Race planning

Plan Badwater 135

Use the listed edition as your starting point. Each tool keeps imported race facts separate from the targets and assumptions you choose.

This is a past edition. These details are for reference; confirm a future edition before making a plan.

Edition notes: This record covers the July 27–29, 2026 race, the first with a 45-hour limit instead of 48 hours. The organizer's event page now lists the 2026 times of Max Jolliffe and Carmen Maria Perez as the course records. The 2027 race runs July 19–21, 2027, the 40th anniversary of the first Badwater race; applications are accepted from January 2 to 5:00 PM Pacific on January 20, 2027, and the field is announced on February 6, 2027.

Listed edition

Jul 27, 2026 – Jul 29, 2026

Format

Fixed-Distance

Distance

135 mi

Local start time

Monday evening in three waves at 8:00 PM, 9:00 PM and 10:00 PM Pacific Time from Badwater Basin; the race director assigns waves, and runners check in 30 minutes before their start. The 2026 waves started on Monday, July 27, and the 2027 waves start on Monday, July 19.

Duration / cutoff

45 hours from each runner's wave start, from 2026 onward (48 hours from 2011 to 2025; before that 60 hours, with 48 needed for the buckle). Every wave must pass the 2,000 ft elevation sign on Towne Pass (mile 50.8) by 10:00 AM Tuesday, Panamint Springs (mile 72.8) by 7:00 PM Tuesday and the Darwin turn-off (mile 90.7) by 3:30 AM Wednesday, and must reach Lone Pine (mile 122.8) within 40 hours of their own start. Beyond Darwin, a runner who clearly cannot finish inside 45 hours may be withdrawn early.

Crew and pacers

Each runner must have their own crew: one four-wheeled vehicle and two to four crew members, at least two of them licensed drivers and at least one English speaker. Vehicles must leapfrog the runner, generally about two miles at a time, never shadow them, and park fully off the road; motorhomes, RVs, Sprinter-type vans, 15-passenger vans and trailers are not allowed. Pacers may join at Stovepipe Wells (mile 42.2), from mile 3.5 for runners aged 65 or older, and from the start for blind runners. Pacers wear a pacer bib and may not run in front of their runner, and no more than two crew members may be on the runner's side of the road. Crew members must wear OSHA Class 3 high-visibility clothing. Trekking poles, cooling vests and other artificial cooling devices, and umbrellas while moving are banned; ice, wet towels and hand-held sprayers are allowed.

Drop bags

The race information lists no drop-bag service: supplies travel in the runner's single crew vehicle, and a second vehicle may not shuttle crew members or supplies.

Recorded facts reviewed Oct 20, 2026. Check the organizer’s latest rules. Calendar downloads use all-day dates and do not set a starting alarm.