Ulrich is first to complete the Badwater Ultra Marathon 14 times, and cross Death Valley on foot a record 20 times
Posted Wednesday, 1 August, 2007
IDAHO SPRINGS, CO – July 31, 2007 – Why would anyone run across Death Valley in July? And why would someone do it 20 times, for a total of 2,990 miles on foot across Death Valley?
To raise money for charity. To test the limits of human endurance and the strength of the human spirit. To honor a man he loves and admires. Those are the driving forces for ultra-extreme athlete, Marshall Ulrich.
On July 26th Ulrich, age 56, became the first person to complete the Badwater Ultra Marathon 14 times, and cross Death Valley on foot a record 20 times. The Badwater Ultra Marathon is a 135 mile foot race from Badwater, CA, 282 feet below sea level, to 8,360 feet on the haunches of Mount Whitney. Ulrich completed the race in temperatures reaching over 117 degrees as a fundraiser to provide an education – and an opportunity for real peace and justice – to AIDS orphans and women in Ethiopia, Africa.
Ulrich also dedicated his 20th crossing to his father-in-law, Rory Vose of Winona, MN, who is fighting kidney cancer. “Rory is just a great guy, and has been so loving and supportive to me. His spirit in fighting his cancer epitomizes what this years' crossing was about – suffering, but completing the journey,” Ulrich explained.
After completing the official race in less than 42 hours, Ulrich went on to complete the purist Badwater race by summiting 14,495-foot Mt. Whitney, making his journey 146 miles, with almost 19,000 feet of elevation gain, completed in less than 72 hours. This came just days after Ulrich returned from Verbier, Switzerland, where he coached Olympic-hopeful runners and completed in the Verbier Ultra Run on July 14th. Just a week before departing for Switzerland, Ulrich returned from China, where his team Stray Dogs GoLite finished in 3rd place in the 150-mile Gobi March June 17-23rd. Earlier in June, Ulrich had consulted for an adventure race in Virginia, completing a significant part of the course during the race. “It’s been a busy summer,” Ulrich said.
Ulrich is the only person in the world to complete the Triple Crown of Extreme Sports: he has completed 118 ultra marathons averaging over 100 miles each; reached the summit of each of the Seven Summits, including Mount Everest, all on first attempts; and completed 12 expedition length adventure races, including all nine Eco Challenge adventure races. He’s also won the Badwater Ultramarathon a record 4 times, and still holds the record for the fastest crossing from Badwater to the summit of Mount Whitney: 33 hours 54 minutes set in 1991.
In 2001, Ulrich was the first person ever to traverse the Badwater route four consecutive times, also as a fundraiser. The 584-mile Badwater Quad took him 10 days, during which he slept an average of 1½ hours a night. In 1999, he became the first person to complete the course without a crew and support van. Completely self-contained, Ulrich dragged his own gear, including 21-½ gallons of water, in a 212-pound cart. He finished the Badwater Solo in 77 hours, 48 minutes. No one has ever repeated either the Quad or the Solo.
This year, Ulrich was again fundraising for the Religious Teachers Filippini, an order of Sisters founded by Saint Lucy Filippini whose motto is “Go and Teach.” The Sisters are using Ulrich’s efforts to help them build a hostel for children orphaned from AIDS in Adigrat, Ethiopia. According to the United Nations, in Ethiopia alone 470,000 children are orphaned by AIDS… every year… creating Child Headed Households (CHH): families lead by a child under the age of 18. And, many war-widowed women lack skills to support their families. Donations will also be used to help build an elementary school, a women’s center, and hostel for orphans in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Ulrich explains that, “100 percent of donations go toward the mission work, allowing the Teachers Filippini to provide a way for the small CHH families to stay together, and for them to teach the women and children skills to allow them provide for themselves.” Only doing for others keeps Ulrich returning to Death Valley… mile, after long, arduous mile to the finish.
For more information about Ulrich and his recent 20th crossing of Death Valley, visit http://marshallulrich.blogspot.com/. To learn more about the Badwater race, visit www.badwater.com. To learn more about the work of Teachers Filippini, visit www.aidsorphansrising.org.
Contact:
heather@marshallulrich.com
303-567-0727 or 720-320-2613
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