Donaldson Repeats at Badwater, Fire Shortens Race for Many
Lone Pine, CA, July 14. Jamie Donaldson was the repeat women's winner of the Badwater 135, finishing the grueling 135-mile trek across Death Valley and up to the portals of Mount Whitney in a time of 27:20:18. Two-time winner Pam Reed of Tucson finished second. Reed led across much of Death Valley, but Donaldson caught her before Stove Pipe Wells (mile 42) and pulled steadily away from there for the victory.
 The men's race was won by Marcos Farinazzo of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 23:39:18, third fastest in race history. Oswaldo Lopez of Madera, California was second, nearly an hour behind at the finish. Zach Gingerich of Aurora, Illinois finished another half-hour later in third. Farinazzo battled with 2008 champion Jorge Pacheco of Los Angeles for the first 60 miles, before Pacheco dropped back with blister problems and bouts of nausea.
At about 10 pm on July 14, fire erupted in close proximity to the finish line, requiring evacuation of the finish line officials. Race organizers moved the finish four miles down the course and determined that runners who had not completed the course by 10:30 pm would finish at the 131-mile mark. At that point, 33 runners had completed the original course, and 43 more were still en route. The road was re-opened at 7 a.m. on July 15. During the 8+ hours the road was closed 30 runners finished at the 131-mile mark. Those runners were later given the option (but not the requirement) of finishing the entire 135-mile course. Oddly, race organizers indicated that those choosing this option would be penalized for the time that the road was closed. Only seven of the 30 impacted runners chose this option. Some slower runners were not impacted at all by the road closure, as they did not reach the 131-mile mark until after the road was reopened. In all, 75 of the 86 starters finished the race within the 60-hour time limit.
Temperatures peaked at 120F (49C) at Furnace Creek on Monday.
Men
1. Marcos Farinazzo, 40, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 23:39:18
2. Oswaldo Lopez, 33, Madera, CA, 24:36:07
3. Zach Gingerich, 29, Aurora, IL, 25:06:12
4. Charlie Engle, 46, Greensboro, NC, 25:45:11
5. Jorge Pacheco, 41, Los Angeles, CA, 28:23:16
Women
1. Jamie Donaldson, 34, Littleton, CO, 27:20:18
2. Pam Reed, 48, Tucson, AZ, 29:03:09
3. Lorie Hutchison, 45, Salt Lake City, UT, 30:23:48
4. Sharon Gayter, 45, Guisborough, England, 31:12:32
5. Kathy Youngren, 34, Huntsville, AL, 33:49:21
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