The most coveted prize in sport -- Badwater Belt Buckle

yes

what is it?

xerver wrote:

what is it?

It is a prize for going jogging all day.

DirtbagClimber wrote:

Is anyone on Letsrun in possession of the coveted Badwater belt buckle?

Most coveted "in sport" you say. Ever hear of the Stanley Cup?

Which one is Badwater? The one in Colorado? Who gets a belt buckle, the overall winner?

It is a big deal. Even those going at 15 minutes a mile are considered biggest badasses in the sport.

why don't they just get the whole belt, why stop at the buckle. Chincy if you ask me.

cappy wrote:

why don't they just get the whole belt, why stop at the buckle. Chincy if you ask me.

For a $1,000 entry fee, you should get the belt with it!

Dean K has one, I think.

Here's your expensive finisher's medal.

http://www.signalscv.com/archives/2948/?ignore_redirect_once

It's a completely subjective answer.

I could say "yes, Badwater belt buckle is the most coveted prize in ultrarunning".

I could argue that based upon altitude, distance and terrain that a Hardrock 100 finish is more impressive. Someone else could say Badwater is tougher due to the heat and it being longer.

I could argue that a Barkley finish is the most coveted "prize". Of course, someone else could say "well, its a glorified hike and orienteering walk for 60 hours".

There are several others out there, like UTMB, Spartathlon, Susitna, Arrowhead, which all have unique things about them and a finish could make a claim of being the most coveted prize.

I still just don't get it. A rather middle-of-the-pack college teammate of mine (14:40 5k PR) has since turned to ultras and has won some of the big races. Clearly ultras suffer/benefit from a serious lack of talent.

And if your only goal is to finish 135 miles in 48 hours to get a buckle, that seems pretty sad. That is slower than 3mph on average. Assume you sleep for 6 to 8 hours in the middle of that and it is still slower than 4mph average pace. Am I the only one who noticed that you can win a buckle without running a single step? Or more likely, walking the uphills and jogging the downhills.

Yeah, it sounds unfun, but not really as impressive as being fast in a real running event, at least IMO.

Coveted more than the World Cup or an Olympic Gold medal? I don't think so. Coveted more by a small number of people? Maybe.

Yes, I have one. Honestly. It's in a box in the basement with all of my other medals/awards and such. I had a great experience and felt very accomplished after finishing, but I have no interest in showing the medal to anyone. The only people that have seen it were my crew during the race, my parents, and my wife.

So cries the "runner" who has never run 135 miles in a seven day period, let alone within 48 hours.

not an ultra fan wrote:

I still just don't get it. A rather middle-of-the-pack college teammate of mine (14:40 5k PR) has since turned to ultras and has won some of the big races. Clearly ultras suffer/benefit from a serious lack of talent.

And if your only goal is to finish 135 miles in 48 hours to get a buckle, that seems pretty sad. That is slower than 3mph on average. Assume you sleep for 6 to 8 hours in the middle of that and it is still slower than 4mph average pace. Am I the only one who noticed that you can win a buckle without running a single step? Or more likely, walking the uphills and jogging the downhills.

Yeah, it sounds unfun, but not really as impressive as being fast in a real running event, at least IMO.

Uhm, ever heard of the Commander's Cup?

The Mayor

The Barkley..

with ultra runners the less the event has to do with actual running the better.

[quote]uber-ultra wrote:

So cries the "runner" who has never run 135 miles in a seven day period, let alone within 48 hours.

[quote]

And none of the Badwater finishers run 135 miles in that race either.

I'm actually more impressed by the 50K racewalker people than the Badwater set and that is really saying something.

I used to be really impressed by people who finish Badwater, but then some scrawny HS XC losers spreading their wisdom from their parents' basement to letsrun.com informed me that it actually rewards a lack of talent, so now I've completely changed my mind.