World's Toughest Race!

http://ca.askmen.com/top_10/sports/toughest-races-in-the-world_1.html

The Badwater 135 Ultramarathon is once again selected as the world's toughest race, this time by askmen.com.

Bring on the Heat!

Over the years, people have written, blogged and have been in documentaries illustrating the wide spectrum of training techniques used to prepare runners for The Badwater 135 race. June 1st marked the start of my heat training. My strategy is to start slow and progress until one week before the race. So far I have run every day in June switching from wearing my NorthFace or MEC polyester long-sleeved sweater (these are the same sweaters I use to train in the winter). On June 1^st the temperatures in Cambridge were 29C, and with the humidex it felt like 35C (95F  – for my American friends). Between the 2^nd and the 6^th of June, the temperatures dropped, but this weekend they were once again in the high 20’s. During these runs I have been feeling great; just one small cramp in my stomach but it resolved quickly. I have been drinking about 1.5 litres of fluids every hour and have been able to keep my weight. I also started hot yoga 3 times per week. I will keep you posted as my training continues.

My heat training plan has been created from strategies used by past Badwater finishers; mainly Gerardo Re and Iris Cooper.

Below is a list of resources on ultrarunning and heat training that I have read/watched. There are also plenty of articles online that every athlete attempting Badwater should read. Many can be found directly on the Badwater website.

Books:

A Few Degrees From Hell by Scott Ludwig
Eat & Run by Scott Jurek
Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
Run! By Dean Karnazes
Running through the Wall by Neal Jamison

Documentary:

Running on the Sun

Temperatures - Just over 35 days until the race

Looks like it's heating up in Death Valley and there is still 35 more days until race day. It's going to be a hot one this year!