Team Overall: RMORC Claims Badwater Salton Sea in 16:48

• RMORC (Kyle Deerkop & Nick Doelman) won the team race in 16:48:00 (12:27/mi), the fastest finish of the 29-team field.
• Two Vets (Kenny Krygier & Matt Cantrell) took 2nd in 17:15:35 — just 27 minutes and 35 seconds back — the closest chase of the podium.
• Drei Badwater Veteranen (Ashley Leisher, Lindsay Kasow & Ray Sanchez) claimed 3rd in 17:38:31, crossing the line only 22:56 behind Two Vets and just 4 minutes and 1 second slower than the 2025 overall winning time of 17:34:30.
• The field spanned more than 10 hours from 1st to 20th place (Stars & Samba, Odara Maria Thomas & Luke Thomas, finishing in 26:47:40), with 9 additional teams completing the course beyond that.

From Salton City — sitting 234 feet below sea level — to the summit of Palomar Mountain at 5,500 feet, with over 9,000 feet of total elevation gain across 81 miles, this course does not forgive a bad day. On a cool, clear morning with barely a breath of wind, conditions were about as cooperative as Badwater Salton Sea ever offers. RMORC (Deerkop & Doelman) made the most of it, covering the point-to-point traverse at 12:27 per mile to win by 27:35 over a competitive podium — a decisive margin on a course this long.

Two Vets (Krygier & Cantrell) held 2nd in 17:15:35, running a disciplined 12:47/mi to keep the pressure on. Drei Badwater Veteranen — the only three-person team on the podium — rounded out the top three in 17:38:31 at 13:04/mi, a finish that will sting slightly given how close it lands to the 2025 winning mark. NYARA (Mike Shaddow & Chris Rice) of New York were 4th in 18:20:09, and Off Course (Benjamin Bittick, Ryan Racca & Clay Manning) of Tulare, CA took 5th in 18:57:42 — the last team under 19 hours.

The mid-field told its own story of grit. Veggie Tales (Emily Lyons & Victoria Negri) led the chase pack in 11th at 22:05:55, followed closely by Put The Kettle On (Amanda Skinner, Emma Harris & Susie Chan) — traveling all the way from Botley Southampton — in 12th at 22:21:51. At the back of the listed field, Stars & Samba (Odara Maria Thomas & Luke Thomas) wrapped up 20th in 26:47:40, with nine more teams completing the full traverse beyond them. Twenty-nine teams finished an 81-mile course that climbs nearly two miles in elevation — that alone is the story.