Jodi Weiss

Thirty years ago, at age 39, endurance athlete Marshall Ulrich completed his first 146-mile crossing from Badwater Basin (282 feet below sea level) to the summit of Mount Whitney (14,505 feet). At 6 a.m. on Monday, August 24, 69-year-old Marshall Ulrich began his journey across the desert to climb the highest mountain in the contiguous United States for his 30th crossing of Death Valley and his 27th summit of Mount Whitney.

The first thing you might spot when you see Lisa DeVona, is her purple ponytail. It may lead you to believe that she has superpowers, and considering how she has climbed the ultrarunning ranks over the last few years, she just might.

In a world of conveniences, why take on hard challenges? Perhaps because in the pain, misery and torture that we face in these abbreviated and self-imposed adventures, we grow empathetic and remember that we are all in it together, from the first person to the last person crossing the finish line.

Kimble’s goal is to come in any time under 38 hours and 32 minutes to break the record, but his “A” goal, if all goes according to plan, is to come in closer to 36.5 hours.

Pam Chapman Markle entered the world of ultramarathoning in 2011 at age 55. As a certified registered nurse anesthetist for over 35 years, she had been working with a physician who encouraged her to sign up for an ultra.

I believe the Badwater experience is about being together in settings that involve intense running experiences, and then having the time and space to recover, relax, and rejoice together.

Kostelnick became the first person to complete a self-supported run, without relying on an accompanying support vehicle, from Alaska to Florida.