The Badwater Salton Sea ultramarathon takes runners from the desert into the mountains, with more than 9,000 feet in elevation changes and 81 miles of extreme weather.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00This weekend in Southern California, 46 runners will compete in one of the world's toughest races.
00:06It is an 81-mile course called the Badwater Salton Sea Ultramarathon.
00:11This is not just a regular Sunday jog here.
00:14So Chris Kostman is race director and president of Adventure Corps,
00:18who is running the 12th edition of this race.
00:22So Chris, thanks so much for making time for us here on a Friday.
00:24What makes the Badwater Salton Sea Ultramarathon so unique and so challenging?
00:30Well, it's 81 miles, and it's unique also in that it's a team ultra.
00:35So runners enter as a duo or a trio, but it's not a relay.
00:38They stay together for the duration.
00:41So they start at the Salton Sea, which is below sea level.
00:43They run across the Anza-Borrego Desert for 40 miles.
00:47Then they get on a desert mountain trail up into the mountains as they are crossing San Diego County.
00:54And that's usually around sunset, and the weather will change dramatically
00:58from, you know, dust storms and heat and headwind and all of that to cold weather.
01:04Could rain, could be hail.
01:06And then they're up in the mountains, and then they go across and they climb Palomar Mountain,
01:10which is the second tallest mountain in San Diego County.
01:13And that is at night, and it's usually cold, foggy, almost raining.
01:18And so it's 81 miles of extreme weather changes and extremely difficult route with 9,000 feet of elevation gain over the 81 miles.
01:27Wow. Well, you were discussing some of the different types of weather that you see during this race.
01:33So can you describe the weather conditions, the terrain, and the terrain that these runners will be facing?
01:39And just kind of, like, give us more detail on just that change that runners will be going through as far as,
01:45like you said, to the mountain cold.
01:48Yeah, that's part of the excitement and the challenge of this race is that you start at sunrise, it's cool out, sun's coming up,
01:56you're out in the, you know, Anza Borrego Desert, it's super dry, you're down around sea level and then working your way west.
02:04And there's headwinds coming in because they're basically going due west the whole time.
02:08Most of the weather right now is coming in from the ocean, so they're running right towards that weather.
02:13And so they come across this flat desert, but then when they head up into the mountains and that part they enter a trail
02:19where they climb for 8.6 miles through a desert mountain single track with cholla cactus jumping at them.
02:26It just changes dramatically because you're heading into the mountains, so it's that interface between the desert weather and the coastal weather.
02:33Also, you're going up in elevation 3,500 feet at that point.
02:37And so there's all this mandatory gear that they have to carry as they head up the trail section.
02:42Then they get up there and it's the late afternoon, evening, cools off, but it's often cold.
02:47And now they're bundling up, running further west.
02:50And then finally they climb 11 miles up Palomar Mountain.
02:53And at that point they're usually going straight up into a bog bank.
02:57And so it's a lot of different weather all in one 28-hour running race.
03:02Pretty well. You mentioned this is not a relay.
03:06These are mentioning runners compete in teams.
03:09They've got to stay together.
03:10So why is the race designated and designed that way?
03:14It was an idea that I came up with when we started the race back in 2013.
03:18Just because ultra running, which is, you know, races that are longer than a marathon,
03:23is a very solitary pursuit and it's very focused on yourself and how do you feel and your pacing and your energy and your nutrition.
03:31And are you getting blisters or are you having issues?
03:33And so you're just thinking about yourself the whole time.
03:35So I wanted to turn that on its head and make the runners basically have to think about one or two teammates and then work together.
03:43It also is great, though, in a race like this weekend with the headwind, they can take turns leading and being in front or drafting the other end back.
03:52And so that'll be a bonus this weekend as well.
03:54But, yeah, it kind of turns the whole ultra running thing on its head where you have to focus on your other runners as well as yourself.
04:00All right, Chris, well, do you have two more spots available for Jeff and I this weekend?
04:05Yeah, come on over right here in Borrego Springs at the resort.
04:08And we'll get you signed up and put some bibs on you and you can hit the road tomorrow at 6 a.m.
04:13All right, I'll be in the wheelbarrow and you can push, right?
04:16Yeah, let me get my last will and testament.
04:17There you go, that'll be a whole new category.
04:19Yeah, I'll get my last will and testament taken care of, then I'll head out there to do that.
04:22But race director and president of Adventure Corps, Chris Kosman, thank you so much for joining us.
04:28You're welcome, great to be on. Have a good one.
04:29Good stuff, Chris.