Badwater Ultramarathon returns to Death Valley in 2015

One of the most famous ultra-marathons in the world is the Badwater 135...a tortuous 135 mile ultra that starts in Death Valley below sea level and finishes at Mt. Whitney Portal at 8,360 feet (2530m). In 2014, the route had to be changed due to new safety rules introduced by the National Parks Service due to the extreme heat.

In order to comply with the new rules, the race will now start at night and runners will also be to a maximum of four crew members and one support vehicle, down from six and two, respectively, in the past.

In a statement, the organisers said......."We are just excited to return to Death Valley. Most of the impact of the new rules will be on us, the organizers, with more bureaucracy and additional expenses. Event participants and support crews won't see too much that is different, other than more rules to follow."

The race will be held July 28-30, and registration opens January 19.

This video clips below are from the documentary Running on the Sun 2000. It really captures the flavour of the event. It's split up into 9 parts...

Part 1 of 9....Check out the training method at 5:20...I'd recommend it!

Part 2 of 9

Part 3 of 9

Part 4 of 9

Part 5 of 9

Part 6 of 9

Part 7 of 9

Part 8 of 9

Part 9 of 9