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Furnace Creek 508
October 16-18, 2004
Great comeback win by Baloh
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Slovenian ultra-marathon cyclist Marko Baloh is the winner of the 21st Anniversary AdventureCORPS Furnace Creek 508. The 508 mile-long race with 35,000 feet of elevation gain is considered as the most prestigous and the hardest ultra-cycling race in USA after Race Across America (RAAM). Baloh held the lead at all seven timechecks and finished over four hours ahead of his nearest rival, David Holt, in a total time of 29 hours, 26 minutes and 26 seconds.
This year's race was one of the hardest editions due to wind conditions reaching almost hurricane force at one point. The wind that struck the racers in Death Valley blew almost half of the solo field away (causing them to DNF) before the race finished in 29 Palms, 250 miles later.
In his first ultra-cycling race since abandoing the RAAM in 2003 (just 450 miles before the finish) because of a blood clot in his lungs, Baloh has showed everybody that he has completely recovered.
Of the 45 solo starters, just 26 officialy finished the course. After the race, Baloho said that he was very happy with his result, which gives him the confidence in his preparation for another assault on the RAAM in 2005. So if you're an ultra-endurance fan, RAAM 2005 is a race you shouldn't miss...
Photography
Images by AdventureCORPS
- Marko Baloh en route to victory.
- Yay! Only 200 miles to go!
- Marko stretches his legs.
- Marko Baloh crosses the line to win the Furnace Creek 508 in a total time of 29 hours, 26 minutes and 26 seconds.
Results
1 Marko Baloh 29.26.26 2 David R. Holt 4.05.37 3 Jeff Landauer 6.47.58
