Only the strong survive

They call it many things.

In short, the Badwater Ultramarathon is the toughest foot race on the planet.

And for Yuba City's Brian Recore, conquering the 135-mile journey through Death Valley was the accomplishment of a lifetime.

He once just followed the ultra-running circuit, but now he's a member of an elite group.

"I read a book about it five or six years ago and said, 'that would be something neat to do,'" said Recore, 34. "To be among that group of people was amazing because those guys are legends in the running world. It was like a dream come true for me."

Running in temperatures as high as 125 degrees and, with road temperatures at a shoe-melting 170, Recore completed the grueling journey to Whitney Portal in 39 hours, 11 minutes and 29 seconds. Seven runners failed to reach the finish line, but Recore's time was good enough for 37th of out the 80 competitors who started the race.

He received a silver medal for finishing the event as well as the prestigious "Challenge of Champions" belt buckle for completing the course in under 48 hours.

And for Recore, the pain was a small price to pay for completing an event that few in the world have tried, much less finished.

"It wasn't easy, that's for sure. But from a heat perspective I did a lot and all the preparation paid off," said Recore, who trained up to three times a day both on the road and in a sauna to prepare for the extreme temperatures. "A lot of people were having problems, but I felt great."

Recore started the race at 6 a.m. on Monday, 282 feet below sea level at the Badwater Basin. When the countdown began to kick off the event, the temperature was already at 98 degrees.

It didn't get any easier.

At a checkpoint aptly named Furnace Creek, the temperature was 105 degrees — at midnight.

"It's almost like you're closer to the sun. Once you step out there, you can feel the heat just radiating," Recore said. "There were some emotional times. It hurt and I cried, but I kept my momentum going and pushed through it."

Recore said the most difficult portion came on the second of two mountain ranges when he encountered a long stretch of road that seemed to go on for infinity toward the horizon. He was nearing the finish line at the time and the terrain, as well as the heat, came as a surprise.

"The road went on for ever until it disappeared and you know that you have to run all that. It was kind of a shock," he said. "The heat was more than I expected at that point of the race, but if you start to get too hot you just sit down and take a break. And if I needed something, my crew was there to give it to me."

Recore packed himself down with ice and water to stay cool and resorted to a liquid-only diet to keep moving. He never changed clothes during the 40-hour journey, in fact he hardly rested at all.

"I took four 10 to 15 minute breaks — a couple of power-naps and that was it," Recore said. "I just wanted to keep going until I had nothing left, so I limited myself to just 15 minutes."

While some went to Badwater to win the event, for Recore, it was a compliment just to be accepted by the people he ran with.

"The sportsmanship was just great. The guys who passed me even took the time to encourage me," he said. "There's no egos, everybody is just happy to be there."

And once he crossed the finish line it was time to celebrate.

"The crew was starving and wanted to eat, so the first thing we did was get a pizza and have a beer," he said. "It was fun. Before the race, during the race and after the race. I enjoyed every bit of it and I'd do it again."