I did about an hour of work before getting ready and hopping in the car to start my road trip out to Death Valley at about 7:45 am. My first pitstop took me out to Barstow. Even though Tesla had built newer larger charging stations in or near the Bartow area, I still opted for the OG Tesla Supercharger station on Lenwood. The main reason was because there was a Starbucks nearby. After plugging the car in for a charge, I walked over to use their restroom and to get some breakfast.
Tesla Supercharger, Barstow Lenwood
On the mobile app, I ordered a venti blonde vanilla latte, ham & Swiss on baguette, and a bacon & Gruyère egg bites. It was over $20, enough to earn 40 bonus stars. Originally, I was planning to eat there, but I had to take everything back to the car as it was close to reaching the charge limit.
Starbucks
Bacon & Gruyère Egg Bites
Ham & Swiss on Baguette
Venti Blonde Vanilla Latte
Once I was done with my food and the car was done charging, I unplugged and continued on with the road trip. My next stop brought me out to the Tesla Supercharger station in Baker. Per the usual, after plugging in, I went inside to use the restroom. This restroom has become quite disgusting with the floor always wet. Also I always remember to bring my own paper towel or napkins when coming here as they were no longer stocking of replacing them when the dispenser was empty. I made sure to get a full charge here as there wasn't much charging options at my destination.
Tesla Supercharger, Baker
It turned out to be a pleasant 2 hour drive up to the Furnace Creek Visitor Center. There weren't too many cars out on the road. The parking lot was almost full when I got there. Fortunately, I was able to get a spot or else I would've needed to park in the overflow dirt lot across the street. First, before going inside, I purchased a park pass for 1 private vehicle from the kiosk that was located outside near the entrance. The cost was $30, good for 1 week. I went inside to check things out. With the purchase of the pass, I was given a free map of Death Valley. Off to the right was a small, yet quite informative museum. I used their restroom outside before heading back to my car.
Furnace Creek Visitor Center
Wall plaque
Purchased park pass from kiosk near the entrance
National Park pass, $30 for 1 private vehicle, good for 1 week
Death Valley map
I drove over to The Ranch at Death Valley. It was really close by that I could've just walked. Originally, I was planning to drive in on race morning, but ultimately I decided to book a one night stay here. Before going inside to check-in, I drove over to the parking lot that had the Tesla Destination Chargers. It was 56 cents/kW for slow charging, but it sure beats having to drive 40 miles for the nearest Tesla Supercharger over in Beatty, NV. After plugging in, I then went inside to see if there were any rooms available for me to check-in a bit early. Thankfully, there were available rooms. I was given room #624. The room wasn't fancy at all. The design and amenities were about the same as a Days Inn or Super 8.
Tesla Destination Charger, Death Valley
Race instructions
The Ranch at Death Valley site map
Resort Directory
Furnace Creek Visitor Center Area Map
Schedule
Walking over to my building
Room 8
View from balcony
After relaxing a bit in my room for a couple of hours, I headed back out to unplug the car as it had enough charge. I drove and parked the car closer to my room. Then I walked over to the Last Kind Words Saloon right when they opened at 5 pm for an early dinner. It seemed like everyone had the same idea. I didn't have a reservation, but I was able to find one of the last vacant seats at the bar. I ended up chatting with the couple sitting next to me. Lisa and Peter were originally from Richmond, Virginia. Now, they're in Salt Lake City, Utah, more specifically New Harmony. She was running the half marathon and he was running the 10k. I started things off with a Bitburger non-alcoholic beer. For my meal, I ordered the flat iron steak with a baked potato. It was pretty basic meat and potatoes, but it was good. The food options were quite limited as the hotel was located in the middle of Death Valley.
Early dinner at the Last Kind Words Saloon
Bitburger non-alcoholic beer
Flat iron steak
Per the usual, I laid out my flat runner for tomorrow's marathon, followed by taking a shower and getting ready to call it a night.
Flat runner
Saturday 2/7
I got up and got ready before walking over to the Borax Museum to pick up my race bib which started at 6:30 am. The first thing that I noticed was that the bib didn't have a timing chip. It had been a while since I last ran a race based on gun time. I was told to come back at 7:45 am for the pre-race briefing. The race shirt would be handed out at the finish line.
Picked up my bib over at the Borax Museum at 6:30 am
Race bib
The marathon was scheduled to start at roughly 8 am. At about 7:30 am, I walked back over to the Borax Museum for a pre-race briefing. Before that started, I got a selfie with a fellow Marathon Maniac, Brian. Once that was done, we all walked over to the start. The race was a small mom & pop type of race. There wasn't even a start line. It was more of a start area near the Wild Rose Tavern.
Back to the Borax Museum
Brian
Pre-race briefing at 7:45 am
There wasn't really a start line. It was more of a starting spot.
Course map
This was a super low key event. We were all pretty spread out within the first mile. I was a bit surprised that there wasn't even a course marshal positioned at the left turn onto Borax Mill Rd towards Mustard Canyon at about 1.5 miles into the race. Good thing I kept an eye on the runners that were ahead of me. Running through Mustard Canyon was pretty cool. Since I had run the first 2 miles a bit quicker than I had planned, I decided to take a walk break when there was an incline up to the aid station right before we made a left turn back onto the 190. From there, it was about another 3.5 miles to reach the turnaround point. I got there at just over 1 hour. As with out-and-back courses, it was pretty cool to see all of my fellow runners on the way back. I reached the aid station near where we started, completing the first out-and-back in just under 2:05.
After a brief stop, I headed back out for my second out-and-back. I knew that the day would get quite hot, so I purposely ran the first half a bit quicker to bank some time while the weather wasn't too oppressively hot. The second time around, I got out my phone and started taking pictures of the desert whenever I took a walk break. Honestly, the photos don't do it justice. The desert was a beautiful sight to behold! It was definitely something that you needed to see in person. I reached the turnaround point at just before 3.5 hours into my race. By now, the desert sun was beating down on me with no respite. My legs were starting to cramp up. I continued to trek on while eating whatever nutrition I had in my pockets. Noah, a fellow runner, had caught and overtook me just ahead of reaching the aid station on Mill Rd. At this point, the aid station was unmanned. I don't blame them for leaving. I jogged and chatted with him as we made our way through the Mustard Canyon one last time with about 3 miles to go. The canyon was nice as this was pretty much the only section were we had some shade! His legs were in better shape than mine, so eventually, he went on ahead.
Heading out for my second out-and-back
Heading into the Mustard Canyon
Marathon turn-around point
Finish: 4:55:44
Click here for my Garmin data.
To call this a no-frills marathon would be an understatement. I would often hear from people complaining that mega-marathons or even a Rock n' Roll race were too expensive. However, I would always argue that I could see where my money was going in those big races. Now for a mom & pop race such as this, I could barely see what I'm receiving back for the registration fees. There weren't even cones on the road for the majority of the course! We were just instructed to run single file and stick to the edge of the road. Sure, tell that to the cars flying by with some of those asshole drivers giving zero fucks that there were runners! While the majority of drivers gave us extra space, I eventually decided to be extra cautious and ran on the gravel, essentially turning it into a trail race. That was fine since my only goal for this race was to finish in one piece, preferably under 5 hours.
After crossing the finish line, I received my finisher medal. Neither side of the medal or the lanyard had a year or date on it. I'm sure that saved a bunch on costs if the design never changed from year to year. As for the shirt, we were allowed to pick from a small selection of designs. They pretty much only varied in the color. I went with one of the heather gray cotton t-shirts.
Finisher medal
Side 1
Side 2
Race shirt
I hung out at the finish line for a bit, mostly to let me body recover a bit as I needed to be well enough for the drive home. I got a photo with Noah and cheered on some of runners that finished after us. Eventually, I ended up talking to Roberto #270 and his friends. They turned out to also be UCSD alumni. They were all eating some post-race food around the Borax Museum. They invited me to join them, but I declined as I needed to head out.
Noah
Couple finishing the race together
Originally, I was going to get some ice cream at the Ice Cream Parlor before hitting the road. However, I was short on time with a long drive ahead of me. After I changed out of my dirty clothes, I decided to just hit the road and get on home. My first stop got me out to the Tesla Supercharger station in Baker. I made sure to get enough charge to get me all the way home.
Tesla Supercharger, Barstow
I didn't need to charge the car, but I still exited at Lenwood in Barstow for a quick pitstop at the Starbucks. I ordered a grande vanilla sweet cream cold brew as it was the 3rd item that I needed to purchase in order to earn 75 bonus stars.
Starbucks in Baker, Grande vanilla sweet cream cold brew
Almost 3 weeks later, to my surprise, I received an age group award ribbon for finishing in 2nd place. That's one of the perks with running small races if you're into receiving extra bling or an award. There were only 3 runners in the 50-54 age group. The 1st place finisher in my AG finished almost 1 hour and 10 minutes ahead of me! The 3rd place finisher was almost 37 minutes behind me. I think the only time we were anywhere near each other was at the start of the race! :D
2nd place age group award
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