Eagle Rock Architect Runs ‘Badwater 135’

An Eagle Rock resident is running the “toughest foot race on earth” and his friends, colleagues and compatriots are rooting for his victory in the nonstop 135-mile Badwater ultramarathon that began Monday in California’s Death Valley and is scheduled to end Wednesday at a height of more than 8,000 feet in Mount Whitney.

Ben Gaetos, 56, an architect of Filipino descent, is evidently the first Filipino to run in the 2013 Badwater 135. Every year in July, the legendary race features up to 100 of the world’s leading ultra-marathoners who run in temperatures that reach 130 degrees.

Gaetos is currently 72.3 miles into the race, at Panamint Springs, running at a speed of 2.68 miles per hour. He ran the first 17.4 miles of the race at 4.81 mph, according to the Badwater website. After the 41st mile checkpoint, Gaetos was 76th in the race, moving up from 81st place, according to a Twitter message posted shortly before midnight Monday by his colleague Mark Nakata.

Since it officially began in 1987, Badwater has always been run by invitation only, following a rigorous screening procedure. 

Click here to view tributes to Gaetos on Twitter.