Badwater Ultramarathon change is good for Lone Pine businesses
Some race events now held in Lone Pine
Yoshihiko Ishikawa of Tokushima, Japan, is this year’s 2022 men’s champion Badwater 135 Ultramarathon winner, completing what is considered to be “the world’s toughest foot race” with a time of 23:08:20.
Ashley Paulson, from Saint George, Utah, took the 2022 Badwater 135 Ultramarathon women’s champion’s title, setting a new course record with a time of 24:09:34. Paulson beat the previous fastest time by just under four seconds.
This was a repeat performance for Ishikawa and his crew. Not only did he win the race in 2019, he also proposed to his girlfriend at the time, who are now married with a fivemonth-old-daughter.
In its 45th year, the Badwater 135 Ultramarathon, presented by Adventure CORPS, featured 95 endurance athletes representing 23 nations plus 28 American states and the Navajo Nation who faced off in a grueling 135-mile nonstop running race from Badwater Death Valley to Mt. Whitney July 11 - July 13.
From below sea level in scorching temperatures to altitudes as high as 8,360 feet (2548m), the invitational Badwater135 is the most demanding and extreme running race on the planet.
The start line is at Badwater Basin, Death Valley, which marks the lowest elevation in North America at 280 feet (85m) below sea level. The race finishes at Whitney Portal at 8,360 feet (2548m). The course covers three mountain ranges for a total of 14,600 feet (4450m) of cumulative vertical ascent and 6,100 feet (1859m) of cumulative descent. Whitney Portal is the trailhead to the Mt. Whitney summit, the highest point in the contiguous United States.
Lone Pine also wins
Another clear winner of this race is Lone Pine.
While runners began running the course in the 1970s, the race itself has been part of the fabric of life in Inyo County since 1987. A recent study indicated an annual economic impact of $1.2 million, half of it spent in Death Valley National Park and surrounding gateway communities such as Lone Pine.
Bringing people together is one of the main reasons this event happens. With friends (and soon-tobe friends) here from all around the world, it’s a unique opportunity to connect with one another, learn from each other and
make the world a better place.
Chris Kostman, the chief adventure officer at Adventure CORPS, has been positively active in the community for many years. He is currently a board member of the Lone Pine Chamber of Commerce.
Kathleen New, director of the chamber, said Kostman already was bringing business to area – but for the first time, all events, including the prerace and check-in as well as the buckle presentations and after party, will be held in Lone Pine at the Lone Inyo Elementary school.
Previously the race conducted the pre-race events at the visitors center in Furnace Creek, Death Valley National Park.
Local businesses are benefitting from the effects of this change.
Michelle Green, owner of the Lone Star Bistro in Lone Pine, mentioned how, with this change, the race participants are using Lone Pine as their base for as long as a week. Restaurants and motels are busy.
In a quick poll, it was discovered that the favorite aspect of the race to the community is the camaraderie of the crews and runners with the locals. Many runners return year after year and develop a relationship with the local community, such as Danny Westergaard, who was going for his 15th consecutive finish.
A new checkpoint has been added in Keeler. Check points not only serve to record times of runners, it also is an opportunity for people to connect and take a quick pit stop.
Darwin resident Scott Dakus, an endurance athlete himself, has been manning the Mile 90 / Time station No. 5 Checkpoint for 16 years. Passers by can see his VW bus parked there every year – he stays until the cut off time at 5 a.m. Wednesday and returns back home.
There are many traditions and mascots related to the event – Dakus has a squirrel friend that gets to greet the runners as they pass by.
Another mascot one would see at all Badwater races (Salton Sea, Cape Fear, etc.) is a green Gumby figure. Chris has had this with him since the 1970s. If one looks at all the official photos, Gumby will be found gracing the starting adn finish lines.
(Author’s note: As a buckle designer for Chris Kostman, I am fortunate enough to be embraced within this extraordinary family. I designed the Hobo runner skeleton in 2015, which was paused for a few years when it was redesigned with a more traditional buckle motif, but happily it’s been reintroduced once again. Every year the buckle is slightly different. This year, it’s a full metal design with the runner skeleton enlarged. On the back are the Latin words “DETUR DIGNIORI,” which means, “Let it be given to those most worthy.”
For me, that was not the case – being a recipient of over five winner buckles, without ever running one step!)