>GREG MINTER’S BADWATER2001 STORYRunning BadwaterGreg Minter I'msitting here in my kitchen, about five months after I finishedrunningthe Badwater 135, and I realize that very few days go by that Idon't think about it. In fact, just yesterday I finally receivedwhat I thought had been the object of my quest in runningthe race: a silver buckle for completing the course in under 48hours. It's kind of plain, not too fancy. I like that. It fits.I think the question I'm asked about theBadwater race most often is "What's that?" People justhaven't heard of it. It's an obscure event. People generally haveone of two reactions: "Cool!" or "Why?"When I hear the first, I'm put immediatelyat ease and launch into a description of the event. When I hearthe second, I think "if you have to ask, you won't be ableto understand." But lots of people, even running friends, havestill asked "Why?"I first started writing down my thoughtsabout this truly unique experience just a week or so after I hadfinished; my company had sent me to Germany and I was left alonewith my thoughts. However, that first draft quickly turned intoa mere recounting of the events of those few days in July. It didn'tconvey the depth to which this event affects you.I first learned of Badwater in Ultrarunningmagazine, probably in 1995 or 1996; the cover showed a huge stretchof desert with a strip of black asphalt winding through it. Twoor three figures, dressed in white from head to toe, ran along itsedge. I remember reading the story, reading about the heat and theelements. Sometime after that, I read a long article in the L.A.Times about the race, which described in horrific detail the mentaland physical trials the runners went through.A good friend, Steve Matsuda, and I, usedto keep 5 year plans for races we wanted to do. I actually hadpenciledin Badwater for 2000, but that didn't work out; however, that fall,the documentary Running on the Sun came out. It followedthe 1999 race, and I watched Gabriel Flores (who I had met onceor twice), struggle along with ten or twelve others that the filmfollowed. When the theater emptied, I was a little surprised tosee Gabriel sitting in the back of the theater with some friendsand relatives. I went over and said hello, teased him about beinga movie star, and a crowd quickly formed, recognizing him from thefilm. I had already decided to send in my entry.Making the decision to do a big event ishard. There are always a thousand reasons that you can't dosomething,usually a lack of something: time, money, experience, support, butmore than anything, of confidence. In the film "Cool HandLuke,"Paul Newman plays a character in a chain gang whose spirit just

can't be broken. While lying on his cot one afternoon, he says,"I bet I can eat 50 eggs." After lots of catcalls, hebacks it up and says "In an hour." A furor of bettingerupts, and suddenly his boast energizes the listless bunch ofbunkmates.Eggs are cooked, money is bet, and Luke eats and eats until hepassesout on the table, but he does it! I think there's a lot of thatelement in running the long runs for me. You gotta make itinteresting.Who Named this Thing?I don't know the answer to that one. Badwateris the name of a little saline lake that accumulates near thesouthernend of Death Valley. It's the lowest point in the NorthernHemisphere(282 ft. below see level). I like the name. It's menacing, it'sintimidating, but it's also simple, and I think that's a perfectcharacterization of the race.I was lucky enough to get into the race onthe first lottery wave. These waves take place over several months,with more runners added in each wave. There were up to 99 slotsup for grabs, but only 71 would eventually fill.I started researching about how others hadtrained, and came up with a program that consisted of a six-monthbuild up toward 70 or 80 mile training weeks. I can't do much morethan that or I feel tired all the time. I've said many times before,and still strongly believe, that I'd rather get to the start ofthe race a little under trained but feeling fit, than overstrainedand tired or hurt.My company was in disarray at the time, soI had some time flexibility in my personal schedule. Most weekslooked like this:Mon:OffTue:10-13Wed:5-6Thu:13-17Fri:OffSat:20-35Sun:10-12I never did long back-to-back runs, whichI think are ultimately a little punishing. But all in all, not muchdifferent from my normal runs, just stretching out the Tuesday,Thursday, and Saturday distances.However, I also added three or four sessionsa week at the gym. I joined the YMCA, which was the only gym inmy area with a dry sauna. I knew I needed to build up my tolerancefor the heat, and had read that others had successfully used the

sauna to do just that. On my first session, I stayed inside for12 minutes. That night, and all the next day, it felt like the bloodvessels behind my eyes were about to burst. But I went back twodays later and stayed a little longer, and eventually built up toa half hour at a time. They kept the room way too hot, anywherefrom 170f to 205f (water boils at 212f), but I think this was akey element in my preparation.I also knew that I'd need a crew to get methrough this. Two years earlier, my mom and dad, Sue and Lewin,had come out to see me at the Angeles Crest 100 mile race, buthadn'treally participated. I knew I wanted them to come out, and alsoasked Steve Matsuda & Diana Rush, and Larry Dervin & NancyShura. Others asked to come out, which was a great boost for me:Mark & Patty Giebel, Sandy Gitmed, and Mark Gilmour.In training, I ran quite a few races, andwent out to Death Valley twice for training camp weekends put onby Ben & Denise Jones, the unofficial mayor and first lady ofBadwater. They're the unofficial race ambassadors, both withmultipleBadwater finishes, and one of the hidden treasures of this race.Those weekends were tough. The first dayout, I ran for 28 miles, then pulled off to the side of the roadand threw up. I had crashed. I pushed on a little longer, but wasdone for the day. Sunday was a long slow 18 mile climb followedby a (much quicker) 9 mile downhill. We stopped at a little restarea, and a busload of German tourists pulled over at about thetime we were finishing. I explained in my broken college Germanwhat we were doing. They were incredulous, but interested, and askedlots of questions, I'm sure headed back to Europe with stories ofsome more crazy Americans.We repeated the training weekend in lateJune. The first weekend (in May) we had temperatures of 120f; thistime, it got up to 128f. Denise Jones claimed it was the hottestshe had ever experienced (and she's a local!). This time I madeit to mile 33 or so before getting sick. I sat down on the sideof the road, and then laid back. For a second, I stretched out mylegs, but the second they touched the hot rocky sand, I quicklypulled them back up. Mark had turned his mini-SUV around on theroad and could feel it sliding across the asphalt, which had beensoftened into a semi-pliable state from the day's heat.I called it a day again, a little disappointedthat I hadn't reached my target of 41 miles. But later I realizedthat it had really been an exceptionally hot day, even for thatarea, and I knew I was stronger.It was so hot that afternoon that Patty,who had been running with me, was having trouble taking her earringsout of her ears because they were too hot to touch. The heat isabsolutely freakish, and the only thing I can really compare itto is opening an over door and feeling that wave of hot air. Sundaywas a little cooler...only 126f, but I pushed out further and longerthan anyone else that day, and knew that I'd done as much as Icould.Let's Go!The race starts on a Wednesday. Since ittakes place on the road, this reduces the runners' exposure to