The Death Valley Run Is Done

Last week I posted a story about ultrarunners Ray Zahab and Will Laughlin, who were preparing to run across Death Valley. The journey would start at the national park's northern boundary and would continue to its southern border, a distance of 300km (180 miles), through one of the harshest and hottest places on Earth. Yesterday, the two men completed their run, although it was even more challenging than they had expected.

I received an e-mail directly from Ray last night letting me know that they had finished their expedition. He noted that it took them 15 hours longer than they had expected and that temperatures often ranged in excess of 120ºF/49ºC. He also said that that the terrain was incredibly tough, turning the run into more of a hike. In fact, he said that is 4.5 days in Death Valley were equivalent to the worst sections of the Atacama Desert, which he ran across earlier this year.

The expedition's official website has been updated with video and photos from the run, with more coming soon. The video that I posted below is from the first two days of the expedition and demonstrates the conditions that Ray and Will had to deal with while in Death Valley. In the end, their GPS showed that they covered 260km (162 miles), while consuming 25 gallons of water along the way.

Next up for Ray is an impossible2Possible Youth Expedition to India in October, followed by an attempt to run across the deserts of Saudi Arabia in January. This Death Valley run helped him to test some new technology and gear that he plans to use on those expeditions as well.



Death Valley Expedition - Day 1 & 2 Video from GOi2P on Vimeo.

Running Across Death Valley

On Friday of this week, Ray Zahab, the man who hasn't met a desert he won't try to run across, and Will Laughlin, will set out to traverse Death Valley on foot. The two men will begin at the northern boundary of Death Valley National Park and won't stop until they hit the southern boundary, some 300km (180 miles) later.

All told, the expedition is expected to take about four days to complete, and it will serve as much as a testing ground for new gear as a hot summertime adventure. The two men will carry all of their emergency supplies with them, as well as their food and water, and will meet with their support crew about every 20-30km (12-18 miles) to receive a resupply. They hope to cover approximately 75km (46 miles) per day in heat that is likely to exceed 43ºC/110ºF each and every day.

The Death Valley Run will give Ray the opportunity to prepare for a couple of planned runs later this year and early next. His impossible2Possible organization is planning another youth expedition to India in October, and Ray has set his sights on running across Saudi Arabia in January. With those two adventures looming, Death Valley is the perfect proving grounds for testing gear, new technology, and expedition foods as well.

You'll be able to follow Ray and Will on their run at the expedition's official website, where they'll be posting dispatches, video and audio updates, and photos. They'll also be carrying a GPS tracker of course, so we'll be able to see where they are at all times, as they travel on foot across the hottest and lowest place in the Western Hemisphere.

Good luck guys. Stay cool out there!