RICK NAWROCKI’S BADWATER 2001 STORY

     Getting to the starting line this year

took a lot more than just normal
training. Two weeks of high dose Chemotherapy in December and January, followed
by a month in UCLA Medical Center in Westwood. I received a bone marrow
transplant using my stem cells.
     I told everyone when asked I thought I
was back to about 85% of last year,
but what I lacked physically I made up for in mental toughness and faith. I was
right, but I was off on the %, more like 50 %.     The race
started and everything fell into place. My
crew, Rob (brother) and Al (long time friend) were ready to roll. Our 4x4 Tahoe
was loaded with ice and supplies. At the first checkpoint, I was only five
minutes off last year’s time. At the second checkpoint, I was only a total of 20
minutes behind. Then, I spent another 20 minutes arranging my clothes and socks
for the evening and was off up to Townes Pass. At the top of Townes Pass, my
quads never hurt so badly. It was worse by far than after the entire race last
year. I thought I might have bitten off more than I was really ready for because
I had lost another hour. But I had to have this goal while in the hospital and
recouping. I talked to my crew about maybe having to drop out at Panamint. They
said they understood and not to worry about them coming out from Wisconsin and
Ohio. They could see I was giving it 100%. They went ahead one mile and I said a
prayer. I asked God for some major help. Within a minute a van pulled up and it
turned around. It was Lisa Smith who asked, "How ya’ doing Rick?" She
had been
in contact with me in the hospital along with many other Badwater racers. I told
her, not well. I was thinking of dropping. She said, "No way. There is still
a
lot we can do." At the next stop she had my crew got out a chair and iced my
quads and then massaged out the lactic acid. Twenty two minutes later we were
back running. She had the crew she was with check with Marshall to see if it
would be okay for her to stay with me until Panamint. He said, “Sure.” Lisa
was
a gift from God. We got to Panamint hours ahead of my projected time. We made up
the 1:40. I had lost and gained about another 25 minutes. She had my crew got me
breakfast and worked on my quads again. Then she asked David, a photographer and
friend, to pace me up to Father Crowley's Point. He and my crew shuttled his van
a few miles ahead every hour or so and he gave me reports ... Marshall's X
amount of miles ahead and would love to walk/run with you, but you have to catch
him. He's not going to wait. My only chance was about every 25 minutes Marshall
had to stop so his crew could wrap fresh ice on his shins. I think about 5 or 6
hours later, after I made it over the 5,000 ft-marker, I finally saw him!!! Now,
I was getting close. I knew I would be with him in a while. See, Marshall is
another one of my Heroes and this was going to be great.
     They gave me a 10-minute rest when I got
there. I had a sandwich and
pudding. Lisa worked on my quads one more time. Then we were off. We got to
check point 4 in the late afternoon. It was still light out. I couldn't believe
it. I started four hours later this year and still got to Darwin while it was
light. We got to watch an unreal sunset. Marshall made me feel so confidant.We
talked and joked together and with our crews. My crew was doing great keeping
me fueled with Sustained Energy once an hour. There was food in between that and
new iced bandannas every other mile plus anything else I needed to keep me going
strong. It was great!
     Around midnight we were taking a two-
minute break. A Big Harley pulls up
and this guy yells out, "#81, Ready to rumble!!!"  I couldn't
believe it. It was
one of my crew from last year, Joe. He flew out from Wisconsin to Arizona,
rented a Harley and found us in Death Valley. What a surprise! Around 4 AM both
Marshall and I decided to take a 30-minute powernap, so we went to our crew
vehicles and got some much needed rest. It was my
first sleep in about 48 hours. 
     The sun rose, and we were out by Keeler
heading into
Lone Pine. We got to LP to the cheers of many. I couldn't believe it, I think it
was 8:07 AM and I was hoping to get there around 3 PM. We had my brother Rob get
us both breakfast at PJ's and decided to eat under a shade tree at the
start of
the Portal Road. After we got started again, Marshall still had more in him thanI
did so I thanked him and Lisa and told them I would see them at the finish.
Joe was a great influence to pump me up during those late hours. Going up the
Portal road I thought was he a vivid hallucination or had he really pulled up on
that Harley? He was really there ...  LOL. My crew was now using every trick
they had learned to keep me pushing up the Portal road. At51:51:08 I crossed the
finish line; 3:53 faster than last year. I could barely
believe it. I almost can't remember feeling joy of this magnitude. We took
pictures, got the medal and had to head back down to Lone Pine to get ready for
the Summit attempt in the morning. 
     We decided to go to the post race
meeting to see about
other runners who might be summiting. More luck. We hooked up with Denise, Scott
Morgan (a climber) and Phil Marchant who were going with Shannon. Rob, my
brother, was going to try his luck at Whitney in a day. See the rest of us train
hard for 50's, 100's or Badwater or have climbed big mountains. Rob was here
from Wisconsin but had every ounce of him ready for the adventure. Al had to fly
back to Chicago for a service for his dad who passed away just days before the
race. So, we were doing it in His Honor for Al, but Al was there in spirit!We got
to the Summit at 12:30 PM, 5:22 minutes faster than last year. What an
achievement. We were so happy. Going down was long and slow with never ending
switchbacks, but we got back to the Portal parking lot at dusk. My brother was
AWESOME!!! He hiked and had the time of his life with the rest of us, I was so
proud of him. 
     I would like to THANK my Crew, Rob and
Al, Lisa, Marshall, Jay and the rest
of Marshall's crew. I couldn't have done it without the combined efforts of
everyone. Also, I would like to Thank everyone at SIGNTRONIX where I work for
their love and support through all of this. They have been behind me 100%.
     This was truly a dream come true. All
during my Bone Marrow Transplant all
I could think about was getting well and this race. Enlargements of pictures
from The 2000 Badwater Ultra Marathon were all over the walls of my hospital
room for the entire month. All I can hope is I always have a dream and a goal
and never forget, "No Matter How Bad Things Get, with Faith and hard work I
can
always try and give it my best." Lance Armstrong and I had both had a good
month
and showed Cancer Survivors are not damaged merchandise. 
Rick NawrockiLowest to Highest in 2000 and 2001