Updates
John Finishes in 35:25!
Picture of John and Team 64 at Finish

John posted daily (or almost daily, anyway) updates of his training (as well as some thoughts about the race itself) over the two weeks before Badwater. When Team 64 went to California, we posted event updates on this page. Be sure to also check out the:

Official Event Webcast

Time to Give? In recognition of John's great run, wouldn't it be a good thing to have your donation to United Cerebral Palsy waiting in John's mailbox when he returns?

See a description of the course that includes John's anal split time charts.

After the Event

by John Dodds

After an absolutely amazing trip, Team 64 returned to Dulles Airport just before midnight. We didn't want our trip to end. As you can tell from the photographs at Whitney Portal, we were very pleased to have finished in good physical shape and spirits. Although we actually ran the race, it seems that you all know more than we do from Anstr's updates and from the webcast. Today, we will be catching up on the "news" you all have been getting since Monday. We understantd that many of you will be running in the mountains this weekend, and we think you're a bunch of crazies. Why would you want to run on rocks, roots, stumps and in streams through Virginia's beautiful forests when you can run on a narrow white line on a road out in the hot sun?

We certainly appreciate the interest and support you have shown and given us over the past several days. We're working on a report, photos, and some video clips that we hope to share soon. As the designated runner in this venture, I would like to say that my result was beyond my expectations (and probably yours) and that it was due to the tremendous support from Carolyn, James, and Joe. As I told them just before we left the airport last night, it was a real privilege to have run with them.

Event Updates

by Anstr Davidson

Wednesday

Final Update: From now on, I will let John speak for himself when he returns. The team plane comes into Dulles Airport tomorrow night. Fans are reminded to stay behind police lines.

I can't even get to the Webcast page now, but earlier today, they had moved John to ninth -- still a very good finish. I am sure that John will cover this in his report.

Finish Line Pictures: ...there are several pictures of John's finish with Team 64 on the Webcast site.

7:15 AM: If you go to the Webcast and click on the link to the 6 AM start video (it's a long download), you will see John in second place as the runners leave the start. The guy in front of John was wearing dark clothing and dropped out of the race later.

You will find several pictures of John on the run if you wander around the Webcast.

6 AM (3 AM PDT): This is the day that John doesn't need. The overall cut-off time is 60 hours and a many runners are still running. But Team 64 is at an undisclosed location in Lone Pine, likely sound asleep.

This morning, the Webcast has John in eighth place. For anyone in the 10 AM wave to beat John, he would have had to have finished by 9:25 PM last night, local time. So his place should be secure, but the results have not appeared consistent throughout the event.

Team 64 may call in today. I am sure that they will have a wonderful time in Lone Pine. For those of you who have never been there, Lone Pine is "lone." It is a wide spot on highway 395 that you stop at if you can't make it to Bishop on one tank of gas. Most of the Web sites about the town do not show pictures of the town, but rather, pictures of nearby Mt. Whitney.

Why is Lone Pine so small? Look at this aerial photo. Zoom in a couple of notches. Look at the black line that goes from the top to bottom of the photo to the left of the town. That is the Los Angeles Aqueduct. It takes water from the eastern Sierra's to Los Angeles. (Note how the streams coming out of the mountains stop when they get to the aqueduct.) The city of Los Angeles and William Mulholland stole this water from the Owens Valley in the early 20th Century. At least that is what people in the Owens Valley will tell you. The other side of the story is at the LA Department of Water and Power site. In any event, there is no dispute that Lone Pine is lone because there is no water to support a large population. At least Lone Pine is not suburb of Los Angeles.

Tuesday

8:25 PM (5:25 PM PDT): John finishes in 35:25!

The phone rang and Joe put John on the line. He had finished in 35:25 (they were unsure of the exact time). John was his typical, quiet self. He felt good. He praised his crew, saying that they were in good spirits and kept him going well. He had had some foot problems. When he tended to a blister on his heel, it caused some toe issues so he resorted to the old "cut the top off your toe box" trick. He only used one shirt and only changed socks one time.

Tomorrow is an off day. They have nothing to do until the award ceremony in the evening. They will likely spend the day in beautiful Lone Pine.

John did say it was hot!

On one down note, James said that crews can't drink beer during the race. I guess I won't try to get on Team 64 next year after all!

4 PM Joe called from 120 miles. It was two miles from the turn-off to the road to Whitney Portal. John was doing great. He is peeing and joking. He is taking all of the stuff that I should know the name for and it is working well. (When he gets back, he can sell his story to the manufacturer of the highest bidder.) He has not had stomach problems. Joe was not sure of phone coverage on the mountain so it is not clear when we will hear from them again. I told them that we were all proud of John back here.

(John looks to still be in seventh place overall as I post this. On the road, they are not aware of the other runners because of the time staggers caused by the three start times. They are aware that John has the "yellow jersey" for the 6:00 AM wave. Speaking of yellow jersey, they don't know what is going on with the Tour. I updated them.)

2 PM (11 AM PDT): They are at mile 115, which is less than the temperature of 120 - 125! It's about five miles to Lone Pine. John is moving well. Has a good sense of humor and surviving the heat well. He has a monster climb ahead of him, but should be on track to finish in the daylight today. The good news is that as he ascends the mountain, the temperature should drop (of course, so will the oxygen content of the air). Team 64 is in cell phone range again, so we should be getting more reports. I told Joe that a lot of folks back here were real impressed with John.

11:00 AM Joe called from 101.6 miles. They can see snow-capped Mt Whitney now. The night was very cold. John wore two jackets and gloves. It is now hot again -- 105 degrees before 8 AM. John has some toe problems but is wearing open toed shoes now. Doing real well on the down hill. Still leads his wave, but was passed on the road by Scott Jurek and Pam Reed. We probably know more about his overall place than the crew does. They are in the Owens Valley now and closer to a little more civilization. So we should get more frequent updates.

7:00 AM No report from the team, but the Webcast has John in a solid fifth place at 72 miles. He is right on the pace for a sub-30 hour finish. (Check out the pace charts he made for the site.) This is very impressive.

As John enters the Owens Valley, the heat should be not quite as oppressive. But, according to the weather site for Lone Pine, says this: "Excessive heat warning today and Wednesday...Record to near record high temperatures today and Wednesday..."

Here is a picture of John on the Webcast site. This is on Townes Pass.

Monday

9:15 PM: No further report Team 64, but you may want to check out the description of John passing through the first check point in a report on the Webcast site. It looks like John is still leading the first two waves, though the last wave has the top seeded runners, some of whom are making better times at the check points. The table at right contains the data from the Webcast sorted by time at Stovepipe Wells.

7:30 PM (4:30 PM PDT) Joe called from 2,000 feet elevation. John is walking the long Townes Pass climb. Joe explained that it is "f _ _ _ _ _ _ hot." They have dug into there own ice now. The dry ice was all melted and they are using ice much faster than thought. John is moving well and looking well. John has eaten a banana and had a small bottle of Coke.

According to Joe, the views are gorgeous, and he promises great pictures. He may or may not call from Panamint Springs. Next update may not be until tomorrow morning.

5 PM (2 PM PDT): John was the first runner through Stovepipe Wells (42 miles). He is one and a half hours ahead of the next runner in his wave. (There are some runners in the 10 AM wave, like Scott Jurek, who may be going a bit faster.) He pretty much ran all of the way to Stovepipe. Joe said he will start to walk some now. He has had no food, just been existing off of all the gu stuff. (Sorry, I don't know all these brand names.)

John had a hotel room at Stovepipe Wells that he spent only 10 minutes in. He has had a little hot spot no his toe but they are hoping that it won't develop into anything bad. He is running on the white line as Stan recommended to him. It is much cooler that way. (Joe says that the sun is so hot that if you can ever find any shade, it feels cold.)

The next check point is Panament Springs (72 miles), but they have to go over 5,000 foot Townes Pass to get there.

You will find pictures of John on the Webcast site if you look. The problem is that when you navigate the Webcast site, it will open many new windows for you. Be warned!

Noon (9 AM PDT): Joe called in to report that John has passed the 17.5 mile point and was looking great. He has been "drinking and peeing" well. It's now about 110 degrees (at 9 AM Pacific time). John was in second place in his "wave" -- only one or two minutes behind "some French guy."

Joe described the start as beautiful and moving. The runners were in the shade for the first hour and a half. Though the temperature was in the 90's, it felt cold to Team 64. (They are not acclimated to dry air!)

Yesterday, they met most of the "stars" from the Badwater DVD including 70 year old Jack Dennis from London. He is going for his 11th and last finish.

In what will probably be a common situation, Joe and James were in the hotel while Carolyn was out on the course crewing. There is no cell phone access out there so they will only be able to report where they can find real phones. The next one should be Stove Pipe Wells which is 42 miles into the run. According to John's pace charts, he should get there about 5 PM our time.

Quotation of the Day (so far, anyway): "I didn't know I was going to sweat so much." --John Dodds

11 AM: No word yet and nothing on the Webcast. You will note, however, that both John and Norm were mentioned in one of the pre-race stories.

8 AM EDT/5 AM PDT: It is less than an hour until John starts. You can see pictures of the pre-race briefing at the Webcast site. Be sure to see the picture that includes John and Norm Albert. You also want to see John's Mug Shot and Norm Albert's.

Sunday

10 PM EDT/7 PM PDT: John called to report in. They arrived ok in Las Vegas. Got the two rental vans (sans back seats) and then went to WalMart where they spent over three hours. They were there so long that they needed a lunch break. Spent over $300 on stuff including the biggest ice chest that WalMart had. Then they purchased 100 lbs of ice and 35 lbs of dry ice. There are actually two ice chests. One only for ice and the other for food and James's beer. The weather in Death Valley is actually cool. Will only be 117 degrees tomorrow. John seemed ready and eager. He had met the other VHTRC entrant, Norm Albert. John promised that I would receive updates from Team 64 tomorrow.

John's Training Updates

by John Dodds

July 8: Sayonara. This is my last update before what Joe Malinowski calls "The Big Dance." The sauna at Ft. Myer was broken today (good riddance!), so I had to use a sauna in the Pentagon Athletic Club annex in Crystal City (the one in the Pentagon itself isn't hot enough). Anyway, my heat training is now over. I should mention that heat training is also important for members of the crew. A lot of their time will be spent in the two minivans we've rented, and they won't be using the air conditioning unless those vans are moving. James Moore, for example, is doing some heat training by going out and sitting in his van in the hot afternoons. I sure hope Rebecca sets the timer so she'll know to check on him in case he succumbs to the heat. We're now working on getting everything packed and worrying about things like are we going to get to Las Vegas in time (our flight has been moved back an hour) to get dry ice, can we have the car rental place remove the back seats from the vans since we won't need them, where are we going to go food shopping when we get there, where is the closest Wal-Mart, what's the moon going to be like (waxing crescent, 23% disk illumination, sets at 11:23 p.m.), etc. I'm also reviewing my notes from talking months ago to Monica Scholz and Stan Duobinis, both Badwater veterans, to see if we've missed anything. I've also gone over the emails Bill Ladieu has been sending me on a regular basis; Bill did Badwater a couple years ago. Unfortunately, none of them tried to talk me out of doing this race. Anyway, I think we're ready.

There are a couple ways you can check on our progress. There is the official webcast. We are also going to try to call back to Anstr from time to time provided we have cell coverage, and he will then update this website. Although it doesn't seem quite right for this race, I'll end this with the obligatory "HAPPY TRAILS!"

July 7th: Road/Distance Training. Except for several runs in Ft. Valley, I didn't really train differently this year for Badwater. Like last year, I ran a road half-marathon in Wilmington, DE to get ready for the Boston marathon that I also ran. I did the Bull Run Run 50-Miler to get ready for the 100-miler I chose: the all-road Old Dominion Memorial that is run mostly in Ft. Valley. I had PRs in all these events. Particularly satisfying were my marathon PR at Boston in 72-degree weather (my previous PR was at Grandma's 6 years ago in perfect marathon weather) and my PR at OD Memorial. Thanks to Mike Bur, who paced me for the last 25 miles at OD Memorial, I was able to get a same-calendar day finish. Mike and I had run out there before in the 50-miler two years ago, and you can read my version. Before OD Memorial, I did a 24-mile training run there to learn the course and get used to running on back roads. It was very worthwhile as I realized I would need more cushioned road shoes, which I got. That run is also where I first tested out Sustained Energy on a long run and which worked very well for me two weeks later in the 100.

Before MMT, I also went on mountain runs with Russ Evans at Snickers Gap, a loop at the Wild Oak Trail, and the Browntown Loop (this one with Bill Sublett as well). When I would call Russ, he would always say: "It would be great to have you, but I think you should be running roads, blah, blah, blah." I was also a pacer for Randy Dietz for 43 miles at MMT. After the OD Memorial, I ran the Laurel Highlands 70-miler with Joyce and then last week returned to the roads in Ft. Valley with Marty as my last long training run (22 miles) (she will be running Vermont on similar roads in a couple weeks). There is one thing I didn't do and should have done and that is practiced power walking uphill as there are 3 long climbs at Badwater. Both Bill Ladieu, a Badwater veteran, and Mike Bur told me to do this, so I'm sure that when I come back, I'll hear, "I told you so..."

I should also mention my daily runs - several days a week with Joyce on the bike trail and the other days with Beverley and Linda, typically on the Mall downtown. All in all, I think I've had a good mix of trails, roads, and distance (in terms of miles and time). Most importantly, my body has pretty well held up through all of this except for being a little tired as you can see from the photo.

July 6: Rules. The official race magazine has four pages of rules for us to follow. I'm not sure I like some of them. Like the one that says you can't fold your bib number and you can't put it on your hat. I always (I mean always) fold my bib number and put it on my hat. What's the point in that rule? Here's another one: "Nudity is specifically not allowed." How are we to cope with chafing I want to know. Good thing there is no anti-running nekkid rule at MMT. There are also 10 complicated rules for "Support Vehicles": can't be wider than 78" in width; must have headlights on whenever the engine is running, 24 hours a day; must have racer's name and number "easily visible on all four sides," etc. We have rented two minivans for our support vehicles. But, as luck would have it, we have also been able to acquire a support vehicle with a little more, shall we say, pizazz. Check out Team 64's new "veehickle" in the photo. James and Joe are just a tad thrilled that they will be riding around Death Valley in a car sponsored by Miller High Life. I'm not sure how much help Carolyn (or me for that matter) is going to get from those two now. I'm still in negotiations with Miller to see if we can use the veehickle for official VHTRC events (they've asked me to identify a mature and responsible officer of the VHTRC to sign the necessary paperwork - I think you can see my problem, if you know what I mean).

    Sauna. As they say, all good things must pass, and tomorrow will be my last day in the sauna (for my lifetime). Here's a picture of where I've been spending my mornings for the past 6 weeks. You have to be careful in there because as the sign says: "Staying too long in a heated area can cause overheating." My rule of thumb is to stay in there as long as I can so when I stand up I don't faint. So far, I've been pretty successful. I can't say it hasn't been fun. Virginia is one of the few states that allow condemned prisoners to choose to die by the electric chair or lethal injection. I think the sauna should be added for a third choice, but I also think it would clearly violate the "cruel and unusual punishments" clause of the Constitution.

    Full Plastic Jacket. Yes, once again I ventured forth recently, this time in 90-degree weather, in my full regalia (short and long sleeve shirts, lined running jacket, sweatpants, and plastic jacket and pants). But this time I mostly walked. This was far more sensible than trying to run at a normal pace like I tried a week or so ago.

    Tire Training. Admittedly, I didn't do enough of this. This can put a good deal of stress on your body, and I didn't really want to do that since I ran a couple long races recently (the Old Dominion Memorial 100 and Laurel Highlands (70 miles), which were only two weeks apart). In retrospect, I should have started the tire training earlier. Mainly, it just adds resistance to your training - an alternative would be to run with a parachute (open, of course). I had a real problem with the tire last week. After returning from a training run in Ft. Valley, I went to a gas station in Arlington where I noticed my left front tire had just gone flat. I was going to change the tire myself but I didn't even know where the spare was (I've owned the van for 5 years). I found it underneath the van, and the prospect of getting under the van to get it wasn't too appealing. Trying to follow the 29-step process on changing the tire as outlined in the owner's manual made it even less appealing. So, I had the guys at the gas station change the tire. When they opened the back of the van, they tried to take my training tire out to put it on the van. I tried to explain to them (they didn't speak English) that because it had a U-bolt in it to which was tied a 10-foot rope (which was clearly visible), that that tire wasn't the spare tire. Although it took awhile, I finally got through to them. Finally, I do have to admit I've taken a fair amount of kidding because of this tire. Here's a short email exchange between one of the attorneys in my Air Force Reserve office and me after I told him about my website:

Him: Interesting site, Sir. I question your selection of a running partner. I would think that conversation with the tire was a little shallow.

Me: You're right. I found that the tire's reasoning was somewhat circular. You know the type.

I've told you a couple times about my heat training. Tomorrow I'll tell you what I did for my road training (and I'll try to make it interesting for a bunch of trailrunners).

July 5: Biggest Challenge. One of the questions that perhaps was the easiest one for me to answer was this one: "What was your most challenging ultrasport experience? Which event, when, why?" Sure, I thought of my miserable MMT100 finishes (2001 with the nausea problem and 2002 with the chafing problem). Then there was my first Bighorn finish (2003) with the popliteus problem. But the clear winner was my Bighorn finish in 2004 where I just couldn't breathe. Here's how I explained it:

As a category, the most challenging experience is running a 100-miler. There is no comparison between a marathon, 50K, or 50-miler on the one hand and a 100-miler on the other hand. Of the 100s I have done, the most challenging was Bighorn last summer. The race had a start time of 11:00 a.m., and I was running fairly well through the day and night. The race is an out-and-back and involves starting at about 4,000', going up to 8,100' in the first 8 miles, down to 4,000' at 30 miles and then up to 9,100' at about 49 miles. Around daybreak on my way back down to 4,000' from 9,100' to a major aid station at mile 66, it became very difficult for me to breathe. I could not run the slightest uphill and only very short spells on level terrain. Downhills were slightly better. On a steep climb, I could only walk about 7-10 steps and then had to stop, gasping for air. At the mile 82 medical check, a doctor examined me with a stethoscope. He decided to let me continue, and to make matters worse, the temperature dropped significantly and the wind picked up. The elevation was 7,500', and I had another major climb to do. A most unpleasant day got even more so. I finished about 5 and a half hours later.

Let me interrupt the answer here for a second. What the Badwater race committee might take out of this answer so far was that John can't run at altitude. And since the Badwater course ends at an elevation of 8,360 feet, then this perception could be a problem for me. But I was never convinced that my problem was altitude. And I did want to finish the answer on a more positive note - so here's what I wrote next.

Some say it was the altitude, but that hadn't happened to me at Bighorn the year before or in my previous 2 times running the Pikes Peak marathon where we went to 14,100'. Nor did it happen to me afterwards when I ran across the Grand Canyon twice in one day (elevations between 7,000' and 8,000') this past September or when I ran a 24-hour race in Frisco, CO this past October at 9,100'. Frankly, I think it was some type of allergy; two other people had the same problem that day at Bighorn, and they didn't finish. That whole day was just pure misery. I have run with nausea, chafing, muscle problems, etc., but nothing compared with the inability to breathe. During tough runs, I often say (as we all do) that I'm never doing this again - and that day I almost meant it.

My finish at Bighorn was captured on film for posterity by Keith Knipling. The caption is: "John Dodds had another rough time at the Bighorn. Here John is being helped to the finish by the Blue Invasion Welcoming Committee, who is being helped by Jim Beam (count the cups)."

Fortunately, that Bighorn experience is still very clear in my mind. When Steve Pero and I were recently reminiscing about Bighorn, he said I should run it again next year, to which I quickly answered "Fat chance." OK, maybe the 50. We'll see.

July 3: Assembling a crew - Team 64. The first person I asked to be part of my crew was Vicki. Believe it or not, she accepted. We had a few discussions after that, and I was already figuring out the title to my race report: "Mutiny in the Desert." I think it was 3 days later Vicki called me and gave me 25 reasons why she thought it was stupid to be part of the crew and (if you can believe this) questioned why I wanted to run this race. I think what really made her change her mind was when I couldn't guarantee that I would finish the race in 32 hours. Then I called James Moore. I had had a discussion with him about Badwater during the Eagle Run (I didn't tell him I had applied). He said that he had been thinking about applying, had gotten together some information but decided not to apply this year. So, when I got my acceptance email, I called him to let him know I was running Badwater. In that initial conversation, he volunteered to be part of the crew. He then mentioned that Joe Malinowski had also been interested in running Badwater, so Jim made a call and now I had a crew of two. The next logical person was Carolyn Gernand because of her involvement in Jim's runs. She agreed (fairly quickly), so now I was all set. Having a crew took a load off my mind. A couple months later, I mentioned to Joyce Fendley that we needed a logo. After several sketches with some crayons, she came up with a logo and a new identity for the four of us - it's the Team 64 logo you see on this website.

July 2: Making your reservations. Several days after we got our email notifications, I called Monica Scholz for some advice about Badwater. Apart from race stuff, she said I should hurry up and make my motel reservations. So, I quickly made reservations in Furnace Creek (it's at mile 18 in the race but it's also where all the pre-race activities are), in Stovepipe Wells at mile 42 (this is just a backup in case something happens to you), and in Lone Pine at mile 122 (where the post-race breakfast is). The race rents several rooms in a place called Panamint Springs (at mile 72). The next thing I did was check out the airlines. Since this got pretty complicated, I turned this project over to Vicki. Before you knew it, we were booked on Bobby Jo's Airline and Storm Door Company from Dulles to Las Vegas. Actually, I'm just kidding - Vicki did pick out a reputable airline. The last thing to take care of was renting two vans, which I also did. Apart from making reservations, the biggest problem that I saw was how to round up a bunch of nuts to crew for me. As it turns out, the VHTRC has a good pool to draw from. Next time, I'll tell you how Team 64 came to be.

July 1: Applying for Badwater. People who want to run Badwater have to fill out an on-line application that becomes available in early January. You have to say how many marathons and ultramarathons you have done and give them your running resume and explain why you are a good candidate to run Badwater. You have to identify which of the qualifying criteria you met - for me it was running a 100-mile race. You also have to explain why you run ultras and why you want to run Badwater. Your application is graded separately by a 5-member race committee, although they never say what the grading system is. We were notified that we had been accepted/rejected in mid-February.

For the answer to the question about why I run ultras, I told them I like running in the woods on rocky trails. Since Badwater is a 135-mile road race, you might be thinking this is not the best answer. Here's how I handled it:

"Very simple: I like running in the woods. My epiphany took place in August 1999 when I had signed up for a trail marathon. I didn't really know what that was; I just wanted to run a marathon at that time of year. It was in upstate New York, and I had a blast. Surprisingly, it was up there that I learned about a group of trailrunners here in Virginia. I joined the Virginia Happy Trails Running Club early the following year. I am an ultrarunner and compete in ultras because trail runs are typically ultras. When asked what I do, I first say I'm a trailrunner. It's only when asked the distances I run will I say I'm an ultrarunner. Having said that, I do enjoy the challenge of running long, difficult courses. I run often in the mountains around here, such as on the Appalachian Trail, and my favorite is to run on rocks, like at Massanutten Mt."

Okay, maybe that wasn't the best answer, but it worked. Next time I'll tell you what the first thing you do when you get your acceptance email (after telling Gary and Russ who were the only ones I told that I had applied for Badwater - I don't know how many people Gary told).

June 30: Why? In my first year of trail running, one of the people in my Air Force Reserve office gave me a book called "The Death Valley 300: Near-Death and Resurrection On the World's Toughest Endurance Course" by Richard Benyo. This was his account of his out-and-back effort with another guy in 1989 (they went to the top of Mt. Whitney -- over 14,000 feet -- which made each leg 150 miles; in the Badwater ultramarathon, we only go part way up (about 8,400 feet) Mt. Whitney). Soon afterwards, I found out about the Badwater race. I was quoted in an Air Force magazine in 2001 as saying I'd never run Badwater.

A couple years later, Gary gave me copies of several videos, one of which was "Running on the Sun." I was now determined never to run Badwater. Over the next several years, I would watch these videos whenever I was not running due to an injury. Over this period of time, the idea of running Badwater sort of grew on me. Last November I sprained my ankle while running on the Bull Run trail (Gary had made up this stupid game where Keith and I would take a longer route and try to beat Gary and Russ back to the parking lot). Keith and I were running fairly quickly, and I stepped on a rock that was hidden under leaves. I finished the run, and, by the way, Keith and I "won." But it also meant that I didn't run for the whole month of December. So, I began to watch the running videos again. I can't explain exactly why, but during that month I seriously began thinking about running Badwater.

I did some checking on the web and found out that you actually had to apply to run this race by answering certain questions. I'll tell you more about the application process next time, but let me give you my answer to the question, "Why do you want to run Badwater?" Here is what I said:

"I first heard about Badwater when a non-running friend several years ago gave me a book about two guys who ran 300 miles (out-and-back) at Badwater. I was intrigued. As I ran more ultras and difficult 100-milers, Badwater was in the back of my mind. I also know several people who have run Badwater in the past several years. But I have to admit that it's not like I said that's the race for me when I first heard about it.

"Part of my philosophy (if you want to call it that) is that life is experience. When someone asked me before I ran my first 50-miler why I wanted to do that, I told him that a couple friends of mine had run a 50-miler and I wanted to know what it felt like to have that experience. Running a 50-miler, even if it was a different one, would let me have a shared experience with others. That someone then said he didn't have to jump off a 50-story building to know what that would feel like. That's when I gave up trying to explain why I run ultras.

"But since you asked for an explanation, my answer has two parts: One, it is a personal challenge like running my first marathon, first trail run, first ultra, and first 100. To set a difficult goal, train for it, and then do it gives a lot of personal accomplishment and satisfaction. I have watched the Badwater video 5 times, and now I want to show that I can complete the run. Second, I want the experience of running Badwater so I can have that shared experience with others who have completed it or will complete it. It is this connection with other people that is important, and it doesn't matter whether they ran Badwater at the same time, in earlier years, or in years to come."

Unfortunately, that answer (and my others) resulted in me being accepted to run this year's race. I'm sure there are some of you, like me, who will "never" run Badwater. So, I'll tell you tomorrow how the application process works.

June 29: Baking in the box. I've been going in the steam room in the athletic club on a sporadic basis for a number of months. Beginning in June, I started what I will call my formal training in the sauna. There is a 28-day schedule on the Badwater website that I would follow. As it turns out, my first day was equivalent to Day 13 on that schedule. Last week I was at Day 27. The schedule calls for you to begin at 110 degrees (30 minutes) and finish at 180 degrees (45 minutes). My problem is that the sauna temperature in the Pentagon athletic club is set and can't be adjusted - it ranges between 150 and 160 degrees - not hot enough. So, I've been heading over to the Ft. Myer gym where we can control the temperature by fiddling with the dial - it will go as high as 200 degrees. Let me tell you that 180 degrees is really hot - when it's 200 degrees, you have to start covering up your body parts.

You hear about people training for Badwater by riding a bike in a sauna or running on a treadmill. I don't see how they do it - either they set the temperature lower than what I do or I'm just a wuss. All I can do is just sit there and watch the minute hand on the clock make its tantalizingly slow way around the face of the clock - again and again. There is one activity that you have to do and that is drink lots of water while you're in the sauna. The idea is to train your body to process fluids under extreme heat conditions.

I have one word to describe this heat training: debilitating. It's surprising how much it takes out of you, especially when you consider that you are not only still running outside but also running with extra clothes on in the heat of the day. Which makes you wonder why I even signed up for this race - I'll try to explain that tomorrow.

June 28: A more sensible training ensemble. After my brush with death on my first "dressed up" training run, I decided on a few wardrobe modifications for my next run. Two days later, with the temperature about 85 degrees, I ran the bike trails that make a loop around Arlington. I decided to wear only a short-sleeve shirt, a long-sleeve shirt, and my usual RaceReady fitness shorts - no sweatpants and no plastic rain suit. I left around 1:45 p.m. and finished three hours later. This run actually wasn't too bad - would have been better had I remembered to bring the SUCCEED capsules. Three days after this run, I did another long run - this time the temperature was 92 degrees. I wore the same clothes for the first 10 miles. After that I added a lined running jacket for the last 7 miles. I actually felt pretty good during this run - I ran for 3 hours, which is just over a 10.5 min/mile pace (this is a lot faster than I plan on running at Badwater).

Keep in mind that before I started running in heavier clothes, I started heat training in the sauna. That will be the topic for tomorrow.

June 27: The training run from hell. There are two ways to train for the heat for Badwater: (1) run with several layers of clothing and (2) bake in a sauna. I'd like to tell you about my first attempt last Monday with the clothing regimen. One of the articles on the Badwater website says this: "In the heat of the day, either go the whole nine yards and train in many heavy layers right from the start and run very limited mileage to understand how you will personally react to it, or, start with more routine mileage with perhaps just a sweatshirt and cold weather cap and add more layers and increase mileage as you adapt." And then there was this advisory that I didn't remember reading: "Pace yourself. It's easy to feel just as strong at the start, aside from feeling heavier than normal. It "won't" last. Remember to generate as little internal heat as possible and plan on lots of walking."

I decided to go with the full setup which included a short-sleeve shirt, long-sleeve shirt, lined running jacket, sweatpants and then over all of this I wore a yellow plastic bicycling rain suit (jacket and pants). You might be asking why I wore a yellow plastic rain suit. It's because I didn't have a dark green one. Anyway, I merrily left the Pentagon around 3:30 p.m. and headed over the Lincoln Memorial Bridge for my normal 6-mile run. The temperature was 76 degrees that day (pretty tame). I was doing alright, thinking that this wasn't so bad - until I got to about mile 3.5, which put me in front of the Jefferson Memorial. My body temperature jumped to about 500 degrees (this is just an estimate; it could actually have been 600 degrees) and the reading on the fun-o-meter plummeted (I have the super-duper model that actually gives negative readings). From then on, it was a matter of survival - I even walked several times. The thought of taking off any clothes didn't really occur to me as I was determined to finish as I had started. And I did - barely.

One of the things that surprised me during this run was how soaked I was underneath the rain suit. And how much the water seemed to weigh. How is it that water weighs five times as much outside your body in your clothes than inside your body? I felt like my clothes alone weighed 100 pounds during the last portion of the run. I know this may seem sort of obvious, but I can tell you that plastic is neither a moisture-wicking material nor breathable. I made a few sartorial changes for my next runs that I'll tell you about tomorrow.

Badwater Team 64
by John Dodds
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