Badwater 135 Race Report - 8th Place 25:04:07

Badwater 135 and what makes this race the hardest foot race on the world. Point to Point Race, schorcing temperatures, a road that just goes forever and you pass through two mountain passes before the final summit to Mount Whitney Portal.

There is other logistics with the crewing also that makes it difficult, only 2 crew members can be with the runner at one times during the race, one crew member on the climb up Father Crowley. When you have pacers they can only run behind you and or hand things to you on the lefthand side. One vehicle per runner, following you the entire way to keep you safe from the heat and fuelled for the race.

Being from Australia, the furtherest traveled to race this years event does come with challenges of having to get the supplies needed for the race, and have the car set up to be efficient for the event. We are always learning from each race and would have done a few things differently in the future but nothing major as we were pretty organised for the journey ahead, The hire car was a big Chev Suburban and we stocked up on esky’s spray bottles etc in Walmart.

Arriving on the Friday morning and we drove straight out to Lone Pine for lunch and then out to Death Valley where the temps just got hotter and hotter. Stopping a few times to feel the heat  - 52 degrees, We checked into the Resort we were staying in and went for a 20 min jog.. Hottest point of the day and it hit. It was just hot and you couldn’t escape it. Did bring questions but I knew it would be different on the day.

The weekend before the race, we did some recon of the course, driving down to the Basin where the start was before driving back to Lone Pine. Along the way, we checked the course, visited the checkpoints, and became more familiar with the flow of the course. The roads were already hot, and it just seemed like they gradually climbed the entire way.

The Crew

Nicole Coubrough – Crew Chief

My wife, Nicole, was Crew Chief. She would be driving, managing the fuel, making sure everything was organised, and helping the crew rest while ensuring everyone was looking after each other.

Ben Darcy – Pacer & Crew

My main guy. Ben knows how to push me and knows exactly what I need. He’s the numbers man and knows how to manage the nutrition details needed to keep me cool and get me through the race while keeping us on track for our goal time.

Linda Stanborough – Pacer & Crew

The newest member of the team, but you wouldn’t want anyone else by your side. She has a heart of gold and knows how to push you when you need it. She brought a lot to the team with her notes and printouts, adding to the ones I had already prepared. She was also someone Nicole could bounce ideas off throughout the race.

Mitch Clark – Pacer & Crew

Mitch had been through this before and was the guy helping in the car with fueling, ice, and water duties. He would also pace me on the climbs.

Knowing the heat was going to be one of the biggest challenges and that we were chasing a time goal, the crew needed to rotate regularly to stay fresh, cool, and fuelled themselves.

The field was stacked with some incredible runners. I knew the pace would be fast and thought there was a good chance the course record could fall. My goal going in was to break 22 hours, but realistically it probably needed to be under 21 hours with the quality of the field. I was nervous about the heat, but I was also confident the team would do everything possible to keep me cool.

Having a 10:00 pm start meant a long day of waiting, but we arrived at the Basin about 40 minutes before the start and drove through the runners who had started in the earlier waves. There was excitement in the car. We checked the gear, sprayed water over me to keep me cool, I had a little shake-out to loosen the legs, completed my pre-race weigh-in, and then it was go time.

The Basin – Furnace Creek (28.5 km – 2:18)

We took off along the boardwalks, and I was running in second through the car park before heading out onto the road at around 4:20/km pace. I quickly adjusted my pace to around 4:30/km. A few runners came past while I settled into my rhythm, but the front four moved away at a pace that felt too risky. I stayed disciplined, holding 4:30s so I remained within striking distance.

The first 10 km felt comfortable, and I was able to get into a good rhythm. The crew stopped every two miles to swap my handheld or soft flask, throw water over me, and keep everything efficient so I barely had to slow down. Roughly every two miles I was taking in 250 ml of Tailwind and 250 ml of water. That became the pattern for the opening section of the race.

My body felt good, and I wasn’t really feeling the heat yet. At Furnace Creek we topped up the ice in my bandana before pushing on.

Furnace Creek – Stovepipe Wells (67.9 km)

It was still very early in the race, and I was holding around 4:45/km pace. I was overtaking runners from the earlier waves and could still see the head torches of the lead runners in the distance. I hadn’t realised Max had stopped at Furnace Creek, so I had actually passed him.

For the next 20 km I felt okay, but around the 50 km mark my quads suddenly loaded up and became incredibly sore. Every step sent sharp pain through them, and I knew it was far too early for this to be happening.

Trying to solve the problem, I had the crew spray Perskindol on my quads and took some extra anti-fatigue tablets, but I just couldn’t shake it.

My fueling and hydration were on point, and we were ticking those boxes. I didn’t feel overheated or like I was struggling with the temperature. Then I developed a stitch on my right side after losing focus on my breathing while dealing with my head torch. It took a while for that to settle.

I had a few crew cars around me—No. 85 Ivan, No. 82 Carmen, and No. 92 Max—so I knew they were close by. I was still moving reasonably well and hoping my legs would settle. Then Carmen, who would go on to set the new women’s course record, came rolling past. I just couldn’t go with her.

The alarm bells were ringing, but I kept pushing through to the next checkpoint, arriving at Stovepipe Wells still in darkness and ready to reset for the next section.

Stovepipe Wells – Towne Pass (94.8 km)

This was where pacers were allowed.

Ben jumped in from the start, and we tackled a big climb straight out of the checkpoint. He was constantly throwing water over me as we climbed before the road rolled gently up and down for the next 20-odd kilometres.

This was where Max went past us, just as Carmen had earlier, and again I simply couldn’t respond.

I had hoped the climb out of Stovepipe might change my running mechanics enough for my legs to come back, but my quads were still incredibly sore. I was still fighting.

Part 5

As we got closer to Towne Pass, Ben had to stop pacing because he was starting to feel the effects of the heat himself, probably because he hadn’t been cooling himself enough while focusing on me.

This section was full of false flats. It looked flat, but the road was always climbing slightly. Eventually the long downhill appeared, and I was still hoping my quads would finally come back to life. Sunrise wasn’t far away.

Towne Pass – Panamint Springs (117 km)

The long downhill.

Linda jumped in as we headed downhill at around 4:15/km pace. I was trying to hold back and avoid loading my quads any more than they already were, but it was difficult to control the pace with how sore they had become. Eventually we settled into around 4:20/km.

Linda then jumped back out, not wanting to overcook herself too early in the race.

I continued on and caught a couple of runners during the downhill. The descent just seemed to go on forever, and as we approached Panamint Springs the road flattened out into long rolling sections.

Unfortunately, my quads hadn’t improved at all. I simply couldn’t run the flats at the pace I wanted heading into the next checkpoint.

Nutrition remained exactly the same—Tailwind and water—with constant ice and water over my head, neck, and body to keep my core temperature under control. Was also having the anti fatigue tabs hoping to help the quads settle but nothing was working !!

Paramount Springs - Darwin - 145.9

Father Crowley a 19km climb, pinched up from the start and had Mitch with to start the climb, crewing for this section you could only have the one person attend to you and the raid just wound it up around the mountain pass. Was hiking ok and picked off markers to run from point to point. There was nobody insight behind me, could see two runners in the distance ahead to which I looked to be slowly bringing in on the climb.

The crew did a great good to keep my core temperature under control. Was also having the anti fatigue tabs hoping to help the quads settle but nothing was working !!

Mitch helped keep me cool and interchanged with Ben a few kms into the climb, Linda also did a section but they were all starting to feel the heat. The climb felt like it went forever and just kept going, quad were still in trouble but the break up with the hiking helped, the guys still pushed me up, they would say run to the end of the railing and this challenges me as I would then push past that point to something else to get a little further.  We also added in the Tailwind High Carb fuel in this section as well as it was getting hotter and I was working harder on the climbs.

Later I was told how beautiful it was out there and the views were amazing (where the Top Gun 2 film was shot) I was just focused on the road ahead. There were minimal spots for the car to stop so the pacer was taking extra water to throw over me.

We hit the top and the road opened up and coasted down towards the Darwin checkpoint with the road that that stretched out forever

Darwin – Lone Pine – 197km

The crew were rotating in and out every 2 miles. I had recently changed shoes. I started with the On Cloudultra Pro, which were great, but with the state of my quads and a blister starting to develop on the top of my second little toe after the 20km downhill section from Towne Pass, I thought a change might help.

I had planned to put on the Brooks Glycerin Max 2, but as you do, I purchased the Badwater Mount to Coast C1 on Sunday. They felt light and responsive, so I put them on. I was willing to try anything to see if my quads would come back to life!!

Leaving Darwin, all you can see is the road flowing down across the valley and the mountains in the distance, where the final destination waits.

I was still on target for around 21 hours at this point. Although my quads were in so much pain, I was still fighting and pushing through it. I was getting closer to Lone Pine, the final stretch where my game plan was to close in and finish strong.

I was counting down the kilometres to the next checkpoint: 50km, 40km, 30km.

Earlier, I went through the 100km mark in 9:30 hrs and was now approaching the 160km mark in 14:30 hrs. I was well on track for what we were aiming for. I was locked in, and my quads were what they were.

The crew were feeling the heat and had reached a stage where they were getting low on water!! They didn’t have enough water to get to Lone Pine for both myself and a pacer.

On the way to Lone Pine, Nicole jumped in for two sections and paced me. It was a welcome shock to see her with the pacer bib and pack ready! The first section was a bit rough. She was wearing Ben’s pack and it was bouncing everywhere, so she pulled in, fixed that, and was able to share some more kilometres with me. :)

Although my quads were sore, I was still able to hold pace until around 163km, when my hip flexor just went!!

I was out there running on my own and got to the car. The guys ran over to cool me off when I told them my hip had gone. I heard Nicole yelling from the car, “Why is he limping?!”

New section

I got the massage gun and tried to get into it to see if it would do anything. I had already been spraying Perskindol on my legs all day!!

My pace dropped. I was struggling and only able to manage 7–8 min/km, where previously I had been running around 5:30–6:00 min/km. It was a kick in the teeth, but I just had to keep digging in!!

Mentally, this was the toughest moment.

I knew I was still 30km from Lone Pine, and all you could see were the mountains ahead and the road folding out in front of you. It was the hottest part of the day and the crew were all busted. The heat had got to them as well.

One kilometre at a time.

I started counting down each kilometre in blocks of 10km. We passed through the Keeler checkpoint, where they said it was 13 miles to Lone Pine. Small wins. Just getting there.

Mitch had started jumping in for pacing at this stage. We were on the long straight where we could see Lone Pine almost within touching distance.

Over the walkie-talkie, Ben says, "7km to go."

My ears lit up. 7km!!

Then a correction came back over the radio...

"Sorry, 7 miles."

A big shout of "F***!" left my mouth. :)

But we were close.

I got a little momentum back into my stride and started pushing along, getting the pace back down a little.

We hit the turn — only the second turn in the whole race — and started running through Lone Pine. The crew pulled in to get fuel and water. The gas station was out of ice, so they had to drive further into town to another station.

The checkpoint was at the Dow Villa Motel, Room 32, where you had to check in. I sent Mitch across the road to check in for me, as the runner is allowed to continue.

It's all very old-school. The guys basically just take down your number on a clipboard, but Mitch said the guy just said, "Yep, no worries." I guess that's why I didn't register on the tracking.

#strokenolimitscoaching  #CoastToKosci #Moab240 #Badwater135 #cocodona250

Lone Pine – Mount Whitney Portal – Finish

217km

Home stretch.

I was on the road through Lone Pine, heading for the final turn onto Portal Road. Mitch had gone back for the crew as they were still getting ice, and I think they also stopped for Maccas.

I turned down the road and then — bang — my hip went again.

My quads were in so much pain and were sending shooting pains straight up into my hip.

I couldn't run.

I hiked for about 50m and tried again. Shooting pains.

Another 100m. Tried again.

But the pain was too much. I couldn't run.

The team car came up ahead and the temperatures had started to drop. I was about 20 hours into the race.

Ben was ready for the final climb, the final push. I changed my shirt, got into the Fusion Tempo and back into my Fractal SNL cap, removed my arm sleeves and refilled the ice bandana.

Ben was pumped.

I had to tell him, "I can't run."

I felt terrible and was disappointed to share the news.

We kept hiking. The final 21km is all uphill and you basically climb 2,000m to the finish.

Ben gave me a few minutes of hiking and then said, "Okay, let's try to run."

I took two steps and he could see the pain I was in. I tried again on the incline, hoping the change in terrain might help, but I was in too much pain.

I knew I could still hike.

So hike we did.

I still kept pushing.

With about 15km to go, the crew radioed in that four crew cars were only around the corner and the runners were close. They said they weren't moving well and I was moving better.

Ben was straight onto it, doing the maths.

It was going to be tight.

I was getting tired and started to hallucinate. I was seeing road maps on the road in front of me and dinosaurs on the side of the road. I called for some caffeine tabs and Coke.

This was when Ben said, "Okay, we can keep hiking up and it is what it is, or we can PUSH and hike as hard as you can to see if you can catch these runners. Just push to finish as fast as you can!!"

We were going for it.

We still had to try.

We had to finish as fast as we could.

My legs were burning, but we were pushing.

With 10km to the finish, there was another checkpoint. We had passed one runner.

Peter, who finished 6th, was just that little bit too far ahead. I had to average around 8 min/km to get within touching distance, but I couldn't run, so that wasn't going to happen. I was still holding around 10 min/km hiking up the climb.

We could see Ashley's light around the corner. The crew said we were within 800m of her, and we still had about 4 miles to try.

Kept pushing and pushing.

Gritting my teeth and driving forward, using my arms like I had running poles.

We could see her car driving up around the corner and then it came back down. We were close.

I had more Tailwind High Carb and Coke to keep my energy up and allow me to continue driving up this hill.

We reached the next bend and couldn't see Ashley's lights anymore. The car was gone.

We had pushed and pushed, but we were short.

I gained 82 minutes over 13 miles, but over the final 4 miles I didn't gain anything on the runner ahead.

We still kept pushing.

I radioed to the crew, "Where is the finish?"

It was completely dark. We were only about 400m from the finish, but we could see lights down at the campsite while the road ahead was black.

Then we saw Mitch ahead.

The road just kept pitching up and up, and finally the finish line was ahead...

Those final few steps.

The five of us, with the Aussie flag, running through the line together.

I was in so much pain, and the relief of crossing that finish line was enormous.

I struggled to hold myself up and the crew grabbed me. It was the worst I had ever felt after a race.

I was presented with the buckle and finisher's shirt, we had our photos, and then the team drove the car up to pick me up and take me back down.

8th place.25:04:07.The third-fastest time by an Australian Performance, second fastest Australian.

I'm happy with the effort and the fight I had in me all day. I never wanted to throw the towel in when things weren't going my way.

Disappointed with the result, but so happy with the day, and I know I couldn't have pushed any harder.

I still can't explain the quads.

The heat?

Did I push a little too hard in the first 50km to stay in the mix?

Never having run in these conditions or been exposed to the course before — who knows?

But we gave it everything we had on the day!!!

I wasn't feeling great afterwards and was quite sick, but I was hungry. I saw the Maccas and tried to eat the half-eaten cheeseburger, but that didn't help. I had two bites and thought I was going to be sick.

It was after 11pm when we pulled into the servo.

Then I actually was sick.

I leaned out of the car and what little was left in my system came out.

Everything was closed, so all I had was a Magnum ice cream, a handful of Skittles and some M&M's.

It was a struggle to get to bed. I lay on the floor in the hotel room aching. Nicole came and helped me into the shower and got me ready for bed.

I went to the bathroom and there was blood and a cloudiness to my urine.

I was like, "Oh shit, I have rhabdo!!"

I drank more water and woke up a few times during the night to drink more. It started to clear by the next morning.

The next day was still a struggle. I was walking around, trying to get the legs moving.

The pizza party was good. I was disappointed that Max Jolliffe didn't show up to the presentation, as it would have been nice to congratulate him.

We went to the Saloon and then to the Alabama Hills Cafe for drinks afterwards. We all had a good night celebrating, and we were definitely the life of the party. :)

It was a whirlwind trip, as the next day we were back in LA and on the flight back to Australia on Friday night.

Thank you to everyone who messaged me before, during and after the race. It's much appreciated, and you were all in my thoughts as I pushed through Badwater 135!!

10 weeks until Moab 240 now...

I had an MRI on the Monday after I arrived back in Australia. It's just bursitis and everything else is fine, so I just have to let that settle and hopefully I'll be back into training shortly!!

Moab 240 — next.

#strokenolimitscoaching  #CoastToKosci #Moab240 #Badwater135 #cocodona250