Physician Goes the Distance, Finishing Ultra Races Through Deserts & Mountains
By Dianna Troyer
Nighttime temperatures lingered around 126 F when Dr. Tyler Dschaak stepped to the starting line of Badwater, an arduous 135-mile-long race across Death Valley.
“It’s such a crazy race and always starts at night due to the temperatures,” Tyler says.
Considering the heat along with an elevation gain of 14,600 feet from Death Valley to Mount Whitney, the late-July ultramarathon is billed as “the world’s toughest foot race.” It must be completed in less than 48 hours.
“At the beginning, I wondered how well I had trained,” says Tyler, an experienced ultramarathoner. “It’s amazing what your body is physically capable of doing. With training, you can do so much more than you think you can.”
An emergency room physician, Tyler trains after he gets off work as the medical director at Minidoka Memorial Hospital. Near his home in Declo, he runs the trails crisscrossing a nearby mountain.
To prepare for Badwater, Tyler ran 40 to 60 miles a week. He also sat in saunas so his body could adapt to extreme heat. He became accustomed to using an ice bandana. To protect his skin from searing sun, he wore thin, white tights and sleeves and a safari hat.
Perhaps most importantly, Tyler relied on a motto: “Embrace the suck.”
“Whenever you do something hard, you know in advance that there will be times when you want to quit,” he says. “But you can’t let yourself do that.”
Before entering Badwater, the motto motivated Tyler for 6 years, compelling him to complete 7 100-mile races in Arizona, Idaho, California, and Illinois.
“I wanted another challenge and knew a little about Badwater,” Tyler says. In 2023, he traversed sections of the racecourse as a pacer, running with a friend who had entered.
“From that experience, I decided to apply,” he says. “Only 100 runners are accepted.”
To qualify for Badwater 135, applicants must have completed several 100-mile ultramarathons.
In January, Tyler was excited to learn he was accepted. The 40-year-old was placed in the 40 to 49 age class.
“It appealed to me because it’s so difficult,” he says. “There aren’t aid stations, so you have a crew to provide food and electrolytes and to take turns running with you as a pacer.”
Feels Like Flying
As Tyler ran through the night, he thought about how he became an ultra-runner.
The Declo High School graduate always loved running, but he mainly did short distances for high school sports.
“For me, running is like active meditation,” Tyler says. “It’s just you and the mountain. It’s a magical thing. Running down a trail, I feel as close to flying as I ever will.”
After high school, most of his time was consumed by college, medical school, and his career. Yet he always managed to run recreationally, competing occasionally in 5Ks and half-marathons.
“Then a friend asked me to train and run a marathon with him,” Tyler says. “I’d never even thought of it. After we finished it, I was surprised that it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.”
After another friend told him about ultramarathons, he started reading books about the extreme sport.
“At first I thought, ‘That’s insane, who would do that—run 50 or 100 miles in a desert or mountains or along a beach?’” he says.
Curious about pushing himself beyond a marathon of 26.2 miles, he ran a 50-kilometer race—31.1 miles.
“Then I wondered if I could do a crazy distance of 100 miles,” he says.
A year later in the spring of 2018, he entered his first 100-mile race, the Antelope Canyon Ultra near Page, Arizona.
“About 1/3 of the race was up dunes, so I was ankle-deep in sand and was glad I had sand gaiters,” he says. “Then the route went over slick-rock in other places. It was a grueling and gorgeous course.”
After taking several days to recover, he began researching other ultramarathons and read about Badwater, a race founded in 1987.
The Hardest Part
To maintain a steady pace at the Badwater, Tyler ate mostly energy gels and slept about 15 minutes.
“It’s hard to stop running,” he says. “The hardest part is the last 13 miles. It’s a half marathon up Mount Whitney, climbing several thousand feet after running 122 miles.”
When Tyler snapped the tape at the finish line, he was ecstatic with his performance. Out of 97 runners, he finished Number 15 overall with a time of 34 hours, 39 minutes, and 16 seconds. In his age division, he placed 10th.
“I couldn’t believe it,” he says. “I was super happy with that. I’d even do it again.”
Buoyed by completing his first Badwater and celebrating his birthday on February 19, Tyler envisions a new ultra-running goal: earning the Badwater Ultra Cup.
Along with finishing Badwater 135, he must finish 2 other races to complete the trifecta.
In March, he will run Badwater Cape Fear, a 51-mile race in North Carolina with 38 miles of the course along a beach.
In April, he will race at Badwater Salton Sea, an 81-mile route that must be completed with a 3-member team.
“I’d like to be the first runner in Idaho to achieve the Badwater Ultra Cup,” he says. “Running is my therapy for life and my favorite way to meditate.”