James Rainey has written over at the L.A. Times about the Badwater Ultramarathon move. From the article:
Athletes lament the relocation of ‘the toughest foot race in the world’ pending a safety review by the National Park Service.
For 27 straight summers, all that stood between runners and completion of the Badwater Ultramarathon was 135 miles of asphalt, a 13,000-foot elevation gain and late July temperatures that soared to 120 degrees and above.
They called it “the toughest foot race in the world.” And not too many people argued.
But this summer, the race from the depths of Death Valley to the shoulders of Mt. Whitney has been moved, while the National Park Service conducts a “safety assessment” of the run and other athletic events. Race organizers have reconfigured one of the marquee competitions in ultra-distance running and moved it to an alternate course that will criss-cross the Owens Valley, dozens of miles to the west. Continue reading