At 80, he’s the oldest to ever complete hot, harrowing Badwater ultramarathon

California does not lack for extreme sports settings. Surfers have the mountainous waves of Mavericks Beach near Half Moon Bay. Climbers have the awesome granite monoliths of Yosemite Valley. And ultra runners have Badwater. That’s shorthand for the Badwater Basin in Death Valley, the starting place of an annual summer competition that bills itself as “the world’s toughest foot race.”

This week, the Badwater 135 Ultramarathon lived up to its billing, for the 48th year, challenging humans to run from the lowest point in North America to the shoulders of the highest peak in the continental U.S. The 135-mile run takes competitors from around the world from the baking floor of Death Valley, where temperatures hit 117 degrees, to the thinning air of Whitney Portal, at more than 8,300 feet, the trailhead to glorious Mt. Whitney. Ninety-three people completed the ordeal within the allotted 48-hour time window this week, headlined by the oldest competitor ever to finish the course, 80-year-old Bob Becker of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “It was pretty emotional to finish,” Becker said by phone from Lone Pine on Thursday, the morning after finishing, a little more than 45 hours after he started. “I was just so happy to be there and to have so many people cheering me on.”

Badwater ultramaraton runner Bob Becker, right, participates in the 2025 edition, oldest competitor ever to finish the course at 80 years old. Becker is from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

(Tuan Nguyen)

It took Becker a little more than double the time of this year’s winner, Simen Holvik of Norway, who finished in 21 hours and a little less than 48 minutes. That’s about 15 minutes slower than the record holder, Yoshihiko Ishikawa of Japan, who set the mark in 2019. First among the women finishing this year was Marisa Lizak, 46, of Marina del Rey, in 25 hours, 7 minutes and change. (In years gone by, women have won the race and their all-time best stands behind the men’s record by only a little more than 11 minutes.)

Badwater is renowned not just for its distance but for its hellish conditions, with temperatures often soaring above 120 degrees and runners reporting hallucinations, blood blisters and feet swollen three sizes beyond normal.

Becker had run in high school but was working as a mortgage broker when, with his 60th birthday approaching, a friend persuaded him to try a marathon in Minnesota. Quickly, distance running hooked him.

He typically runs 60 to 70 miles a week, light by comparison to many ultra runners. But the 5-foot-4, 118-pound Becker spends a lot of extra time building up his core strength. He drags an SUV tire from a rope tied to his waist — an exercise intended to mimic the hill running in pancake-flat Florida. “To me age is not a factor. If someone can do it then I can do it too,” he said. “Within reason.”

Badwater ultramaraton runner Bob Becker, left, participates in the 2025 edition, oldest competitor ever to finish the course at 80 years old. Becker is from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

(Tuan Nguyen)

Becker became part of the Badwater “family” two decades ago and has either run in the event or supported others ever since. In 2015, he even completed the rare “double” — turning around and running back to Badwater from the Whitney trailhead. He was 70.

And, oh yes, in between those back-to-back 135-mile rambles, Becker and his support crew hiked to the summit of 14,505-foot Mt. Whitney. That tacked on an extra 22 miles. Becker credited his team, particularly coach Lisa Smith-Batchen, for getting him through his ultra races, including multi-day runs in Morocco and China. After his Badwater double, he wrote: “But given all that great help, it is still you, the protagonist in this drama, who must ultimately move yourself through the pain and exhaustion to that magical finish line.”

He now plans a break and perhaps a “real” vacation with his wife, Suzanne.

But he vowed that the people would keep him coming back to running. And Badwater.

“There’s just a very special culture in the world of ultra running. You feel it every time,” Becker said. “Most of us are Type A and we are competing out there. But if someone needs water or some help, you always give it. That family sense is a big part of the sport. It’s very special to me.”

Today’s top stories

An investigation is underway after Los Angeles Fire Department rescue crews freed 31 workers trapped in Wilmington after an 18-foot tunnel collapsed. This is the tunnel entry point; the collapse happened miles away from this location at a depth of 400 feet.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

L.A. County calls for an investigation into the L.A. sanitation tunnel collapse

• Work on a Los Angeles County sanitation tunnel has been halted as investigators look into what caused it to collapse Wednesday evening, leaving 31 workers scrambling to make their way to safety.
• The workers were in an 18-foot-diameter tunnel more than five miles from the Wilmington access point when the partial collapse occurred, said interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva at a news conference late Wednesday.
• All of the workers were able to safely make it out of the tunnel, which is six miles long and 400 feet underground.

Immigration action sparks chaotic protest in Ventura County

• Federal immigration agents carried out immigration sweeps at two Southern California cannabis farms on Thursday, prompting a heated standoff between authorities and several hundred protesters at a Ventura County site that resulted in several arrests and injuries.
• The FBI is investigating a shooting that took place during an ICE sweep at one of the cannabis farms.
• In Los Angeles, ICE raids have sparked a crisis of faith, forcing some churches to take “extraordinary” action.

Trump administration sues California over a cage-free egg and animal welfare law

• The federal suit — which protects hens, pigs and calves from being kept in small cages — claims that California’s animal welfare law has contributed to higher egg prices by “imposing unnecessary red tape on the production of eggs.”
• California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta vowed to defend the state law, which was approved by voters in 2018.

What else is going on

• Life expectancy in California still hasn’t rebounded since the pandemic.
• As L.A. reels, the White House sees a “grand success” in novel immigration crackdown tactics.
• Six months after fires, more than 800 homeowners in Palisades and Altadena have sought permits to rebuild.
• LAPD is investigating more than 80 officer misconduct complaints from recent protests.
• Cal State L.A. says classes can go online as students express their fears over immigration raids.
• Poisoned pelicans fly again after the worst algal bloom in a decade.

Commentary and opinions

• How Big Business killed the “click-to-cancel” FTC rule, which would have saved consumers billions, writes columnist Michael Hiltzik.
• A Denver oil and gas executive tried to keep Trump from a second term. But six months in, he’s “very impressed,” writes columnist Mark Z. Barabak.
• Columnist Mary McNamara asks: Can “Love Island USA” watch parties offer a guide for saving linear television?
• A month of aggressive immigration raids has plunged Huntington Park into fear and paralysis. Columnist Gustavo Arellano explores how residents, from school staff to street vendors, are fighting to reclaim their community.
• The “Love Island USA’” scandal highlights how prevalent racist language is among Latinos, argues contributing columnist Alex Zaragoza.
• The “Big Beautiful Bill” had plenty of flaws — but expanding health savings accounts wasn’t one of them, argues guest contributor Veronique de Rugy.

This morning’s must-reads

Lifestyle

At 90, he’s a competitive stair climber. ‘It gives me a goal, and that’s why I keep going’

Tom Kutrosky is training for his next races in Ventura and New York City. He’s planning to climb 86 floors of the Empire State Building in October.

July 10, 2025

Other must-reads

• A Honduran home cook sells internet-viral burritos for the workers of L.A.
• “Superman” is fighting against the odds to save the DC film franchise.
• “Dora the Explorer” turns 25 this year. Her legacy transcends generations.

For your downtime

Tom Yum soup at Mae Malai Thai House of Noodles in Los Angeles.

(Shelby Moore / For The Times)

Going out

• Dining: Here are 19 affordable picks from the 101 Best Restaurants in California guide.
• Entertainment: This weekend’s Belly Laughs Festival — a two-day event at L.A. Live that spotlights Asian comedians, cuisine and cultures — offers a tasty excuse to “laugh at ourselves.”
• Concerts: Paul McCartney announced a new U.S. arena tour — his first since 2022.
• Outdoors: Looking for a respite from the heat wave? Here are three hikes near L.A. where you can cool off on a hot day.
• Movies: Innocence is a war zone in the feisty, unsentimental “Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight,” now showing at Laemmle Royal and AMC Burbank 16.

Staying in

• Television: “Too Much” — which premiered Thursday on Netflix — has the chaos of “Girls,“ but it’s at its best in moments of calm.
• Comedy: Larry David returns to TV “with a heavy heart” for a Barack Obama-backed HBO sketch comedy.
• Recipes: Here’s a recipe for kaeng lieng — thai vegetable soup with shrimp.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

A question for you: What’s your favorite California beach?

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And finally ... your photo of the day

Joseph Raymond White-Eagle, a disabled Native American war veteran, shows how he slept on a park bench on Feb. 29, 1948.

(Los Angeles Times)

Today’s photo is from the Times’ archives as part of our series on Los Angeles’ homeless crisis that features portraits of homeless people and families as they navigate life in the city.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Jim Rainey, staff writer
Diamy Wang, homepage intern
Izzy Nunes, audience intern
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, Sunday writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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