Female Runner Makes History by Dominating International Field of Racers in World's Toughest Foot Race
2002 SUN PRECAUTIONS BADWATER ULTRAMARATHON, July 23-25, 2002
Death Valley, CA – Seventy-nine runners from eight countries ran 135 miles non-stop from Death Valley to Mt. Whitney on July 23-25, 2002, in the 25th anniversary Sun Precautions Badwater Ultramarathon, presented by adventureCORPS, an event production firm specializing in ultra-endurance and extreme sports events.
Pam Reed, 41, of Tucson, AZ beat all her female and male competitors, winning the race outright with a time of 27:56:47. She broke the women's course record by an astounding one hour and 52 minutes. Reed beat her nearest competitor, a man, by four hours and forty-two minutes. This second finisher, and men's division champion, Darren Worts, 31, of Chatham, NJ completed the distance in 32:38:57. The second female finisher was Linda McFadden, 39, of Modesto, CA with a time 36:50:17, while the second male finisher was Dave Hannaford, 52, of San Anselmo, CA with a time of 33:16:46.
A total of 58 of the 79 runners completed the distance within the 60 hour overall cutoff. Of these, thirty-six will receive the coveted belt buckle for completing the course in under 48 hours.
The international field of athletes, ages 31 to 68 (16 women and 63 men), ran a blistering 135 miles through temperatures of up to 126F°. The Badwater course covers three mountain ranges for a total of 13,000' of vertical ascent and 4,700' of descent. It is the most demanding, extreme, and prestigious ultramarathon in the world.
The first man to complete the course, in a solo, against-the-clock effort, was Al Arnold of Walnut Creek, CA in August of 1977. Arnold, now aged 75, returned to Death Valley this year for the first time in twenty years. He was honored by becoming the first inductee into the Badwater Hall of Fame and was on hand throughout the race to lend encouragement to the runners and hang finisher medals around their necks at the finish line.
Badwater, Death Valley marks the lowest elevation in the United States at 282' below sea level. The race finishes at the Mt. Whitney Portals at nearly 8,300'. The Portals are the trailhead to the Mt. Whitney summit, the highest point in the contiguous United States. Competitors travel through places or landmarks with names like Mushroom Rock, Furnace Creek, Salt Creek, Devil's Cornfield, Devil's Golf Course, Stovepipe Wells, Keeler and Lone Pine.
The title sponsor of the 2002 Badwater Ultramarathon is Sun Precautions, the Seattle-based makers of Solumbra 30+ SPF sun protective clothing, medically accepted sun protection for sun sensitive and sun sensible people. Additional race sponsors include E-Caps, Hammer Nutrition, Brave Soldier, Seasons Restaurant of Lone Pine, Furnace Creek Inn and Ranch Resort, Panamint Springs Resort, Dow Villa of Lone Pine, the community of Lone Pine, CA, Mediablend.com, CycleDesign.com, MattFrederickDesign.com, Nine Lives Products, and many other generous companies and individuals.
A live webcast of the race was featured throughout July 23-25 at http://www.badwater.com.
2002 Webcast | Results & Time Splits | Race Roster
Pre-Race Press Release | Race Magazine (PDF)