Ukrainian runner Ihor Hotsulyak took second place in the Badwater ultramarathon in California, U.S. on Wednesday, July 21, the Frankivsk running club Gutsul Running Club announced.
He is the first Ukrainian ever to win at Badwater.
The annual ultramarathon is considered to be the most difficult in the world, as the 217-kilometer route runs through an asphalt road of the Death Valley, one of the hottest places in the world.
For 90 miles (144 km), the Ukrainian athlete confidently held the lead, but at 106 miles lost to multiple race finisher Lewis Harwey.
Hotsulyak came in second with 26 hours 35 minutes and 8 seconds, 45 minutes later than Harwey.
The race starts from the lowest point – Badwater Basin (85 meters below sea level) and ends at the point of Whitney Portal (2530 meters), which is on the slope of the highest mountain in the continental United States – Whitney (4421 meters).
The complicating component of the ultramarathon is also the presence of three mountain ranges with a total ascent of 4,450 meters and a descent of 1,859 meters.
The Badwater participants have to cover a 135-mile (217-kilometer) distance in 48 hours and provide themselves with food, water and spare clothes on their own.
Badwater ultramarathon 2021 route map
Every year about 90 people take part in the race, and 20-40% of them cannot reach the finish line. But those who do are given a branded T-shirt and a medal in the form of a belt buckle, Hromadske reports.
In 2020, Badwater was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
