One of the most colourful characters from ultrarunning, Rochester’s Jack Denness, is aiming to become the first 75-year-old to complete the Badwater Ultramarathon, a gruelling 135 mile traverse of California’s Death Valley billed as ‘the world’s toughest foot race’.
And if there’s one person who knows just how tough this race is, it’s ‘Death Valley’ Jack, a moniker Denness has earned from having already completed the extreme running race 11 times previously. With temperatures often soaring to more than 130F, it’s a challenge that few aim to do – and even fewer finish.
Jack’s story is even more remarkable when you consider that he only took up running in his late forties, having previously been a self-confessed heavy smoker. The catalyst? Watching the first London Marathon on television in 1981. “I thought ‘I’d like to do something like that’,” says Jack. “I entered a local half marathon and, with no proper running gear, managed to get round in a couple of hours. It was after that, that I started to get more serious.”
Over the course of the next 25 years, Jack has racked up more than 150 marathons, although he admits that he’s given up counting. His fastest marathon is 3hrs 30mins, but for Jack, it’s not about times but the challenge of an event. To that end, on top of his 11 completed Badwaters, he’s done eight Trans 333s, the Grand Union Canal Race as well as several Racing the Planet ultra-events. “Obviously, I was the oldest one to finish,” he says. The marathon runs have also helped Jack to support local charities and he has raised over £100,000 since his running career began. In 2010 he will be supporting Kent organisation Cerebral Palsy Care of Cliffe Woods.
Despite completing hundreds of races, it’s the Badwater Ultramarathon where his heart really lies. “In 1989, when I was 54-years-old, I read about four runners crossing Death Valley. I though that I if could do that race, it would be a nice one to finish my career on,” he says. Two years later, he finally got a race start, alongside 13 other people mad enough to try the event. He finished 12th – but was instantly hooked. “I loved it,” he says. “I really felt like I’d achieved something. I then thought I’d like to give it another go – and just kept coming back!”
Jack has a somewhat unconventional approach to training. “I only train when I’m in the mood,” he says. “I never follow schedules and am not worried about split times. But I always make sure I do a 25 mile run/walk at the weekends. My weekly mileage is probably only about 40 miles, which is not really enough – but on the day, you just aim to get round and that’s what I seem to be able to do.”
Only once has he not completed a Badwater race, when he used a different crew who didn’t really understand when he was in trouble – and how to deal with him. “When you have an established back-up team, they know when you’re suffering and what help to give – and how much,” says Jack. In the end, he was forced to pull out through dehydration, an experience that only made him more motivated.
Along with his wife Mags (“my rock”), the pair have volunteered to help at the last few races, but it was the lure of being the first 75-year-old to complete the race which was to prove enough to get him back to the start line in 2010. He’s also being backed by Seven Seas, whose Cod Liver Oil he’s taken religiously since he was a boy – and to which he says he owes his lack of joint pain and general good health.
He’s certainly going to need it when he toes the line on July 12th. “I don’t think I’ll ever hang up my running shoes,” says Jack. “But if I can get the record for the first 75-year-old to finish, that could be ultimate goal.”
To follow Jack in his training and to find out more information on how to support him, please visit: www.facebook.com/deathvalleyjack
