Bob Becker, 70, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was the oldest finisher at this year’s Badwater 135, which bills itself as “the world’s toughest foot race.” Covering the 135-mile course in 41 hours, 30 minutes, and 21 seconds (that includes 14,600 feet of ascent and extreme heat) was a tremendous accomplishment, but Becker didn’t rest on his laurels after finishing the race.
After a break to take part in the postrace festivities and get a little sleep, he climbed 11 additional miles up to the 14,505 foot summit of Mount Whitney. This was the true halfway point of his journey. Then he turned around and retraced the 146 miles back to Death Valley, making for a round trip journey of 292 miles. It’s called a Badwater Double, and on August 5—a full seven days, eight hours, and 48 minutes after he started—Becker became the oldest person by 12 years, and the 29th The 2025 Marathon and Half Marathon Calendar.
Becker decided to take on the challenge in honor of turning 70 in April. He ran his first ultramarathon—the 2005 Marathon des Sables—the year he turned 60. But when asked about his plans for his 80th birthday, Becker told Runner’s World Newswire jokingly, “I’m going to take up checkers for the next 10 years,” adding that for the moment, at least, he has nothing on his bucket list.
The journey took Becker from the lowest point in the United States, Death Valley, at 282 feet below sea level, to the highest point in the contiguous United States, Mount Whitney, which was the original Badwater Ultramarathon course. Though the climb to the top of Mount Whitney is no longer part of the Badwater course, the Badwater Double continues to pay homage to the original course.
Becker has become a veteran ultramarathoner and has many races of 100 miles or longer under his belt, but he said the Badwater Double is, by far, the hardest thing he’s ever done. He had originally hoped to complete the round trip at least one day faster, but blisters on his feet, muscle pain, and overall fatigue slowed his progress.
“I never doubted that I was going to finish it, but I sure as heck along the way many times thought, ‘Oh do I wish this was over. What am I doing this for?’” Becker said.
Becker had his first Badwater 135 experience in 2007, when he crewed for a friend running the race. He was immediately hooked and has gone back each year. He has crewed for friends most years, and he ran the race three times, including this year’s run.
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This year, some of the runners he’d helped out in the past returned the favor and crewed for Becker throughout his run. A total of seven runners—three on the way out, three others on the way back, and one who helped him for the duration—handled logistics, pacing, and making sure Becker had the fuel he needed throughout.
“The crew keeps you going and [my crew did] just a phenomenal job of keeping me alive and well fed and watered,” Becker said.
Becker’s primary fuel throughout his weeklong run was a mix of Ensure and gels. Because of the extreme heat—the highest temperature Becker’s crew noticed on the course was 122 degrees on the way back—Becker has found that he does better on a primarily liquid diet. He will throw in some solid food, like a bag of chips, once in a while.
Becker said that summiting Mount Whitney might have been the most difficult part of his journey.
“When you go from sea level, where I live and train, to 14,505 feet, that altitude knocks you out,” Becker said. “I had to take an extra day of rest before I could head back.”
Becker didn’t sleep at all during the 41:30:21 it took him to cover the first 135 miles of his run, the official Badwater 135 race. He finished 60th out of 97 starters, and said his competitiveness may have gotten the best of him by causing him to go out a little faster than he should have.
Partially because he didn’t want to miss out on the postrace festivities and socialization, Becker only slept between three and four hours in his hotel room before summiting Mount Whitney and making the climb back down. When he returned to the base, he crashed, resting for more than a day. He took additional naps on his return trip, though he can’t say how many or how long, in the few hotels available along the route and in a car driven by his crew members.
Another challenge Becker faced, particularly during the last 42 miles of his run, was wind that was so strong at times that it pushed him over to the side. The last 18 miles were particularly challenging.
“I figured, okay, I’m going to make that turn onto Badwater Road, then you can really smell the old barn door and it’s good to go from there,” Becker said. “As soon as I made that turn, the winds picked up exponentially. It was like the gods were up there saying, ‘You think you got this, huh? Here’s one more challenge, pal.’”
It’s not easy preparing for the elevation changes involved in the Badwater Double while training in Florida. Becker was coached, as he has been for the last 10 years, by Lisa Smith-Batchen, a two-time Badwater champion and the only woman to complete the Badwater Quad (Nutrition - Weight Loss).
Becker’s training runs included 25 mile runs back and forth across Fort Lauderdale’s highest bridge, which is only a half mile long. He also simulated hill running by tying an SUV tire to his waist and pulling it for five to six miles before heading out for a tire-free long run. Becker’s longest run heading in was “only” about 30 miles, and his weekly mileage topped out in the 60-70 mile range.
“At my age, you have to be careful, there’s a fine balance between getting your body ready but not injuring yourself, and [Smith-Batchen has] been very good over the years at finding that proper balance,” Becker said.
Becker added that his wife and three grown children have been patient with his passion for ultrarunning.
“They’re wonderfully supportive while at the same time, just a little bit worried that the old man’s going to come back in one piece,” Becker said.
While Becker has been an athlete all of his life, he wouldn’t have defined himself as a runner for the majority of those years. He ran high school track—he was a 4:48 miler—but did other sports and worked out at the gym, for the most part, until he was 57 years old.
shortly after his 57 Grandma’s Marathon Running Shoes - Gearth birthday. He thought he’d run Grandma’s and be done with marathons. But he qualified for the Boston Marathon, We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back.
In 2004, a member of Becker’s running group introduced him to ultramarathons, and he was immediately hooked.
In 2006, his ultrarunning was briefly interrupted when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Because of his family history, he caught it early. He had surgery two months later, and two more months after that he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with friends, with his doctor’s approval. He has been cancer-free since.
Since then, he has not only run many ultras, he has transitioned from working in mortgage banking to becoming a full-time race director. He currently directs the KEYS100, which runs from Key Largo to Key West, Florida, and the Everglades Ultra.
Just as he told himself heading into his first marathon that it would be a one-time thing, Becker is adamant—sort of—that his Badwater Double was a once-in-a-lifetime run.
“This was a one-time proposition…at least if I have any sanity left at all it will be,” Becker said.
