It's Hot Out There

By Matt Frederick

Hello all, its approaching midnight on Tuesday, the runners have been out on the course for as long as eighteen hours. Of course, I'm back here again at another Badwater. Its something of an incurable disease I guess. Or maybe more of some kind of freakish family reunion where you meet people that you don't really know personally, but have something in common, get to renew friendships_share handshakes and hugs_and catch up on what everyone's been up to, and best of all visit with people who have become family over the last few years. This event is something special, and I love seeing folks, old and new, every year.

The three wave starts this morning went smoothly and we experienced start temperatures between 108 and 115 or so. The sight of so many runners in sun gear always reminds me of painters wearing their whites.

The National Park Service is in the middle of reconstructing the landing at Badwater, and it will be nice for the tourists who head out that way. While we're out here every July, it is pretty nice here in the spring. 70-degree weather, and if you're lucky, wildflowers. If you do have the opportunity, its a great trip to make.

We ran the webcast from Furnace Creek this morning, at least until ALL of the phones in Death Valley went out (not by any fault of ours). So we packed up a bit early and headed to our current location, the Dow Villa in Lone Pine. Nice place, great view of Mt. Whitney outside the Race HQ window. Temperatures out in Death Valley peaked out in the high 120's today. The highest I saw on the truck's display was the picture above - a scorching 128 degrees Farenheit around 3PM today. There was also a fair amount of wind out there which really makes it feel hotter. Sort-of like standing in front of an enormous hair dryer on high. Some folks commented on the humidity, but its hard for me to remember from year to year. Its hot out there; there's not much you can do about it except for staying hydrated. (Of course I say this from the comfort of our hotel room.) We had some brief change in the weather here in Lone Pine: strong winds and a brief shower. I'm sure that the weather will prove to be interesting at the Mt. Whitney Portals tomorrow.

I've posted a couple of neat desktop pictures for your enjoyment and desktop viewing; l also, we invite you to share the Badwater Webcast link with folks you know.

Thanks for reading!

Matt