farfromfearless
What It Takes - Todd Baum @ Badwater
Todd Baum talks about his training ahead of the 2007 Badwater Ultramarathon. Baum, basically a normal guy, was raising money to benefit patient services at Golisano Children’s Hospital at Syracuse University Hospital, New York, where he works as a nurse.
In the video it mentions Todd’s goal was to break the 36-hour barrier. He actually placed 33rd overall in the 2007 race, posting a 40:54 time. Read his personal account of the race here.
He returned this year, but finished seven hours slower, and placed 68th. He continues to raise money for Golisano.
(The book he mentioned, To The Edge by Kirk Johnson, was published in 2002 and is available at Amazon
5 people have left comments
Runner Girl said:
That is an incredible story. It makes me raising money for Ronald McDonald in my first marathon look like chump change! I hope I can get to that point one day 
Thanks for the inspiration Sheamus!
Pete @ quicktofit said:
Very inspirational!
These guys that do these ultra marathons are just monsters - i can’t even imagine even attempting one of these!
Shéamus said:
I think it takes an awful lot of work, but most of these guys are just built for this long-distance stuff. They can be quite mediocre at anything below a marathon - and even then somebody like Dean Karnazes says he’s “only” capable of around a 2:30 marathon - but they excel when it comes to the kind of distances that even most pro athletes won’t even consider.
I mean, if you ask the average person in the street they think the marathon, or maybe the Ironman, is the height of what is possible in human endurance. But they’re more than a bit wrong.
Shéamus said:
I stumbled across some more coverage of Todd Baum’s 2007 participation at Badwater and the follow-up to his success is quite moving.
http://badwater.com/stories/2007/2007baum.html
A few days after my return from my participation in the Badwater Ultramarathon, I received a large envelope in the mail. My wife, Laurel, opened it and started to cry. I could not believe that a class of children in Syracuse, NY, near where I live, completed a project on the California deserts. They sent me a 3 ring binder that has 29 letters to me from the students congratulating me on my race. They had followed the website and race closely. In so doing, they learned about computers, the deserts, and one very amazing athletic event. Attached are some examples of their work.
Click on the link for more.
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