DVD-Running on the Sun

Running on the Sun is a documentary about the Badwater Ultramarathon which is a 135 mile footrace across Death Valley in the middle of July. Crazy? You bet.

To understand Badwater, you have to understand ultrarunning. These people care less about winning than they do about finishing these sufferfests. Badwater is probably the hottest of these events, but you have other races like the Western States 100 which climb mountainous trails. In order to complete one of these things requires massive amounts of fluids and calories and constant care of the feet. Some ultrarunners even go so far as to have their toenails surgically removed since they usually turn black and fall off anyway.

In Badwater, participants are followed by crew vehicles, and they are basically babied every step of the way. There is always water and food and footcare. If they get too hot, they can cool off in the vehicle. If they get an IV, they are disqualified.

At some point, you have to ask yourself if ultrarunning is even a sport. I don't think it is. To me, it is a stunt akin to mountain climbing. It shouldn't even be called ultrarunning because the participants walk large portions of the course. Finally, I think it is stupid because they risk sickness, injury to vital organs, and even death by doing these things.

To me, ultrarunners are not real runners like the people who train to compete in marathons. Marathoners want to put up a good time. They run the entire distance, and their only support is cups of Gatorade and maybe a shot of energy gel. It's like the difference between a guy who plays basketball, and a guy who enters a contest to see how long he can dribble a basketball. What is the dividing line between sport and stunt? I don't know, but I really believe that Badwater qualifies as a stunt.

Running on the Sun is rather boring unless you are an ultrarunner (which I'm not) or enjoy seeing people lance blisters on their feet. I don't recommend it.

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