon taste great. They are nourishing and contain fluid and aren't sticky. My hydration was so good that I had to pee 10 minutes into the race. Being thirsty or hungry is not allowed! This ritual continues hour after hour. At first, I sip 2 4 liters of fluid an hour and eat 750 calories an hour figuring on 150 calories per mile plus 150 calories per hour of basic metabolism. From a medical standpoint, bowel action was normal during the entire race; no constipation or diarrhea.

By day break, I got to Stovepipe Wells Village (41 miles). On the 18 mile trudge climbing 5,000 ft. to Towne=s Pass (59 miles) we experienced "gridlock". Four of us were almost side by side. Then things began to spread out as we dropped 3,400 feet into Panamint Valley where we were greeted by 50 mile per hour winds and dust devils from the south giving as a side blast from the left. At 1500 on Thursday 07 15 93 I took my annual three hour break at Panamint Springs Resort after getting to the 2,000 ft. sign on the east side of Panamint Valley. I chose to avoid the hottest time of the day (110 degrees) and got out of the glare, wind and dust. This always seems to pay off later, even though I get passed during this time. I got bussed back to where I left off and started heading westward at 1800 reaching Panamint Springs Resort (72 miles) on foot this time. There is a 3,000 ft. climb in the next 12 miles. After passing Father Crowley Point at 80 miles and the Darwin turn off at 90 miles the temperature dropped to 35 degrees. Extra clothing was in order. This would have been a good time to drink some hot soup. The Brits drank hot tea with milk. I passed three separate parked vehicles in which runners were sleeping. It was getting daybreak. They must have heard me "tip toe" by because there developed a cluster of three of us until we reached the southeast edge of Owens Valley (100 miles). We spread out along Owens Lake as it got up to 110 degrees again. Upon reaching Lone Pine (122 miles), Mary Sinclair, of the Chamber of Commerce, had arranged an even bigger reception this year. I rounded the corner and went up the Portal Road with balloons in hand and tears of emotion in my eyes. I headed into the third sunset doing the 13 mile and 4,600 ft. trudge to Whitney Portals being dogged by Jack Denness of England. This part got very difficult. I used my Kilimanjaro technique of stepping and breathing rhythmically. My wife used the La Maze technique on me. With these methods I was able to go continuously to break the traditional strand of toilet paper at the finish line of the race.

It was nice being able to see the other runners this year and pass some of the time together visiting along the way. All of the runners and crew members and pacers were always very helpful and supportive. This became more so this year as we got to know each other better. My times were within an hour of my times of the previous years at each check point. According to my calculations, I should be getting 3% worse each year. The first year my fear was that I wouldn't finish. Last year I was afraid I might think I could become invincible. This year I feared that I should have known better after just turning 60! I still work as a physician 8 12 hours a day with a training base of an hour of exercise a day. In the month before this event I kick my mileage up to 10 miles a day in the heat of Owens valley or go out to Panamint and Death Valley where it is usually 20 degrees hotter. I also work out on the Whitney Trail. A month ago there was so much snow up there that it took cramp ons, gaiters to the knees, ice axes and ski poles to get up from Trail Camp to Trail Crest. Three weeks earlier I got flushed out by a violent hail storm during which time a hiker got singed with lightning!

Marshall Ulrich was always in the lead. In the darkness, coming down from Townes Pass, he didn't follow his own instructions and twisted his ankle on a rock and fell on all fours. He was able to continue to the Portals on a bruised and strained left ankle. He puts complete trust in his crew of Scott Weber, Bill Bitner, Pete Munding and Rick Senter (his new brother in law). They kept reassuring him that there was no problem with running on the damaged extremity. Being an expert ultrarunner and able to block out intense pain, he believed his crew. He was content getting to the Portals about 2 1/2 hours slower than his record time of 26:18 in 1992. The wedding at the top of Whitney had to be changed to the Portals and took place on Friday 07 16 92 at 1500. Peter Freitag, the preacher, came down from the top to perform the ceremony. Marshall Ulrich and Willette Senter exchanged vows and rings. Marshall designed and made the rings which exhibited a profile of the 146 course and would have to be seen to be appreciated. When they got married I was on the Portal Road heading toward the Portals. I am going to consider that I was at the wedding. It's just that "THE AISLE WAS 146 MILES LONG." On Saturday 07 17 93 at 1200 there was a post wedding celebration at Boulder Creek Resort four miles south of Lone Pine which was catered by Margaret's Deli out of Independence. We were grateful to share in this celebration. On Sunday 07 18 93 Marshall went up to the top with my wife, Denise, and his pacers, Bill Bitner and Scott Weber. I was on the trail coming down as they were going to the top. Marshall had been to the local emergency room; X rays were negative for a fracture. He wore an air brace and used ski poles to do the trail. It's the only time that I would ever had a chance to come in ahead of Marshall. He canceled his plans for the return to Badwater which he had hoped to do in less than 100 hours.

Joe Franiak was here for the second time. Last year he ran for Ronald MacDonald House and gathered over $3,000 in donations. He hoped for the same or better this year. He was slowed up by two hours this year with the trots. The temperatures did get below freezing above tree line this year as water on the trail remained frozen until the sun hit it. He was assisted by his wife, Paula, and co workers, Jack Albright and John Sahlman. He'll be back next year if there is a 6:00 A.M. start. In the meantime, he'll be working on gyroscopes for guided missiles at his aerospace job.

Ross Parker came from Western Australia to do this. His time would have been at least two hours better had he not had trouble with the motor home at around 110 miles. By the way, RV's cannot be rented during July and August if the intention is to go into Death Valley; I don't know how he got away with it. He gave me two kangaroo shirts in appreciation for our assistance on the course and invited us to be his guests at a grueling event he does Down Under.

Bob Givens, radio news and agriculture announcer for KGNC in Amarillo, Texas, returned this year to improve his time of last year which he did by over six hours. He also regretted not going to the top last year. Most runners who don't go to the top are plagued by not doing it and feel they have to return. Bob's most memorable incident was when a side blast of wind blew out one of his contact lenses. He was disappointed when my daughter in law did not show up this year to spray him down. His crew was the newly weds, Don and Beth Kessinger. Some honeymoon! They would yell "lookin' good" even if he appeared barely alive. Reports have it; however, that he did have a great time.

Mark Macy put his practice as a defense lawyer on hold to come and do justice to the course. He was smiling all of the way, even during the hallucinations along Owens Lake when he saw a "road closed" sign. Wishful thinking. When he got to the Portals he did not know that Joe Franiak had already headed up the trail and thought he would be the first one to the top. They bumped into each other on the trail later. Hi Tec's event ends at the Portals (135 miles). The trip to the top is optional as competitive events are not allowed in wilderness areas. This involves the 11 mile trail in the Inyo National Forest. Each one signs a register at the top and reports the time later. Richard Benyo of the "Death Valley 300" fame keeps a master list which is up dated each year. Since the runner must come back to the Portals, the event is really 157 miles. So it's really either the 135 or the 157 even though it's called the 146.

Robert Lambert ("Primus") is in Tank Corps D Squadron of the Queens Royal Irish Hussars of the British Royal Army. He is stationed in Germany and was considered to be on active duty during this event. He and his crew and pacers, Charles (Timmy) Malet, Ken Sparkes and Mat Rainer were "ordered" to come along. They arrived in Washington, D.C., in an RAF bomber and then drove to California in a rented van. He heard about the race from some of the articles he saw by Jack Denness. He was unable to come earlier because of the Gulf War and other military activities. He and his crew made it to the top and are now considered to be "on vacation".

I'd like to thank my wife, Denise, and crew of Dave Thorpe and Charlie Stalnaker for making it possible for me to make the trip again. I also had the pleasure of having Jane Byng, photographer, along. Before we headed out to Death Valley for the start I gave her a check to cover costs of some pictures for me. She sort of latched on to the Jones gang and took multi pictures with several cameras as well as doing a video. I kept thinking she would want to be on ahead with the elite runners, but instead she said she liked my approach. At the post race meeting at the Dow Villa in Lone Pine on Saturday morning 07 17 93, she said she liked the heat, cold, wind and dust, but was most impressed with the heart and soul of the event. She has had a lot of experience covering Western States, Gibson Ranch and most recently the first part of the Trans Am. I enjoyed the wedding activities and had the pleasure of housing most of the wedding party at home. I tried to give Marshall some medical advice. I even had to make a house call on one of my patients, a matriarch of Lone Pine, during the race, when I was in town. I also have two sections of Adopt A Highway on the course. One is in the floor of Panamint Valley and the other is near Keeler. I carried my trash bag along during the race for these two mile stretches. I had a hospitality room in Panamint Springs Resort for the runners and crew to use as they passed the half way point. Many commented on it with thanks and the owner, Mr. Graham, retired defense and criminal lawyer, was intrigued by the event! He greeted runners on the highway and ushered them into the resort.

Jack Denness returned for the third time for the race. Four years ago he was vacationing here and saw someone in the Valley training for the race and was able to get an invitation. He and I shared a good part of the course together this year. He improved his time to the Portals by about six hours. He and his wife, Mags, and son, Steven, and friends, Peter and Steven Salter, were guests at home in the studio. One night there were 18 people at the house. He and his group raise money for Kent (England) Ambulance Appeal which is a privately owned and operated ambulance service.

Keith Pippin, Vietnam Purple Heart Veteran and retired contractor, crewed and paced Marshall Ulrich in '90 and '91 becoming familiar with the course. He ran it last year and came back to try the out and back. His wife, Priscilla, returned also as did Pat MacKenzie. Judy Overholzer, who was the oldest woman finisher at Western States this year, helped with the pacing along with her friend, Eddie Simpson. The photographer was Robin Bianci. Keith's quads gave out in the first 30 miles and he suffered the rest of the way to the Portals and was unable to make it to the top. Perhaps he had not yet recovered from "Rolfing" treatments to his legs. I told him to "Rolf" the road instead!

John Shehadey, convenience store owner and operator, farmer and dairyman, also returned to do the whole trip as he regretted not going to the top last year. His motor home got stuck in the sand along Owens Lake as one of his many distractions. His time to the Portals was about the same as last year. He spent 31 1/2 hours on the trail bagging the top. He prevailed on hikers camping at Trail Camp for a hand out. They took pity after finding out what he was doing. He got some hot soup and had his water bottles filled with filtered water. When he got to the hut at the top of Mt. Whitney in the middle of the night he saw a beautiful mural (not there). The other hikers in the hut had to explain that he was seeing things and then provided warmth and provisions. When I saw him coming down as I was going up, he was shuffling along like some of my patients who have Parkinson's Disease. According to his friend, Robin Smit, "He did everything wrong and got away with it!@ His son, Tom, and friend, Mary Cordill, are probably cringing thinking he might want to try the out and back next year.

Tim Neckar is a teacher and coach from Houston, Texas. He started out too fast and was running in third to fifth most of the time. He couldn't get caught up on fluids and solids and quit at Father Crowley Point at 80 miles and after 28 hours on the course. He's moving to Arizona soon and will work on the hills more. He plans to return in two years. He was accompanied by his wife, Nancy, and her brother, Bud Ward, and Steven Taylor.

John Rosmus, who works in the ice hockey business, also started out fast and was running third. He was sick by Stovepipe Wells village at 41 miles. He rested for three hours and went another 9 miles to Emigrant Station. He quit at 50 miles after being on the course for 15 hours. I encouraged him to walk on in with me. The more elite runners do not want to settle for this approach. I'm sure he knew what he was doing. He had a great pair of pacers: Rob McNair and Fred Shufflebarger. I was hoping to see them more on the course.

Robin Smit, ophthalmologist, was not an entrant with Hi Tec this year but was in '91 and '92. He did the one way event in '91 and did the round trip with a P.M. start last year breaking Tom Crawford's (A.M. start) record by about an hour. This year he started 12 hours after we did on Thursday 07 15 93 at 0600 for an A.M. start. He caught up with and passed two of the Hi Tec runners and headed back to Badwater breaking Crawford's record by over 10 hours. He improved his own round trip record by about 10 hours. I'm sure that this will be an incentive for Marshall to come back and do an A.M. start with Hi Tec and try to do it in less than 100 hours. He was again supported by his wife, Nancy, his son in law, Marcus Pignotti, and pacers, Bob Scarpati and Tracy Essick. Maybe someone will want to do a double out and back in the future! Robin actually thinks "Us older guys should just sit around and have flatulence (polite version) contests".

RESULTS OF THE HI TEC BADWATER 146

Started at Badwater, Death Valley on 07 14 93 at 1800

Time to Portals Time to top of Whitney

01 Marshall Ulrich 42 CO 28:53:00 7th 93:25

02 Joseph Franiak 31 CA 30:48:11 1st 41:08

03 Ross Parker AUS 38:01:00

04 Bob Givens 49 TX 40:28:29 4th 70:04

05 Mark Macy 39 CO 43:40:54 2nd 51:20

06 Robert Lambert 37 UK 47:34:00 3rd 67:24

07 Ben Jones 60 CA 50:14:32 6th 90:30

08 Jack Denness 58 UK 50:25:00

09 Keith Pippin 53 AZ 55:40:00

10 John Shehadey 54 CA 58:41:00 5th 78:55

11 Tim Neckar 31 TX dnf (80 miles)

12 John Rosmus 44 CA dnf (50 miles)

Robin Smit 56 CA 41:20* 55:39

*started on Thursday 07 15 93 at 0600

arrived back at Badwater 114:54

Badwater Ben Jones

First Lady Denise Jones

510 East Locust

Lone Pine, California, 93545 0600

619/876 5354 (office)