Your Stone Steps 50k race director, David Corfman, ran the 2010 Badwater Ultramarathon, July 12-14. Considered “The World’s Toughest Footrace,” it goes from the depths of Death Valley at an altitude of 282 feet below sea level, crossing two mountain passes before reaching the portal of the Mount Whitney trail, 135 miles away.
I am giving a presentation on my Badwater experience, with plenty of pictures. It’ll be entertaining and informative, because you are all ultramarathoners already and just want to learn about the event. Saturday, September 18th, 2:00 PM at The Running Spot.
My race report is posted in its entirety on Cincinnati.com, the Runner’s Blog: http://cincinnati.com/blogs/running/2010/07/21/david-corfman-on-the-badwater-ultramarathon/
Let me give you a few highlights though. I finished! More accurately, WE finished, because it was truly a team effort of my four crew members and me. Crew Chief Gail Lance, Badwater veteran Phil Rosenstein, local ultramarathoner Kyle Fahrenkamp, and my twin brother Dan Corfman all worked extremely hard to get me to the finish line. I survived heat exhaustion, sunburn, vomiting, passing out, windburn, a rattlesnake, a scorpion and blisters, but also enjoyed the comaradarie, the night sky, the beautiful view from Mount Whitney and the feeling of accomplishment.
I was proud to run this race to benefit the American Heart Association. My dad died just weeks before the 2009 Stone Steps 50k race of a ruptured aorta, a complication from his heart valve replacement. He had heart bypass surgery a decade earlier and had other heart disease complications.
In addition, two of my crew members have experienced their own heart issues, one with a heart defect from birth, the other requiring heart bypass surgery two years ago. My crew and I are “Running With Heart!”
Please consider donating to the American Heart Association via Dad’s memorial page: http://honor.americanheart.org/goto/Charles.Corfman
For more information on the Badwater Ultramarathon, go to their website, www.badwater.com.
Here’s a great trailer on a documentary on the Badwater Ultramarathon below.
