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Iván Penalba wants to conquer the Bathwater 135 and be part of the history of the toughest race in the world. In 2022, in his first participation, he finished second and became the first Spaniard to get on the podium.
His great challenge for 2023 is to conquer the Badwater 135, a race he first faced in 2022 and which has become his biggest challenge sports. «I already know what I'm facing and I think I can dream of victory. Last year I ran it for the first time and everything was new to me. It is a race that is not comparable to any other in the world, so the best experience is to have run it to know what you are facing. », explains Iván Penalba.
Iván Penalba aspires to victory and with record time
La Bathwater 135 It is considered the most extreme and challenging long distance competition in the world. Their 135 miles (217 kilometers) They travel through one of the most inhospitable places on the planet: Death Valley (The death Valley), a desert valley found in southeastern California, in the Mojave desert. It is one of the hottest places in the world in summer, with temperatures that during the day touch and even exceed 50 degrees Celsius and at night, in the best of cases, they drop to 34 degrees.
As a curiosity, in the Valley of Death the record for the highest temperature recorded in the world is set: 134 °F (56.7 °C), on July 10, 1913.
In 2022, Iván Penalba became the seventh Spaniard selected to face the 135 miles of the Badwater. She prepared herself thoroughly -including training in a sauna to accustom her body to extreme temperatures- and finished in second position with a time of 24h:02′:57″, behind the Japanese Yoshihiko Ishikawa, who completed the course in 23h:08′:20″ and repeated his 2019 victory.
The Valencian ultra-distance runner made history by becoming the first Spaniard to get on the podium of the race, but he returned from American lands with the dream of returning to Badwater 135 to win and set a new time record (the men's record is held by Valmir Nunes at 22:51':29" and the women's is held by Jamie Donalson at 26:16':12").
«The Badwater It is not a normal ultrafund test; It requires a very particular preparation, both physically and psychologically. It is an extreme race because the temperatures are hellish and any physical activity becomes very difficult. Last year I prepared the best way I could and knew how, but I didn't know exactly what I was facing. This year I already know what I'm facing and what I need to improve in my preparation and approach to the race.", comments the Valencian athlete.
The greatest demand and hardness of the Badwater 135 lies in being able to run for hours on end with hellish temperatures, as Iván Penalba explains. «You have to have exceptional physical preparation, but you also have to work hard on psychological preparation because the hardest thing in this case is not the distance itself (217 kilometers), but the effort involved in maintaining concentration and a competitive pace with a heat that is not describable. And a fundamental aspect to maintain concentration and be able to aspire to victory, as I saw in 2022, is having a very experienced support team.
Carmen Pérez, inseparable companion of fatigues of Iván Penalba
Iván Penalba will have a highly qualified team this year to assist him in his great sporting challenge of the year. Leading the team will be Joaquin Candel, a Spaniard living in Las Vegas who knows the Bad like no one elsewater 135 and all its singularities, both administrative and logistical-sports. And to help you on the burning asphalt of endless roads, you will have the company of two elite ultra-long distance runners: the Mexican Oscar Hernandez y Carmen Perez Serrano.
Both are following a strict training program to be able to provide the help that Penalba will need on July 4 during the more than twenty hours that he will have to run without interruption.
Carmen, Iván's inseparable companion, accumulates extensive experience in ultra-distance tests (both on asphalt and in the mountains) and currently holds the Spanish women's 100 km record (7h:47':14″, mark achieved in the 100 Kilometer World Championship in Berlin 2022), as well as the Spanish records of 6H and 12H.
Joaquín Candel, Carmen Pérez and Oscar Hernández will be the three athletes who will accompany the runner from Alfafar (Valencia) on the ground in the great challenge, but the 'Team Penalba' is also made up of physiotherapists David Valenzuela (Box 55) and Pablo Salvador, physical trainer Sebastian Bialobrzeski, psychologist Pedro Quesada and chiropodists Salva Jesuardo and Nuria Gil.
Iván Penalba's roadmap for Badwater 135
the badwater 135 is the great sporting challenge of 2023 for Iván Penalba and that is why he has designed his competition calendar thinking of reaching his best form until the month of July.
The competition roadmap began on February 25 in the 100 km of Conero (Italy), where he finished in third position with a time of 7h:03':17". February was the first month of his specific preparation for Badwater and finished it with 685,2 km in 26 days (26,5 km/day on average).
The second race of the year in which he competed was the 12 Hours of Sofia (Bulgaria), the first race in which he ran with Carmen Pérez and in which he finished in first position by completing 146,6 km (136,300 kms Carmen). «The 12 Hours of Sofia was the first event in which we competed together and we were able to experience the sensations of work and joint effort. Achieving maximum understanding is essential in the face of Death Valley.", Explica.
Already in April they formed on the starting line of the 24 Hours of Venice, a race in which Penalba also climbed to the top of the podium after totaling 254,03 km (the sixth time he has managed to exceed 254 km in a test 24 hours), while Carmen Pérez finished in the second position of the women.
With the 24 Hours of Venice, Iván Penalba already adds to his sporting record a total of 62 official ultra-distance races, with 9 24-hour races completed.
«I am very satisfied with the performance in the first three months of the year. Everything is going the way I wanted. In the first block of 'training - tests' I have run three official ultra-distance competitions in 49 days, totaling more than 500 kilometers, and I have achieved 3 podiums. In addition, I am also satisfied because in each of these competitions I have done many nutrition, hydration, etc. tests, which will be relevant for the Badwater», Explica.
The roadmap of competitions that will serve to refine the set-up for Death Valley includes the following tests:
- 24 Hours of Ciudad Real. In this ultra-distance test on the track, Iván and Carmen will compete in the 3-hour test.
- Camí de Cavalls 360 (Menorca). A test that runs along the GR 223, a historic path of 185 km that goes around Menorca along the coast. In this test Carmen competes and Iván will be in charge of the assistance.
- 100 km from Passatore (Italy). This test that takes place between Florence and Faenza is considered one of the most important 100 km tests in Europe.
- 6 Hours from Tegueste. This will be Penalba's last competition before traveling to Death Valley.
A little history of the Badwater 135
Until 2022 the Badwater 135 was an ultra-distance event little known in Spain (except for lovers of extreme ultra-distance events), but the participation of Iván Penalba and his second place made it famous and gave it an unprecedented role in our country.
It began to be officially contested in 1987. In that first year only five runners started, but since then the number of participants has not stopped growing. Its popularity is maximum among the international community of long-distance runners, which is why it brings together ultra-distance runners of many nationalities in California every year, seduced by the challenge of competing in what is closest to the caldera of a volcano.
In the 2022 edition, 95 runners (63 men and 32 women) formed on the starting line and 78 completed the 135 miles (217 km). Men and women of 23 different nationalities but with a common passion: ultra-distance running on endless roads that run through the Death Valley (Death Valley) under a scorching sun and with daytime temperatures that can exceed 50 degrees Celsius.
In this valley is the bad basinwater, which is the lowest point of elevation (–86 meters above sea level) in all of North America (excluding Alaska and Hawaii) and is where the race starts from. This point is only 136 km east of the highest point in the United States, the Mount Whitney (4.421 meters above sea level), where the test ends at 2.548m. altitude.
Since the start is taken, at 23:34 p.m., you have to fight against extreme heat (at night the temperature does not drop below 217 degrees), but the punishment of the heat is added to a demanding route that means totaling XNUMX kilometers with a Accumulated positive drop of 4.450m. and 1.859m. cumulative decline.
Iván Penalba, kilometer and record breaker
Iván Penalba holds the world record for 12 hours on a treadmill (155,080 km), as well as the Spanish ultra-distance records in races of 12 hours (158,631 km), 24 hours (274,330 km) and 100 miles.
But in addition, he accumulates many more milestones in his sports career that make him a unique athlete:
- The only ultra-distance runner in history to win on 4 different continents.
- World top 3 in ultrafondo by hours in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
- 3 current national records in 24H, 12H, and 100 miles (until recently he also held the 6H and 60 miles).
- World record on treadmill for 12 hours.
- Winner of the most important 24H track event in the world (Taiwan 2018).
- Best result of a Spaniard in the Spartathlon (2021), the world's most important ultra-distance road race that takes place in Greece.
- 5th place in the 24 2019H World Championship (Albi, France). It is the best result, 270,1 kms, and position of a Spaniard in a world championship.
- 4th place in the 24 2022H European Championship (Verona, Italy). It is the best result, 273,4 kms, of a Spaniard in a European.
42K technical mark of Iván Penalba for the second year in the Badwater 135
42K is once again the technical mark of Iván Penalba and his entire team for the Badwater 135. For the second year, the Valencian ultra-distance runner will face the rigors of the extreme heat of Death Valley with technical garments 42K.
For the 2023 edition, Iván Penalba will use an exclusive technical shirt made with 100% recycled fabric that we will present shortly.
42K You have seen the Valencian athlete (and now also his sports partner, Carmen Pérez) since he began to compete in ultra-distance events.
Text to 42K of :
Paco Amoros
Head of Communication for 42K
Graduated in Journalism from the CEU Cardenal Herrera University and master's degree in digital marketing. Head of Communication for 42K.
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