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Glenwood’s Eielson defeats Death Valley

Staff Report

DEATH VALLEY, Calif – In a race in which the feat of finishing is requires a heroic effort, Glenwood Springs resident Ken Eielson defeated Death Valley with time to spare on Thursday.

After starting the race at Badwater, Calif., in the depths of Death Valley 280 feet below sea level, Eielson reached Whitney Portals – perched at 8,360 feet on Mt. Whitney – to finish the 135-mile Badwater Ultramarathon in 53 hours, 23 minutes, 36 seconds – more than 61⁄2 hours ahead of the 60-hour cutoff time.

Out of the 74-person field, 25 did not finish and four others had no finishing time posted on the Badwater Web site as of Thursday night. Temperatures reached 128 degrees in the lower elevations.



Pam Reed of Tucson, Ariz., was the overall winner, crossing the line with a total time of 28 hours, 26 minutes, 52 seconds. Dean Karnazes of San Francisco was the first male and second overall in 28:51:26.


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