Legendary extreme endurance athlete Bill Bradley has announced the newest foray into the physically demanding sport of extreme marathons with his latest attempt; the brutal and dangerous Badwater 146, a death-defying trek from the Badwater Basin, which stands at 242 feet below sea level (which is the lowest point in this hemisphere) to the peak of Mount Whitney, which at 14, 505 feet is the highest point in the continental United States.
To celebrate this, Bradley and his team have created an incredible video to commemorate the attempt, as well as an accompanying article to explain the legends accomplishments and his desire to go even further.
And that’s not all! From the comfort of home, people can watch Bill’s journey through Death Valley, as his team is livestreaming the event for all to see. But why let me explain, when the “Epic” Bill Bradley team can do it so much better. Their release is below:
Strengthened by Fire
Epic Bill Bradley Attempts a Solo, Self-Contained Badwater 146
OUT OF STRUGGLE, MOTIVATION
In a previous version of his life, “Epic” Bill Bradley could never imagine living the existence of an extreme endurance sports athlete.
Motivated to “succeed” in the world, Bradley followed the path set by society as the normal route to a respectful, blue collar life: Grow up, work hard, make money, start a family.
That’s exactly what the former electrician and video rental chain store owner did in his Northern California hometown of Santa Rosa, eventually rising to become an uber-successful businessman and father of three.
The video stores were my identity, and we were busy,” Bill says. “On a typical Friday or Saturday night, 1000 people would come through the doors in a four hour period. We had seven checkout lines. We won a ‘Retailer of the Year’ award, all while competing head to head with Blockbuster and Hollywood Video.”
But the writing was on the wall. When changing tastes and industry upheaval led to a quick demise of his business, Bradley’s dreams of success were crushed.
Somehow, a flicker of hope burned inside him, as he knew there was more for him beyond divorce, bankruptcy, and a once-thriving business now resting in the ash bin. Success would have to take another form. Enter…endurance sports, the perfect vehicle for a high-achieving, driven individual dissatisfied with life’s “normal” journeys.
Triathlons and marathons came first, followed by ultracycling and ultramarathon running, including a 50-mile race finish.
“After I completed that 50 miles, I had a new identity. I was no longer the video store guy. I was an extreme endurance athlete,” Bradley remembers. “And I was bursting with confidence. I was standing taller and looking people in the eyes again.”
When Bradley discovered that organized events could no longer quench his thirst for meaning and accomplishment, he hung his running shoes from a peg of his own design, creating challenges that few others would even consider, much less attempt. A 584-mile, quadruple consecutive crossing of Death Valley (referred to as the “Badwater 146”) on foot in summer’s heat, mimicking the legendary Badwater 135 Ultramarathon race course. A dizzying, record-setting, consecutive seven-time crossing of the Grand Canyon. Running a 200-mile relay race as a solo runner.
His exploits, both in his successes and failures, became the stuff of endurance sports legends, or at very least, a study in the power of persistence and determination.
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THE DESERT AS A PROVING GROUND
In the blacksmith’s furnace, a physical transformation takes place. Cold steel is heated, pounded into a useful form, and finally quenched in water to harden. Minerals go in cold, devoid of utility, and exit as a sabre, a horseshoe, or other valuable items.
Such is the analogy to athletes who favor travel through unthinkably hot desert environments. From large events to solo adventures, from the Sahara to the Gobi to the Atacama to the Mojave, the changing winds and desert sands are the proving grounds for some of earth’s greatest athletic challenges. The common thread of these hellish ovens? Intense heat, of course, punctuated by dry winds that suck precious water, strength, and will from those who dare venture on cross-desert adventures.
As in the iron’s forge, athletes who test their limits in these global hot spots enter with innocence (and a healthy dose of fear), and come out the other side, if they are lucky, a victor of their conquest.
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SELF-CONTAINED, SELF-RELIANT
In the Mojave Desert’s famed Death Valley, the hottest environment on earth, runners have pushed the envelope of human performance limits by attempting what is considered one of the most brutal–and by some, foolish–endeavors known to desert foot travel: A cross-valley journey from the Badwater Basin (at -282 ft., the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere) to the peak of Mt. Whitney (at 14,505 ft., the highest peak in the continental United States, or, in a breath, the Badwater 146. On the road. Nonstop. Carrying everything–food, water, clothing–in a cart of their choosing. Without assistance. Without shade.
Without, it seems, a whit of common sense or logic.
It is a journey attempted by a handful of intrepid souls, completed by just five people, and referred to by some as one of the most difficult solo endurance sporting feats. In its simplicity and difficulty lies its beauty. A point-to-point journey from the lowest to the highest, through hell on earth.
The official Badwater 135 race uses the same route, and Bradley has finished the event twice. But, as Bradley puts it, the route is where the similarities cease.
“You have no help from a crew, there’s no support, there’s no relief from that boiling hot sun,” he says.
And he should know. After a friend attempted the solo, self-supported Death Valley crossing a few years ago, Bradley was intrigued. Here was a way to continue his quest for ‘faster, higher, stronger,’ to borrow the Olympic slogan. A way to continually raise his personal bar of achievement, and inspire others to overcome their personal obstacles.
“I was looking for a bigger challenge,” he reflects. “The difference between this and the race is like night and day. During the race, you have a crew with you and they have a van that’s air-conditioned. They have water, ice, and food. When you want to take a break, you can get in that van, put ice under your hat, put your face against the air conditioning, and then go back out and start racing again.”
Although solo self-contained athletes utilize an observer for safety reasons, that lack of support is something Bradley thinks about often on the 146-mile route.
“In your cart is all your ice, water, and food that has to last for the whole 146 miles and you can never resupply. You have observers who follow you and watch you, but not to help you,” he says, and pauses, not for effect, but with a gaze of stark reality, “just to make sure you don’t die.”
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PERFECT PREPARATION
If there’s one thing Bradley knows how to do after a few decades of endurance sport participation, it’s in the preparation for his adventures. Whether climbing an unforgiving mountain peak, trekking through a bitterly-cold winter polar vortex, or traipsing through Death Valley, he knows full well the demands and their requirements. His mental training occupies as much shelf space as does his physical routine.
“To prepare, I do a combination of training my mind and my body, because it takes both of those in order for me to have a shot to finish,” he notes. “I start out looking at my wall with all these inspiring affirmations, characters, people who inspire me. I use that [so] I can get myself believing that I could do anything.”
Bradley’s physical prep, in addition to hours spent on his feet, dragging worn out car tires through his neighborhood, stair repeats, and regular sauna sessions, includes innovative breath training courtesy of breathing guru Wim Hof. “I put the cherry on top,” says Bradley. “I start doing my Wim Hof breathing, get myself totally fired up to attack my training for the day.”
Excessive? Not according to Bradley, who has been accused of taking endurance sports to the extreme since he first toed the start line of a race in the 1990s. “I’m not doing the minimum. I’m doing the maximum I can to toughen myself up mentally and physically for the Death Valley heat. The man who’s personal slogan is “Show up and suffer!” does remarkably well of silencing out the negative voices, both external and internal. His nickname is “Epic” for a reason.
The third time’s a charm, goes the saying, and also a thought Bradley has entertained often in 2023. This year’s attempt at the feat is his third in four years, the previous two ended prematurely by extreme exhaustion, dehydration, and illness (2020), and similar symptoms, including near-paralyzing vomiting, a year later. In 2022, 100-year storm flooding wiped out many of the roads in Death Valley, making the effort impossible.
So legendary was the accounting of his first attempt, he produced a documentary (“Pushing Mercury”) that has garnered numerous independent film awards. But Bradley doesn’t see the movie as the end to the story. With the support of Outdoors.com, Bradley intends to livestream his effort, with 24/7 coverage on the site’s “Empower” tab. “Make sure you tune in to see if I survive or not,” he says with a laugh that might belie his nervousness, though his face doesn’t show any worry.
Bradley has been down this road before, literally. With confidence, he knows if his preparation and mindset are adequate, he will go into the desert like a sabre–prepared for the effort, but cold, unworked, soft–and come out at the peak of Mt. Whitney, stronger than he was at the start.
To get a glimpse into what goes into preparing for this journey, Bradley’s team has also released a video chronicling the rigors Bill puts himself through, as well as the announcement of the livestream.
Be sure to check in on Bill and see the incredible feats he’s attempting with your own eyes by following the link at the end of the video, or by going to the links below. We all wish Bill the best and safest of journeys as he adds to his already impressive list of accomplishments and attempts. Despite his motto being “Show up and Suffer!”, we hope there’s a minimum of suffering, for Bill’s sake. Good luck, Bill!
Follow Bill’s Journey on the Badwater 146 on Youtube or through Bradley’s Twitter.
You can also follow him with limited four to eight hour per day streams on both of his Facebook accounts here and here.
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