(2015 women's champ, Aussie Nikki Wynd)
Yes, it's that time of year again. Western States is in our rear-view mirror, the mercury is rising, and the ultrarunning world once again turns its attention to the most inhospitable place on Earth, Death Valley, for yet another edition of the STYR Labs Badwater 135 Ultramarathon, the World's Toughest Footrace!!
Welcome to the second-annual ZWITTY ULTRA Badwater 135 race preview. This year, we start with the women's field. (Tomorrow we will release our preview of the stacked men's field, where about a dozen of the guys have at least some realistic chance of winning the race).
By contrast, however, this year's women's field is top-heavy, and there are three women running Badwater who are clear favorites to finish on the podium. Now, the order in which they will finish is anyone's guess, and there are a handful of women ready to jump up and grab a podium spot should any of these ladies falter. So let's get right to it...!
Welcome to the second-annual ZWITTY ULTRA Badwater 135 race preview. This year, we start with the women's field. (Tomorrow we will release our preview of the stacked men's field, where about a dozen of the guys have at least some realistic chance of winning the race).
By contrast, however, this year's women's field is top-heavy, and there are three women running Badwater who are clear favorites to finish on the podium. Now, the order in which they will finish is anyone's guess, and there are a handful of women ready to jump up and grab a podium spot should any of these ladies falter. So let's get right to it...!
1. The three prohibitive race favorites.
The three women sitting at the top of this year's Badwater 135 race are three of the best road ultrarunners in the world, and they routinely win some of the largest and most-prestigious ultras on the planet (often winning races outright, beating all men as well). I have no idea which one of these three will wind up winning the race, but it will be a monumental upset if someone not named Nikki, Aly, or Brenda wins the race. (In fact, it will be a big upset if they do not fill the podium).
Let's meet these three race favorites:
Let's meet these three race favorites:
-Nikki Wynd:
The 2015 Badwater 135 female champion (and 4th overall finisher), Nikki continued to prove a universal Badwater truth: Aussies always do really really well at this race. Last year, Nikki ran a smart, controlled race, and stuck to her own plan the entire race. Personally, I had a front-row seat to her battle with Aly, as the three of us were trading spots from about Mile 50 to 110. (Nikki passed me at around Mile 110, and I didn't see her until the finish line at Mt. Whitney...).
Nikki knows that Aly and Brenda both possess immense talent, and I am sure she has been absolutely training her butt off this year to defend her crown. Unlike last year -- where I (in)famously stated that there was "only one world class woman runner" in the race (a fact Nikki's crew mercilessly (and deservedly) reminded me of as she blew passed me during the race -- I will NOT be surprised at all this year if Nikki winds up defending her crown. She is fierce, determined, and tough as nails.
Nikki knows that Aly and Brenda both possess immense talent, and I am sure she has been absolutely training her butt off this year to defend her crown. Unlike last year -- where I (in)famously stated that there was "only one world class woman runner" in the race (a fact Nikki's crew mercilessly (and deservedly) reminded me of as she blew passed me during the race -- I will NOT be surprised at all this year if Nikki winds up defending her crown. She is fierce, determined, and tough as nails.
-Aly Venti:
Owner of one of the fastest female 100-mile times in U.S. history (14:42 at the 2014 Keys 100), Aly is the 2014 Badwater 135 female champ, and is known as the "Queen of the Keys," as she lives in the Caribbean (Barbados), and owns the course record for the Keys 100, Keys 50, and has won the Keys 100 three times, including the outright title in 2014 and 2016). And even more impressively, Aly finished in second place at last year's 153-mile Spartathlon in Greece, and finished in the top-10 overall.
Given that Aly pulled out of last year's race at about Mile 100 due to an injury, Aly is likely very motivated to reclaim her spot on the top of the Badwater podium. Will this be the year that Ms. Royal Caribbean cruises her way to the title?
Given that Aly pulled out of last year's race at about Mile 100 due to an injury, Aly is likely very motivated to reclaim her spot on the top of the Badwater podium. Will this be the year that Ms. Royal Caribbean cruises her way to the title?
-Brenda Guajardo:
Rounding out the group of race favorites, Brenda Guajardo is an extremely-experienced runner who specializes in road ultras (especially those held in Italy: for the past three years, she has won the very competitive 120-mile Nove Colli ("9 Hills") race in Italy, and she won the race outright last month.
She is also a finisher of Badwater and the Spartathlon, and has won many other ultras, including a blazing-fast overall win at the 2012 Graveyard 100 (16:33), as well as the overall win at the 2013 Keys 100 (17:16, where she smoked yours truly by 14 minutes) :)
Brenda is a classic front runner, who is most comfortable when leading the race, and she appears to gain more and more confidence the longer she stays in front. This means Nikki and Aly will have to pay close attention to her at all times, because Brenda has the speed and experience to pull away and never look back.
This should be the best -- and most hotly-contested -- women's race ever at Badwater. Personally, I cannot wait, and like last year, I hope to have a front row seat to their race :)
She is also a finisher of Badwater and the Spartathlon, and has won many other ultras, including a blazing-fast overall win at the 2012 Graveyard 100 (16:33), as well as the overall win at the 2013 Keys 100 (17:16, where she smoked yours truly by 14 minutes) :)
Brenda is a classic front runner, who is most comfortable when leading the race, and she appears to gain more and more confidence the longer she stays in front. This means Nikki and Aly will have to pay close attention to her at all times, because Brenda has the speed and experience to pull away and never look back.
This should be the best -- and most hotly-contested -- women's race ever at Badwater. Personally, I cannot wait, and like last year, I hope to have a front row seat to their race :)
2. Other Top-10 favorites.
Should any of the three favorites falter, there are plenty of women in the field who can step up and claim a podium spot, including:
This will be one of the most fiercely-contested women's races in the history of Badwater, and because of that, Jamie Donaldson's course record (26:16) is in serious jeopardy. My bet is that the record goes down, perhaps by as much as 60-90 minutes (seriously, that is how talented the three women are at the top of this year's field). No matter how the women's race shakes out, however, it promises to be a race for the ages at this year's STYR Labs Badwater 135.
Tomorrow, we will post our preview of the men's race . . . and the men's field this year is the deepest and most-talented in the illustrious history of the race...
www.zwittyultra.com
- Kathy Youngren: a longtime ultrarunner who has run Badwater years ago, Team Zwitty runner Kathy has aggressively trained for this year's race, and her results so far this season have evidenced her fitness. In April, she won the Strolling Jim 41-mile race (one of the country's oldest ultras), in the blazing fast time of 6:22. She followed that up with a finish at the 130-mile Ultrabalaton in Hungary last month. Expect Kathy to have nothing less than a fantastic race at Badwater!
- Sada Crawford: the winner of the 2016 Brazil "135+" (and this year, that "+" meant the race was 160 miles!), Sada followed that effort up with a third place female finisher at this year's incredibly hot Keys 100. She will unquestionably be ready and raring to go at this year's race...
- Sandra Villines: the masters' champion of this year's Keys 100, Sandra is yet another one of the Team Zwitty runners participating in this year's Badwater 135. She is also one of the Badwater 135 runners who is gunning for the Badwater Ultra Cup (which means running Badwater Cape Fear, Badwater Salton Sea, and the Badwater 135 in the same calendar year). Expect a very solid race out of Sandy in her Badwater debut!
- Sandy Suckling: I don't know anything about Sandy except for the fact that she is Australian (see my above comment on Aussies). That's enough for me to put her among the contenders :)
This will be one of the most fiercely-contested women's races in the history of Badwater, and because of that, Jamie Donaldson's course record (26:16) is in serious jeopardy. My bet is that the record goes down, perhaps by as much as 60-90 minutes (seriously, that is how talented the three women are at the top of this year's field). No matter how the women's race shakes out, however, it promises to be a race for the ages at this year's STYR Labs Badwater 135.
Tomorrow, we will post our preview of the men's race . . . and the men's field this year is the deepest and most-talented in the illustrious history of the race...
www.zwittyultra.com