Two Las Vegas runners are embarking connected a contention that stretches from the sweltering vigor of Death Valley National Park to the Mount Whitney trailhead.
Set for Monday done Wednesday, the Mount to Coast Badwater 135 Ultramarathon includes 3 upland ranges for a cumulative ascent of 14,600 feet and indispensable beryllium completed wrong 45 hours.
Ninety-eight athletes representing 21 countries are acceptable to participate. Among them are Las Vegas residents Edher Ruben Ramirez and Karla Kent, who are bringing antithetic experiences to what’s known arsenic the world’s toughest ft race.
Ramirez, a apical finisher successful respective ultramarathons, is preparing for his archetypal Badwater 135. Kent, meanwhile, is simply a seasoned of the contention who archetypal completed it successful 2012.
Both runners volition look a grueling trial of carnal and intelligence endurance, battling blistering vigor and steep climbs implicit 135 miles.
A caller challenge
Ramirez, 41, started moving agelong region races 7 years agone erstwhile a fewer of his friends jokingly decided to motion up for a fractional marathon. During that race, helium learned astir ultramarathons for the archetypal time.
“At the beginning, I thought that’s not adjacent imaginable oregon healthy, but I couldn’t get distant from it,” helium said. “It kept bothering me. So I kept looking astatine races and however to get there.”
He ran his archetypal 50-mile contention and past kept pushing the distance, trying to find his limit. He present maintains a merciless docket of immoderate of the sport’s astir punishing races.
In May 2025, Ramirez ran the Cocodona 250, an ultramarathon successful Arizona, finishing 3rd overall. In September 2025, helium ran The Mammoth, a 214-mile contention done the Eastern Sierra, again finishing third. He ran a 100-mile contention successful February, earlier taking connected the Cocodona 250 erstwhile again. After Badwater 135, helium volition question to Italy successful September for the 330-kilometer Tor des Géants.
Despite this success, Ramirez doesn’t see himself a professional. He runs a locksmithing concern with his household and proudly displays the moniker “The Key Guy” connected his garment and chapeau portion helium runs.
While helium said that the crushed helium runs is ever-changing, helium emphasized that upland moving “has to beryllium much amusive than serious.”
Still, Ramirez is competitive. While his grooming program changes week to week, helium makes definite to acceptable a three- oregon four-hour agelong tally into his schedule. Sometimes, that means summiting Griffith Peak successful Mount Charleston 3 times successful a azygous day.
Throughout the race, helium volition person a unit of 4 radical assisting him. His contention nutrition is down to a science. He volition purpose to devour 100 to 120 grams of carbs each hr done gels, powders, fruit, brackish tabs and boiled eggs.
On contention day, helium volition effort to instrumentality with the champion runners successful the field.
“If I privation to compete, which is my archetypal goal, I privation to effort to enactment adjacent to the beforehand runners up to mile 100,” helium said. “Then, connected the past 35, benignant of spell for it and spot what I person left.”
A Badwater veteran
Kent, 63, has tally the Badwater 135 each twelvemonth it has been held since 2012. Among pistillate runners, she holds the race’s grounds for astir finishes and astir consecutive finishes.
Like Ramirez, she learned astir ultramarathoning portion moving a abstracted race: a marathon conscionable extracurricular Las Vegas. There, she saw runners competing successful the 50-mile race.
“When I was signing up, I didn’t adjacent recognize determination was an enactment similar that,” she said. “And I thought, ‘Oh, this is crazy. Why would you bash that?’ And, I person to try.”
After that, she became immersed successful the ultramarathon world. In 2010, she crewed for different runner during the Badwater 135 and decided that she wanted to springiness the contention a try. She completed the indispensable requirements and was selected for the contention 2 years later. Now, she said her extremity is to tally the contention until she tin nary longer marque the cutoff.
For Kent, moving has go a “way of life.” She’s taken trips with her girl to contention successful New Zealand and Jordan and has met radical from each implicit the world. She said this complements her job. Kent has worked arsenic a trader astatine Bellagio since it opened successful 1998.
“I similar (my job) and I marque a living, but it doesn’t truly springiness you a batch of satisfaction. When you person a occupation that creates thing oregon you’re a teacher, you’re a nurse, you’re helping radical — I don’t truly get that from my job,” she said. “This was conscionable specified a cleanable equilibrium to beryllium successful a assemblage wherever you tin resonate with people, assistance each other.”
To support her endurance, Kent said she signs up for a contention each period oregon two. In January, she ran the Arrowhead 135 successful Minnesota, pulling her cogwheel successful a sled. There, temperatures dropped to 20 degrees beneath zero.
To hole for the Badwater 135, Kent volition bash a 30-mile grooming tally successful the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area a fewer weeks earlier the race.
On contention day, she listens to her body. Unlike immoderate runners, she won’t person a large proviso van. Instead, her unit volition run retired of her Prius, handing her nutrient and h2o erstwhile she needs it. She said Chex Mix is her favourite substance during races.
“Our bodies are amazing,” Kent said. “You tin information yourself and set to a batch of things. It’s uncomfortable astatine the beginning, but if I lone privation to beryllium comfortable, I wouldn’t beryllium moving ultras, right?”
Contact Sophie Baker astatine sbaker@reviewjournal.com.
English (US)·