‘The high air temperature was 127, so imagine how hot the ground was!’
by Julie Kailus
Lisa Smith-Batchen recently became the first female ultramarathoner in the world to tackle the notorious Badwater-to-Mt. Whitney ultramarathon race course four times back-to-back. That is, she traversed from Death Valley’s Badwater Basin, which is the lowest elevation point in North America, to the top of Mt. Whitney, which is the highest point in the continental U.S., back to Badwater, back up to Mount Whitney, and then back to Badwater. She made this 584-mile journey amid triple-digit desert temperatures.