The “Badwater 135” ultra-marathon begins Monday night at the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere -- Badwater Basin in Death Valley, some 280 feet below sea level. Then it’s 135 miles through tough terrain -- over two mountain ranges --- before the race ends about halfway up Mount Whitney, at 8,500 feet. It’ll also be about 110 degrees at 8 pm.
Jimmy Dean Freeman running theBadwater 135
ultramarathon in Death Valley. (Photo by Gareth Mackay)