Brazilian is Badwater Champ

As suspected, my man Pacheco met the Pigdog somewhere near mile 118 in Death Valley. I have to say, I was a little disappointed the temperatures were a somewhat chilly 113. What global warming? Anyway, Brazilian rookie Valmir Nunes won Badwater in a course record 23 hours. Beefcake extraordinaire and self-proclaimed "ultramarathon man" Dean Karnazes turned in a pedestrian 10th place performance, losing out to NYC's Blake Benke, who I should point out for the MBAs that found the time to train while doing his second year at NYU.

5:75, 45:06

Going Out Too Fast

There's no worse feeling than going out too fast during a long race. There comes a point in time when it's quite clear you've screwed up and the ensuing miles will suck out loud. I have a sneaking suspicion this might be happening to Badwater virgin Jorge Pachecho, who was leading the race after 42 miles. Jorge's a machine operator in LA. My guess is he starts to feel funny pretty soon.

5.75 miles, 45:08

Tackling Death Valley

The season of the crazy ultras is upon us. After Comrades next weekend, there's Badwater in a month, the 135-mile run through Death Valley. While I'd like to do Comrades, 135 in DV doesn't seem like fun. The Star-Telegram in Texas has a profile of a heart surgeon ultra runner getting ready to tackle it. What caught my eye is that his training, while no joke, didn't seem outrageously difficult, leaving aside "the sandwich" of back-to-back long runs.
Mileage: He runs 7 to 10 miles a day. When the race nears, he adds two long weekend runs: 20 to 30 miles on Saturday, 20 on Sunday.
Stairs: After his daily runs, Hudgens spends 45 minutes to an hour on a Stairmaster to strengthen his legs for the mountains.
Sauna: Hudgens spends 45 minutes in a sauna, with the temperature hitting 150 degrees to prepare for the blistering heat.

4.75 miles, 35:16