After the pictures of the 10AM Group had been taken and the final instructions had been delivered by the Chief, Race Organizer, some of the runners and crews and even the members of the race organizer had their pictures taken with Dean Karnazes. I finally approached Dean when he finished taking some pictures with the race organizers and my brief chat went like this:
Bald Runner: Hi, Dean! I am a runner from the Philippines and they call me as The Bald Runner in my country.
Dean Karnazes: Hey, you are not bald! You still have a lot of hair sticking out on your head. (Loooking at my head with his smiling face)
BR: I read your book and you instantly became my idol in ultramarathon and intend to join an ultra running event in the future. You are very popular to the runners in the Philippines. I have a blogsite and I posted your book and your accomplishments as the ultramarathon man. It’s baldrunner.com.
DK: That’s great! I’ll check it out.
BK: By the way, I will be running the San Francisco Marathon with my kids, son and daughter.
DK: This coming San Francisco Marathon?
BR: Yes
DK: I will be at the Runner’s Expo for two days before the San Francisco Marathon and you have to see me there. I want to meet your kids!
BR: Yes, we’ll meet you at the Expo. Can I have a picture with you, Dean?
DK: Ok! ( I asked one of the race organizer’s photographers to take a picture with my camera)
BR: Thanks, Dean! (I offered my hand for handshake & he grabbed my hand)
DK: You are welcome. I will check your blog.
After that brief conversation, Dean left the place and went to his support vehicle to change his cap and get his hand-held water jug and later lined up with the rest of the runners at the starting line.
After the runners left, my wife and I took some pictures at the Badwater Basin; checked and reviewed the pictures taken; drank a lot of water and Gatorade to replenish the sweat while I was taking pictures; and took some time to use the comfort room in the area. It was already almost 40 minutes had lapsed when I started to drive the car along the direction of the runners.
While Dean Karnazes was running towards Furnace Creek, barely one hour after the start of the run, I slowed down the car and stay beside briefly with him and I opened the window of the car, brought out my head and shouted:
BR: Good luck, Dean!
DK: Thank you, Bald Runner! (in a loud voice while pouring water on his cap/head from his hand-held water jug and he was smiling!)
Later, I took the following picture as he was running #4 from the leading runner on his way to Furnace Creek:
Being sponsored by The North Face, Dean Karnazes wears running shoes and apparel of the said sports company. His running apparel is now lighter and different from his clothes when he ran the Badwater Ultramarathon in 2005.
Bald Runner 
how exciting! not just to be out there and watch the elites but to actually talk to them. woohoo!
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keep it coming BR!!! You should have brought your running gear and run a few kms. with dean 🙂
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Just read the results at badwater.com. Jamie Donaldson won in the women’s division with a time of 26:51:33, shattering Pam Reed’s record of 27:56:47 in the process. Jorge Pacheco won in the men’s division with a time of 23:20:16, 29 minutes ahead of Akos Konya. Still couldn’t believe that there are runners actually doing this 🙂
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wow! that’s 1 great experience! The elite runners can now say they’ve met the Philippines’ BaldRunner! 😀
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Hey BR, that was just awesome!!! When you get to meet him at the Expo after your SF Marathon run, ask him when he plans to visit manila. 🙂
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I cant wait for your next post BR! : )
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BR,
did you mention my name to karno? :p
hehehe
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bards, it was one of the best experiences of my life to be with the icons of ultra running. badwater ultra is still under the radar of media but the prestige of finishing it is phenomenal.
levyang, i have the impression that running side by side with any of the participants is not allowed for the first 17 miles of the course to include the authorized crews. anyway, pictures and chat with them were worth the time and effort to reach badwater. yes, the organizers were awesome in giving real-time updates during the run.
loony, i am sure they will remember the name “bald runner” from the philippines.
taki, there is nothing to loose if i’ll ask karno to visit the philippines during my meeting with him in sfo. i’ll do that!
markfb, i hope you are inspired with my badwater report!
highaltitude, don’t worry, i still have a chance to mention your name to karno. karno wore the north face outfits from start to finish, just like you! hehehe!
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Its all very inspiring BR! You’re really there. : ) Can something similar to this be done locally?
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markfb, thanks! badwater ultra is one of its kind and the heat is like running in the philippines during noontime in summer months! however, i enjoyed every minute of my stay at badwater & furnace creek.
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