Part of my busy schedule this summer was dedicated to helping a good friend, Dale reach his goal. My husband and I met him years ago while running the Destin Beach Ultra Run and found out that Dale and I ran some of the same races and had similar race goals. The biggest one being Badwater 135. Dale had already started an eight year running plan that would allow him to apply and get accepted this year. He didn't just want to run only Badwater he wanted to complete the Ultra Cup Series. The first event in the Ultra Cup Series..... Badwater Cape Fear, a solo 51 mile race with most of it run on the coastal beach of North Carolina. The second event in the Ultra Cup Series....Badwater Salton Sea, an 81 mile race which requires 3 runners, Dale, Carl and Nick to stay together the entire time and finish a grueling course of extreme heat in the California desert to a very cold high altitude climb up the Palomar Mountain range. Myself and two other crew members (Yvonne and Sami) helped out with that and drove a support crew vehicle along the race course suppling all their water, food and tons of encouragement throughout their under 24 hour finish. 
We had so much fun that Dale gathered us back together again for his last race of the Ultra Cup Series...Badwater 135. He runs 135 miles in Death Valley National Park CA while Sami, Carl, Nick and myself were his badass support crew (along with Yvonne cheering loudly from Texas) giving him everything he needed to complete 135 miles.
I'm was so honored to be apart of it. Heat Training, Crewing and Pacing. I really enjoyed spending time with my amazing Badwater Team... Sami, Carl, Nick and most of all Dale. What an amazing job he did of completing his race. 
It was awesome to meet and hang with the other ultra runners and crews during Salton Sea and Badwater. The friendships and lifelong connections you make are forever.
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