Badwater 135 Returning to its Original Course

In a brief email sent out over the weekend and posted on their Facebook page, AdventureCORPS—organizers of the Badwater 135 ultramarathon—announced that the 2015 race will return to its original course starting in Badwater Basin at Death Valley National Park.

The 2014 race was moved after the National Park Service launched an investigation stemming from concerns about endurance events at Death Valley in the extreme heat. The NPS later issued regulations stating that no races can start during the daytime in the summer.

RELATED: Death Valley Says No More Summer Daytime Races

To play by the new rules, Badwater 135 announced that it will start its race on July 28, 2015 in three waves, going off just after sunset. By the time the heat reaches its peak on July 29 and Death Valley’s new restrictions come into play, runners will be in higher elevations or outside of Death Valley National Park altogether.

The race will return to its traditional start at Badwater Basin, 282 feet below sea level. It finishes 135 miles later at the Whitney Portal, 7,800 feet above sea level.

Badwater 135, like past years, will be limited to 100 runners.  Starting in 2015, runners will be limited to one support vehicle and four crew members.

Interested runners can apply from January 19-February 2 on badwater.com.