At 80, he's the oldest to ever complete hot, harrowing Badwater ultramarathon

Los Angeles Times

11-07-2025

California does not lack for extreme sports settings. Surfers have the mountainous waves of Mavericks Beach near Half Moon Bay. Climbers have the awesome granite monoliths of Yosemite Valley. And ultra runners have Badwater. That's shorthand for the Badwater Basin in Death Valley, the starting place of an annual summer competition that bills itself as 'the world's toughest foot race.'
This week, the Badwater 135 Ultramarathon lived up to its billing, for the 48th year, challenging humans to run from the lowest point in North America to the shoulders of the highest peak in the continental U.S. The 135-mile run takes competitors from around the world from the baking floor of Death Valley, where temperatures hit 117 degrees, to the thinning air of Whitney Portal, at more than 8,300 feet, the trailhead to glorious Mt. Whitney. Ninety-three people completed the ordeal within the allotted 48-hour time window this week, headlined by the oldest competitor ever to finish the course, 80-year-old Bob Becker of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 'It was pretty emotional to finish,' Becker said by phone from Lone Pine on Thursday, the morning after finishing, a little more than 45 hours after he started. 'I was just so happy to be there and to have so many people cheering me on.'
It took Becker a little more than double the time of this year's winner, Simen Holvik of Norway, who finished in 21 hours and a little less than 48 minutes. That's about 15 minutes slower than the record holder, Yoshihiko Ishikawa of Japan, who set the mark in 2019. First among the women finishing this year was Marisa Lizak, 46, of Marina del Rey, in 25 hours, 7 minutes and change. (In years gone by, women have won the race and their all-time best stands behind the men's record by only a little more than 11 minutes.)
Badwater is renowned not just for its distance but for its hellish conditions, with temperatures often soaring above 120 degrees and runners reporting hallucinations, blood blisters and feet swollen three sizes beyond normal.
Becker had run in high school but was working as a mortgage broker when, with his 60th birthday approaching, a friend persuaded him to try a marathon in Minnesota. Quickly, distance running hooked him.
He typically runs 60 to 70 miles a week, light by comparison to many ultra runners. But the 5-foot-4, 118-pound Becker spends a lot of extra time building up his core strength. He drags an SUV tire from a rope tied to his waist — an exercise intended to mimic the hill running in pancake-flat Florida. 'To me age is not a factor. If someone can do it then I can do it too,' he said. 'Within reason.'
Becker became part of the Badwater 'family' two decades ago and has either run in the event or supported others ever since. In 2015, he even completed the rare 'double' — turning around and running back to Badwater from the Whitney trailhead. He was 70.
And, oh yes, in between those back-to-back 135-mile rambles, Becker and his support crew hiked to the summit of 14,505-foot Mt. Whitney. That tacked on an extra 22 miles. Becker credited his team, particularly coach Lisa Smith-Batchen, for getting him through his ultra races, including multi-day runs in Morocco and China. After his Badwater double, he wrote: 'But given all that great help, it is still you, the protagonist in this drama, who must ultimately move yourself through the pain and exhaustion to that magical finish line.'
He now plans a break and perhaps a 'real' vacation with his wife, Suzanne.
But he vowed that the people would keep him coming back to running. And Badwater.
'There's just a very special culture in the world of ultra running. You feel it every time,' Becker said. 'Most of us are Type A and we are competing out there. But if someone needs water or some help, you always give it. That family sense is a big part of the sport. It's very special to me.'
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