An 80-year-old runner from Florida has become the oldest person to finish the Badwater 135 ultramarathon, a gruelling 135-mile race through California’s Death Valley. Bob Becker of Fort Lauderdale completed the course last week, joining 92 other finishers in what is nicknamed “the world’s toughest foot race”.
The race begins 282 feet below sea level and climbs to 8,360 feet at the trailhead of Mount Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States. Temperatures can exceed 120°F (49°C). Becker, who first ran the race in 2008, had previously set records in 2015 when, at age 70, he became the oldest to complete the “Badwater Double” – running back to the start after finishing the official course.
Becker’s motivation this year stemmed from his failure to finish in 2022, when he missed the 48-hour cutoff by just 17 minutes. A video of him limping and crawling towards the finish line went viral. This year, he completed the race with about three hours to spare, telling outdoors magazine GearJunkie: “I had a score to settle.”
Becker credited his crew and coaches, including veteran ultramarathoners Lisa Smith-Batchen, Marshall Ulrich and Will Litwin, for his success. “It was just the most amazing crew I’ve ever had in 20 years of doing this stuff,” he said. Smith-Batchen added: “Bob is younger at 80 than he was at 77. You can be younger by tomorrow if you trust and do the work!”
Becker, who only started running marathons at age 60, told the Los Angeles Times: “To me age is not a factor. If someone can do it then I can do it too. Within reason.” The fastest finisher this year was Norwegian Simen Holvik, 48, who completed the race in 21 hours and 48 minutes.
