Ephman wakes up, he does his little runs.  Can't say he LOVES them, but he thinks they're alright.  Does he want to run for 215km (135 miles) basically all uphill from 85m (282 ft) to 2548m (8360 ft) above sea level? No freaking way he doesn't.

Oh did he mention this all takes place in the middle of summer from Death Valley to Mount Whitney?  Anybody that can do that kind of endurance and for that type of distance, has got to be some kind of freak (freak in a good way).  These folks that go out there are shuffling along for over 40 hours in some cases.  The mens record is 22 hours 51 minutes 29 seconds, and the ladies record is 26 hours 51 minutes 33 seconds.  Superpeople basically.  It's not only the distance, think about that heat.  Yah it's a dry heat, but hot in Death Valley is HOT.  That'll zap the energy out of anything.

The racers have to have a support group.  They give them water, energy, encouragement, cold baths, and scraping them off the asphalt.  But anybody that starts this thing, is a winner in Ephman's mind.  Come on, you need to train for this, and that alone can't be easy.

Not just anybody can throw on a pair of shoes and expect to run this.  You have to qualify.  And how do you qualify for a 215km running road race you ask?  Don't ask.  The way to qualify is just as crazy as the race itself.  You've needed to have run a few of these kind of races before, so just to make Ephman's life easy he's going to lift it off the organizations website:

1. You have officially finished the Badwater Ultramarathon (the actual race held since 1987; “solo” efforts will not be considered, except those made prior to 1990).

2. You have officially finished at least one official 135 mile running race which is a member of the BADWATER WORLD CUP, plus one running race of at least 100 continuous kilometers in length, or a multisport event that includes a running section of at least 100 continuous kilometers in length.

3. You have officially finished TWO running races of at least one 100 continuous miles in length and/or multisport events that includes a running section of at least 100 continuous miles in length.

Oh don't worry there's more:

In addition to meeting at least one of the three qualifying standards listed above, the ideal applicant will have extensive experience in ultra endurance sports, defined as at least five years participation in some, or all, of the following:

* Ultra Running: In particular, completing the Grand Slam or multiple week-long desert stage races in the same calendar year.
* Ultra Triathlon: Double Iron, Triple Iron, Ultraman, (or longer).
* Expedition-Length Adventure Racing: Eco-Challenge, Raid Gauloises, Primal Quest, or similar.
* Ultra Cycling: Furnace Creek 508 or comparable ultra-marathon bicycle races at least 500 miles in length.

Ok so good luck with that.   Ephman's just going to keep to his little 1 hour runs.

 

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