Running saved my life. And that's the truth. It's how I lost weight, and it's how I got out of my depression. Now, when I'm angry or down, I run. When I need to free my mind, I run. When I need to cleanse my soul, I run.
I am not the fastest runner, nor do I have the most endurance. Far from being a "born" athlete, I struggle daily to get better, stronger, fitter. But, I do have a dream, a goal, for which I am willing to go the ends of the earth to achieve. That dream is to run the Badwater 135 Ultramarathon.
For those of you who don't know what that is, an ultramarathon is any running distance over 26.2 miles - standard marathon distance. Most ultra races are 50k, 100k, 50 miles, and 100 miles.
The Badwater Ultramarathon is 135 miles long. The toughest thing about Badwater is not just the length of the race, but also the conditions. It takes place in Death Valley in the middle of the summer, when temperatures can reach over 120 degrees. The pavement gets so hot that the soles of your running shoes can literally melt!
People come from all over the world to run this race every year. These are elite, world-class athletes. My heroes. In order to run Badwater, you have to submit an application and be accepted. I do not have the credentials to apply. Yet.
This blog is my journey to Badwater. My journey to my dream. I don't know how long it will take me, but someday, I will toe that particular starting line. Here we go...
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