Unforgiving Badwater Ultramarathon- Dusans first impressions of the race course

After a trip into the desert, as his crew-member Frank steers the GM jeep again into the entry of the Furnace Creek Ranch, Dusan looks to the LCD display for the outside temperature. 51 degrees Celsius.

The record for a 25th of July in the Death Valley originates from the year 1933 and is set by 52 degrees. Respectfully, Dusan blows the cheeks up: "The heat is even worse, than I had imagined it." From other long-distance runs he is familiar with temperatures up to 45 degrees, "however almost 10 degrees more, already make an enormous difference".

Usually he could get along for two hours without water when running, explains the experienced athlete. "But that cannot be done here." He had realized that at his morning runs in the Death Valley in the past days. Probably Frank will have to give him every 15 minutes during the race water and electrolyte beverages. The hot wind is particularly bad, Dusan reckons. It would blow the last drop of humidity out of the body.

A further problem, with which all the runners will have to deal, is the optics. On today's inspection of the race course, Dusan pointed towards the long straight road leading to Panamint Springs, with his head shaking. "You focus your eyes on one specific point und you think you'll be there in five minutes. And then it takes you twenty minutes to get there." At the latest at this point, Dusan reckons, the chaff will be seperated from the wheat.

The last 50 miles the course is mostly ascending. There the runners will only look forward to the next two or three meters. The race cours is tough, very tough, "perhaps the hardest race of all I've done so far", confesses the 47-year-old. "But that's exactly why I'm here."

His running tactics will be coined by caution. Although normally, he could "only run fast", Dusan wants to take on the race extremly slow this time. He believes he has realized that the Badwater Ultramarathon is "something for clever humans". "Any mistake won't be forgiven."