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A Few Degrees from Hell: The 2003 Badwater Ultramarathon
The Badwater Ultramarathon is commonly referred to as 'the toughest footrace on the planet.' In 2003 defending champion Pam Reed, Dean Karnazes and 71 other runners took the ultimate challenge of running 135 miles in California from Badwater to the portals of Mount Whitney. Their journey would take them through the hostile environment of Death Valley...and subject them to temperatures ranking among the highest ever recorded on earth.Twenty-five runners tell of their adventures in arguably the absolute toughest of 'the toughest footrace on the planet'--the good, the bad and yes, the ugly--in this incredible and fascinating compilation. You are certain to gain a respect for the runners you will meet, and perhaps an even greater respect for the area known as Death Valley.The runners--who experienced heat exhaustion, dehydration, nausea, blisters, hallucinations and fatigue during the race--competed in temperatures literally 'a few degrees from hell.'
- GenresNonfiction
324 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 14, 2020
Very good book!
August 6, 2023
26 Läufer und eine Crew haben ihre Geschichte erzählt, aber nur einmal habe ich gelesen, dass der Läufer den Badwater Ultramarathon nicht mehr laufen will. Einige haben nicht gefinished, aber das ist nicht schlimm. 2003 war das bisher heißeste Jahr und die Hitze war für Läufer und Crew gleichermaßen hart.
Bei den meisten Läufern steigt irgendwann der Kopf aus. Viele berichten von Halluzinationen, andere verlaufen sich, was auf einer kerzengeraden Strecke durch die Wüste sicherlich eine Kunst ist. Der bisher älteste Teilnehmer berichtet, dass er über viele Meilen ins Grabtuch von Turin gewickelt war und den Abdruck, den er im Tuch hinterlassen hat, ständig vor Augen hatte.
Auch wenn die Stimmung beim Laufen sicherlich nicht immer rosig war, keiner hat böse Worte verloren. Alles war vergessen, sobald man über die Ziellinie gelaufen war. Und keiner der Läufer nahm sich ernst, der oft rabenschwarze Humor hat mir gut gefallen.
Es ist sicherlich kein Buch für jeden. Um es zu mögen, muss man zumindest ansatzweise so verrückt sein wie die Menschen, die im Buch ihre Geschichte erzählt haben. Dass es mir so gut gefallen hat, sagt wohl einiges über meinen Geisteszustand aus
Bei den meisten Läufern steigt irgendwann der Kopf aus. Viele berichten von Halluzinationen, andere verlaufen sich, was auf einer kerzengeraden Strecke durch die Wüste sicherlich eine Kunst ist. Der bisher älteste Teilnehmer berichtet, dass er über viele Meilen ins Grabtuch von Turin gewickelt war und den Abdruck, den er im Tuch hinterlassen hat, ständig vor Augen hatte.
Auch wenn die Stimmung beim Laufen sicherlich nicht immer rosig war, keiner hat böse Worte verloren. Alles war vergessen, sobald man über die Ziellinie gelaufen war. Und keiner der Läufer nahm sich ernst, der oft rabenschwarze Humor hat mir gut gefallen.
Es ist sicherlich kein Buch für jeden. Um es zu mögen, muss man zumindest ansatzweise so verrückt sein wie die Menschen, die im Buch ihre Geschichte erzählt haben. Dass es mir so gut gefallen hat, sagt wohl einiges über meinen Geisteszustand aus
May 16, 2022
A collection of several stories from the runners of the 2003 BadWater ultra. A bit dry I would say as most of the stories are like small race reports...
January 22, 2025
The Badwater Ultramarthon. The ultimate test of human endurance as runners embark on a 135 mile journey in extreme heat through Death Valley from Badwater to the portals of Mount Whitney. In order to participate in this event, each runner must submit a written application to the race directors and pray that their running resume is sufficient for admission. This book details the stories from 25 runner who participated in the 2003 race, which was one of the hottest races on record with temperatures topping out over 133 degrees Fahrenheit. Not only is this a grueling achievement for the runner, but for the running crew as well. The job of the crew is to make sure the runner has everything they need to keep moving. This job sounds almost as tough as running the race proper! The crew is constantly pacing, feeding, watering, medicating and facilitating wardrobe changes whenever needed. Sleeping is rarely part of the package.
One common thread of the runners in the 2003 Badwater race was how driven and goal-oriented each and every one of the participants were. This extends well beyond the race and into their professional personal lives as well. These stories are prime examples of how much focus is required for an individual to obtain a goals and how when you consciously choose to make something a priority you can accomplish just about anything. One complaint I have is that I wish the author would have followed less participants and gone a bit deeper. Many of the stories become redundant after a while, and I think more depth into the participants experiences or perhaps the history of the race could have helped with the monotony.
Final thoughts: Running Badwater will not be added to my bucket list. However, give this book a try if you are interested in learning a bit more about the Badwater race or the type of people who are willing to suffer through hell to meet their goals.
One common thread of the runners in the 2003 Badwater race was how driven and goal-oriented each and every one of the participants were. This extends well beyond the race and into their professional personal lives as well. These stories are prime examples of how much focus is required for an individual to obtain a goals and how when you consciously choose to make something a priority you can accomplish just about anything. One complaint I have is that I wish the author would have followed less participants and gone a bit deeper. Many of the stories become redundant after a while, and I think more depth into the participants experiences or perhaps the history of the race could have helped with the monotony.
Final thoughts: Running Badwater will not be added to my bucket list. However, give this book a try if you are interested in learning a bit more about the Badwater race or the type of people who are willing to suffer through hell to meet their goals.
November 22, 2013
Wanted to like this, but ultimately didn't care for it much. A book written by one of the competitors that unfortunately lacks any kind of editorial distance. Or perspective about what's interesting and what's not.
This book was not well served by letting a subset of competitors each have their own chapter. It winds up being a convenient "memory book' for those who were there, but readers might have preferred, for example, a structure that looked at specific sections of the race and used pieces from each of the interviews to illustrate the section. As it was, a lot of the material seemed incredibly repetitious. Not surprising...if you're reading 20+ race reports of the same race, there's bound to be a fair bit of overlap.
Some chapters by "names" were quite short (e.g., Lisa Smith-Batchen, who has coached a *lot* of people into Badwater, is covered in two pages on pp 127-129; Marshall Ulrich is three pages) while others seemed to go on quite a bit longer than one might have wished them to (Bonnie Busch consumed pp 90-107, the chapter by Ruben Cantu covered pp 175-195). Having competitors write their own stories, then not editing so that each story is at the same approximate level of depth, makes for a very uneven read.
Lastly, this book really needed someone to go through and do a final check on word usage, punctuation, etc. Frankly, if there was an editor/copyeditor/proofreader involved in the production of this book, it doesn't show...my casual reading picked up several dozen copy errors.
As I'm sure the author and a number of the competitors would agree: go out and watch the DVD "Running on the Sun."
This book was not well served by letting a subset of competitors each have their own chapter. It winds up being a convenient "memory book' for those who were there, but readers might have preferred, for example, a structure that looked at specific sections of the race and used pieces from each of the interviews to illustrate the section. As it was, a lot of the material seemed incredibly repetitious. Not surprising...if you're reading 20+ race reports of the same race, there's bound to be a fair bit of overlap.
Some chapters by "names" were quite short (e.g., Lisa Smith-Batchen, who has coached a *lot* of people into Badwater, is covered in two pages on pp 127-129; Marshall Ulrich is three pages) while others seemed to go on quite a bit longer than one might have wished them to (Bonnie Busch consumed pp 90-107, the chapter by Ruben Cantu covered pp 175-195). Having competitors write their own stories, then not editing so that each story is at the same approximate level of depth, makes for a very uneven read.
Lastly, this book really needed someone to go through and do a final check on word usage, punctuation, etc. Frankly, if there was an editor/copyeditor/proofreader involved in the production of this book, it doesn't show...my casual reading picked up several dozen copy errors.
As I'm sure the author and a number of the competitors would agree: go out and watch the DVD "Running on the Sun."
January 7, 2011
This book provides an account of the hottest Badwater Ultramarathon on record at 130 degrees. Twenty-three runners and one crew member share their stories of the grueling 134.4 mile race across Death Valley from the Badwater Basin, the lowest point of the Western Hemisphere at 282 feet below sea level, to the portals of Mount Whitney (8,360 ft). Badwater is known as "the toughest footrace on the planet" but provides an exceptional glimpse into the human spirit.
July 25, 2012
I've always had a fascination with Badwater. This is different runners's accounts of their race experience from the 2003 Badwater race. Some chapters are 5-6 pages and some are 30+ pages. Got somewhat repetitive but kept my attention. If you are a runner and do marathons/ultras, you probably really enjoy this. I will look for some of Scott Ludwig's other books.
May 28, 2012
Really liked digging into this book and reading first hand accounts of what it is like to crew and run at Badwater. Truly a remarkable book in that it captures the raw challenges and talent that Badwater attracts. Would recommend to any serious runner that is looking for a good read.
March 10, 2013
This book is an awesome account of what athletes go through hen competing in the 2003 Badwater Ultramarathon.
March 6, 2014
Good book, easy to stop and start as they are just short stories from different people about the same race. I love to hear Badwater stories. I still think, someday....
March 18, 2014
I enjoyed lots of the stories in this book. I wish that the story had a little more continuity.
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