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With the Badwater 135 having just started on Monday evening, I thought it would be great to bring Bob Becker onto the WASP. For those of you who are unfamiliar, the Badwater 135 is nicknamed the World’s Toughest Footrace. It is, yes, 135 miles. In Death Valley. In the middle of the summer. All on roads. The temperature typically is in the 120s or more, and the pavement can get much, much hotter than that. It’s not flat by any means, either. Badwater begins at the lowest point in the U.S. - 282 feet below sea level – crosses three mountain ranges, and finishes at more than 9000 feet on the slopes of Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the continental U.S. You can see why it’s earned its moniker and legendary place in ultrarunning. In 2022, Bob attempted to become the oldest finisher in Badwater history at age 77. Videos of his finish went viral when he literally bear crawled to the line – but it was 17 minutes after the 48-hour cutoff, so it wasn’t an official finish. That would have been it for many, but not Bob. He returned to the starting line at Badwater Basin three years later at age 80 and with crew that included ultrarunning and Badwater legend Marshall Ulrich and wife Heather, Bob nabbed that oldest finisher record in the astounding time of 45:00:06 – three hours faster than when he was 77! That was one of Bob’s four Badwater finishes. He has also completed a Badwater double, which entails running from Badwater Basin to the top of 14,505-foot Mt. Whitney and returning to the start, a total of 292 oven-like miles. In this very entertaining chat, Bob explains the lure of running in Death Valley, and describes in detail what it is like to train for and to experience almost two days of running through that inferno. This is from someone who didn’t even begin running until a bit over 20 years ago and ran his first ultramarathon to celebrate his 60th birthday, and it was the Marathon des Sables, which entails 150 miles in the Sahara Desert.
Bob is also one of the great evangelists for the sport. He founded and still directs the Keys 100, Florida’s first ultramarathon, which now includes more than 1000 runners, and has amazing logistical challenges that Bob describes here. His company Ultra Sports LLC also hosts the Daytona 100 and he consults to the Everglades Ultras. You’ll be amazed at the energy this 80-year-old has, which is part of why he is in demand as a public speaker. This episode was recorded not long after he ran the Denali 135 in Alaska. He shares how he keeps ultraracing, became a vegan, how he trains for hills in pancake-flat Florida, and inspiring others to do their own movement so they can live fuller, healthier lives.
Bob Becker
bob-becker.com
bob@ultrasportsllc.com
Instagram @bobruns150
Bill Stahl
silly_billy@msn.com
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