AdventureCORPS Presents
The 2005 Kiehl's Badwater Ultramarathon Webcast

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Diving Into the Furnace: John Dodds

Tracy Fawns

After runners crest the coolness and the beauty of Townes Pass, then comes the descent. Descending, at 58.7 miles into the race, will beat a body down. Constantly slammed into the pavement, the knees take a brutal punishment and the feet are screaming every obscenity known to man. The body is saying to stop and the mind is screaming to push on, move forward, and to just reach that finish line.

I met up with John Dodds' crew on the descent and he looked as fresh as the first 10 miles. With a huge lead over the other 6:00 am wave starters, he has a mental advantage of knowing that he is cruising at a great pace in his rookie year. As he pushed on into the evening, he put on his reflective vest and front and rear red lights to increase driver awareness and safety. Off he went, with smiles and a cheerful attitude, on his way to Panamint Springs.