The Badwater Ultramarathon describes itself as "the world's toughest foot race". It is a course starting at below sea level in the Badwater Basin, in California's Death Valley, and ending at an elevation of at Whitney Portal, the trailhead to Mount Whitney. It takes place annually in mid-July, when the weather conditions are most extreme and temperatures can reach . Consequently, very few people, even among ultramarathoners, are capable of finishing the race. Course Originally, the run was conceived as being between the lowest and the highest points in the contiguous United States: Badwater, Death Valley [] and Mt. Whitney's summit []. The two are only eighty miles apart on the map, but the land route between the two points is substantially longer, , because of detours around lake beds and over mountain ranges. Additionally, since the finish-line is from the nearest trailhead, anyone who competes over the race distance must be capable of a total physical effort of . Due to the two mountain ranges that must be crossed between Badwater and Whitney, the course's cumulative elevation gain exceeds . Because the United States Forest Service requires permits to climb Mt. Whitney and because of the large number of participants, the official course was shortened to end at Whitney Portal. The Badwater-to-Portal course is long, with of cumulative elevation gain. Forest Service regulations do not allow competitive events in the John Muir Wilderness. Early history The first hikes across Death Valley of more than 100 miles took place in 1966, starting with Jean Pierre Marquant of France. Hikes between Badwater and Mount Whitney (via the treacherous salt flats in Death Valley) were first made in 1969 by Stan Rodefer and Jim Burnworth of San Diego. Al Arnold first attempted running the route in 1974 but was pulled off the course after with severe dehydration. After vigorous sauna-training and desert-acclimatization, he attempted the run again in 1975. This time, a knee injury aborted the run at fifty miles. In 1976, training injuries kept him from even beginning his annual attempt on the course. In 1977 he successfully pioneered running the course, summiting Whitney 84 hours after his start at Badwater. Arnold never returned to the course, except to receive the Badwater Hall of Fame Award. In 1980, Gary Morris of Marina Del Rey, California attempted to beat Arnold's record. When temps hit 120 degrees F, he pulled out and didn't