Badwater

In the November issue of Trail Runner, there is an interesting story written by runner Ricky Gates. In it, he and fellow British mountain runner Martin Cox take an orange VW bus named Orange and travel the west side of the US doing races and sightseeing along the way. They've been racing competitively for a while and they are both fascinated with 'ultrarunning' from a perspective of simply "why?" Why run for 30+ hours?

Martin had read Born To Run and this perhaps prompted them to make a stop to the Badwater Basin to simply run in it, to feel the essence of this place, to feel the heat, and throw out their question to the universe.

Here's a snippet from Gates's story

"I began to gather that the Badwater Basin is a Mecca, of sorts, for the seekers of suffering. Because of the heat, altitude gain, or sheer distance (135 miles) the race represents the ultimate ultra not only to Martin, but many ultrarunners as well.

"That's the point isn't it" To suffer" he asked. "At a certain point," Martin explained, "running ceases to be about running anymore and becomes, quite simply, a means to an end."

"And what end might that be?" I asked.

"For some, it's endorphins. For others, it's simply the act of going fast. For ultrarunners, I'm convinced, it's suffering. Suffering can teach you more about yourself than a psychiatrist."

As I progress in my running and think about why I do what I do and consider the motivations for training versus enjoying myself, this current of thought in the story resonates with me. There are no epiphanies yet however.

Interestingly, Badwater is about 3 hours away from me. Perhaps I should try to visit this place now while I'm so close. I could even run for a little bit now that's it's winter. Maybe I can work it into our CA road trip next year. "Just a little bit out of the way babee!"