For the Kids, He Takes On the Baddest Marathon of All

Arthur Webb ’70 (Political Science) seems normal. At 5’ 9”, his stance and gait are straight-arrow, his sun-weathered face home to a pair of penetrating eyes, his tone gruff but friendly.

Trust us. Webb is not normal. Since graduating from Cal State Northridge in 1970, he has taken a path few others have even attempted, and he’s done it 12 times in a row, more than any save two, and at a season in life when a slower pace seems a not unreasonable expectation.

In July, the 68-year-old Santa Rosa resident will run his 13th consecutive Badwater Ultramarathon, a 135-mile footrace across Death Valley that is considered the world’s most difficult running event.

To appreciate how difficult, a few facts: The air temperature during Badwater averages 125 degrees, no shade. Pavement temperatures of 200 degrees blister feet and melt shoes. At night, things cool down to about 115 degrees. And it’s all uphill, from 282 feet below sea level—the lowest spot in the U.S.—to 8,360 feet above.

But wait; there’s more. Webb has “fought off numerous and lengthy bouts of stomach problems,” nausea, diarrhea, “a mean spirited kidney stone” making war on his plumbing system, cooked hamstrings that misfired with every step, cramps so severe they’ve bent him “like a pretzel,” blackouts, pulled muscles, strained muscles, and swollen extremities.

Not to mention “toe nails exploding like popcorn” on the smoldering pavement. “Now, for comfort, I kill and yank them off before the…race,” said Webb, who has worn out about 70 pairs of shoes at Badwater Ultramarathons.

After breaking a toe the day before his first Badwater race, he cut a hole on the side of his running shoe “to let it hang out to help ease the pain and swelling.” During Webb’s third race, Prednisone saw him through an excruciating ten rounds with sciatica, and he could give you 20 pages on blisters alone.

“I’ve had so many huge and irritating blisters that I have to soak my feet after the race in order to peel off the socks that are glued to my hamburger-like feet,” said the retired postal service electronic technician and former U.S. Air Force serviceman.

Blisters heal and blood-soaked socks can be tossed, but hallucinations are another matter. Once, on a night when the malignant heat got wicked with his mind, Webb was menaced by an Ultramarathon crew vehicle. Its headlights flashing with anger, it clearly was ready to devour him for dinner. “It didn’t happen,” Webb said, his lean face deadpan. “But honestly, it was a close call.”

Webb has learned to look forward to the hallucinatory dinosaurs, Yetis and “other creatures that crawl out of the dark crevices” of his mind during the harrowing night runs. They distract him, after all, from the pain of his struggle across the desert.

The question is, why go through the pain at all? Why so far, so hard, so many races?

There are scores of answers to that, and they all live at The Valley of the Moon Children’s Home, in Webb’s words “a safe and secure haven for abused and abandoned youngsters in Santa Rosa.”

Uprooted from his environment a dozen times before he was sent to a foster home, the indomitable marathoner had a full time job as a busboy at 13. “I share roots…and have a unique bond with these youngsters, ranging from infants to teenagers,” said Webb, a motivational speaker (www.commitandfinish.com) whose life mirrors his teaching. “I visit their classrooms before every Badwater race to help motivate and inspire them.

“Everyone is excited and thankful,” he grinned, “that some old guy is about to attempt something extraordinary in their name.”

Strict county rules and the unforgiving desert heat prevent the Valley of the Moon children from coming out to cheer Webb on, but he heads for the home after each Ultramarathon, “to rehash the race” and to thank them for the inspirational drawings that he tapes to the side of his support van during each run.

“I only hope that some day, each child will understand that my gift to them was that it’s not always about winning…but it’s always about not quitting. It’s about becoming a better person by respecting the dignity and honor of the human spirit, by finishing whatever we start, regardless of the outcome. Period.”

Readers can follow Webb’s next race—the July 2010 Badwater Ultramarathon—online at www.badwater.com.

— Brenda Roberts

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