Imagine running from Fayette

County to Chattanooga, in temperatures as high as 130 degrees and with

a change in altitude of nearly 9,000 feet over the length of the course.

Of course, that can't be done

in this part of the country, so Peachtree City resident Scott Ludwig went

to California a few weeks ago for a nice 134-mile race under just those

conditions. He not only survived, he thrived, finishing sixth in a field

of 51 finishers (75 started the race).

The Badwater Ultramarathon

bills itself as the "toughest footrace on the planet," and Ludwig,

48, essentially agrees with that assessment, although he discusses this

amazing human achievement with the same matter-of-fact tone that you or

I might use when talking about a full day of yard work.

"I thought the hard part

would be the first day in the desert," he said. "But it was

the second day, going up three mountain ranges."

Ludwig's group started the

race July 22 at 10 a.m. Two earlier groups hit the ground running at 6

a.m. and 8 a.m. He finished at 10:32 p.m. the next day. That's more than

36 continuous hours on the road.

On top of that, the race started

at nearly 300 feet below sea level, and temperatures in Death Valley reached

130 degrees the first day. The race ended at an altitude of about 8,400

feet somewhere on Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the continental United

States.

Upon hearing of these race

conditions, it would not be unreasonable to ask not if everyone finished,

but if everyone lived. Ludwig said all of the competitors did.

Aside from the physical preparation

required for this type of race compared to a marathon, the logistical

planning and strategy required is much greater than for any other race.

Ludwig competed with the help of a five-member support team that handled

a host of responsibilities to keep him on course. The planning for this

race took about six months.

The crew chief was Paula May,

who supervised everything from tracking Ludwig's caloric intake to when

he changed his shoes and hat. Just being one of the crew members pacing

him along the course took a great deal of endurance.

Gary Griffin ran a total of

60 miles, mostly through the desert, Ludwig said, while Eric Huguelet

took him through most of the mountain portion of the course and logged

about 33 miles. May, Al Barker and Ludwig's son Josh each ran about 20

miles in two-mile segments. All are from Fayette County except for Griffin,

who is from Tallahassee.

The team traveled in a 14-passenger

van, dropping off the various crew members and supplying Ludwig with his

nutritional necessities and other things, like a hat soaked in ice water

every so often. "They provide pit stops," he said of his crew.

Ludwig consumed about 300 calories

per hour, which adds up to nearly 11,000 over the course of the race,

but he ate almost no solid food. Most of it was consumed through a special

drink that contains 300 calories per eight ounces.

Ludwig lived in Clayton County

for a decade before moving to Peachtree City in 1990, where he lives with

his wife Cindy and his two sons: Justin, 20, and Josh, 17. He has run

10 races of 50 or more miles, and the 2003 Boston Marathon was his 100th

of the 26-mile variety. His best marathon time is 2 hours and 48 minutes,

which he reached twice, at 32 and 39 years of age.

In preparation for the Badwater,

he tracked down several people who have run it and got some good advice.

Some of them were from the Southeast, but none from this area, he said.

In fact, relatively few runners form the eastern United States compete

at this level; most of them are from the West Coast or other countries.

Physically, a runner can do

three or four ultramarathons a year if he or she is prepared, but Ludwig

said he won't do the Badwater again because of the expense. He estimated

that his team spent about $4,400.

The race got little national

media coverage, with the Los Angeles Times being the largest media outlet

there. The race's official Web site (www.badwaterultra.com) has considerable

coverage and photos. The winner of the race appeared on "The Late

Show with David Letterman" July 31.

Ludwig is not preparing for

the USA Track & Field 100-mile championship Sept. 13 in Ohio. Although

it is still farther than nearly anyone would think about running, it is

an entirely different animal than the Badwater.

The type of maintenance he

required in Death Valley will not be necessary this time, since the course

consists of 91 laps around a flat 1.1-mile asphalt track next to a lake.

"It's like a cart path," Ludwig said.

This is the first year USATF

has staged a 100-mile race. In previous years, it was a 24-hour competition,

and Ludwig finished fourth overall last year and first in the over-40

category, going 129 miles. He expects to take about 17 hours to run this

year's race.

There is no official world

championship in races of this kind, and the ultramarathon is not an Olympic

event, Ludwig sadly admitted. But that does not diminish his body of work,

not to mention the memory of the Badwater, the scope of which even the

most seasoned runner can often not comprehend.

"It's hard to imagine

until you're there," he said.

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