Cincinnati man wins 135-mile California ultramarathon

CINCINNATI, OH (FOX19) - A Cincinnati man was announced Tuesday as the official winner of this year's Badwater Ultramarathon, a 135-mile foot race through some of the hottest areas of California.

Cincinnati School for Creative and Performing Arts teacher Harvey Lewis, 38, completed the race with the time of 23 hours, 52 minutes and 55 seconds. The record for his age group, set by Mexico's Oswaldo Lopez in 2011, is 23 hours, 41 minutes and 40 seconds.

Race director Chris Kostman used Instagram to track Lewis' progress along the non-stop race from Lone Pine to Mt. Whitney Portal.

The route, which has passed through Death Valley National Park every year for the last 36 years, was changed this year due to the National Park Service's ban on athletic events in that area.

According to the Badwater race website, this year's race still covered over 17,000 feet of elevation gain, two ascents into the Sierra Nevada and a 15-mile dirt road trek to an "authentic ghost town."

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