Badwater Ultramarathon ends well

From Mary Forgione in Travel, comes a nice  post on the Badwater Ultramarathon, a 135-mile race between Death Valley and Whitney Portal. Here's an excerpt:

It was a rough night for runners. Just as folks passed Stovepipe Wells around 5 p.m. Monday, organizers announced a rerouting of the race because Highways 130 and 190 were closed as a result of mudslides caused by heavy rains in the area, according to the race website. This meant event director Chris Kostman had to come up with a replacement course — and fast.

"'All racers will run to the standard 102.9 mile location … and then TURN AROUND there. Racers will then run BACK to Panamint Springs Resort,’ which was designated as the finish," is what was reported to runners.

But somehow Caltrans crews worked their hardest to clear the course and two hours later, racers were told that they would be able to proceed to the Whitney Portal at 8,371 feet in elevation. Whew!

Check out the full post here.

--Liam Gowing

Photo of a lone runner in the Badwater Ultramarathon race on Monday by Richard Hartog / Los Angeles Times