LOS ANGELES (AP) — It’s the hottest, hardest, mostgrueling foot race in the world, says
Shannon Farar-Griefer, who has runthe Badwater 135 ultramarathon through Death Valley five times.That’s
exactly why she keeps coming back, she says, and why every ultrarunner has it on their bucket list.The
race takes the bravest of runners 135 miles through the hottest place on Earth in the middle of the
summer.Nextyear, for the first time in 37 years, runners won’t be able to tacklethe Badwater 135. Death
Valley National Park recently put a moratoriumon foot and cycling races through the desert hot spot 200
miles east ofLos Angeles while they study ways to make the events safer."We’redevastated,"
said Farar-Griefer, who is the first woman to conquer therace route back to back. That entails running
135 miles from BadwaterBasin in Death Valley to near the top of Mount Whitney, then turningaround and
running back to the starting line."It’s like takingWimbledon away from a tennis player," she
said Monday night as wordspread among the running community that the race would have to make adetour
through a less challenging environment next year.Thesafety study should be done by the spring, and
running and cyclingevents could resume as early as next October, Death Valley spokeswomanCheryl Chipman
said Monday. But sponsors could be faced with enforcingstricter safety rules when events resume.Chris
Kostman, whoseAdventureCorps sponsors the Badwater 135 and several other endurancecompetitions in the
sprawling desert park, questioned the need for such areview. He said his organization has held 89 such
events there since1990 without a serious incident."There have been no deaths, nocar crashes, no
citations issued, and only a few evacuations byambulance after literally millions of miles covered on
foot or by bikeby event participants," he said in an email to supporters.Chipmansaid park officials
aren’t so concerned about runners and cyclers, whothey know arrive prepared to survive the area’s heat
and rugged terrain.Butas such events have grown in popularity, she said, participants, theirsupport
crews and spectators have begun to jam the park’s narrowtwo-lane roads, creating a dangerous traffic
hazard."We don’twant to have to wait for an accident to happen to do this safetyreview," she
told The Associated Press on Monday. "We want to beproactive and create the conditions that we
think are the safestallowable for these kinds of events."Death Valley, which attractsabout a
million visitors a year, is located some 200 miles east of LosAngeles in an area that’s sometimes been
described as a desert salt pansurrounded by mountains. Temperatures can top 130 degrees in the
summer,when the Badwater 135 is held each July.The race takes its namefrom its starting point in
Badwater Basin, which at 282 feet below sealevel is the lowest point in North America. It continues
across abarren, unforgiving desert before it takes runners over three mountainranges, ending near the
top of Mount Whitney, the highest peak in theLower 48 states.Runners take part by invitation only, and
to be considered for admission, one must have completed three or more 100-mile races."Although it
is considered the world’s toughest foot race, we have an 89 percent finishing rate," Kostman
said.Not that finishing is easy."I’ve had blisters on my feet, chafing, throwing up,"
Farar-Griefer recalled with a laugh."ButI kept going back every year for more and more punishment
because Ilove it. It’s known to be the world’s toughest race, and that’s a bit ofa turn-on."With no
Badwater 135 next year, AdventureCorps hasscheduled two similar but slightly shorter versions through
lessgrueling environments in California and North Carolina."Butnothing beats running the original
route from the bottom of Death Valleyto the end of the road on Mount Whitney," Kostman
said.Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rightsreserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten orredistributed.