Florida man, 80, becomes oldest to run ‘world’s toughest’ race in Death Valley

Athletes compete in the Badwater 135 in Death Valley, California, in July 2017. Photograph: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

An 80-year-older runner has made history as the oldest person to complete the Badwater 135, nicknamed “the world’s toughest foot race”.

Last week, Bob Becker of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, became one of 93 people to complete the ultramarathon course – which covers 135 miles, beginning 282ft below sea level in California’s sweltering Death Valley and climbing to 8,360ft at the trailhead to Mt Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous United States.