We published a couple of blogs in August about superheroes and hemophilia—yes, Marvel Comics had some characters with hemophilia! And we have a couple of “superheroes” with hemophilia of our own:
• The late Barry Haarde, who cycled across the US six times to raise money for Save One Life.
• Tim Stowers who just swan the Catalina Channel for 16 hours to raise money for Save One Life.
• My boyfriend Doug, though he does not have hemophilia, at age 67 cycled across the country in homage to Barry to raise the most money for Save One Life.
• Chris Seistrup, who cycled unsupported from Banff to Mexico in a race—and won!
I thought I knew them all, but while watching a random movie on Kanopy, to get myself motivated to get more active, I heard the word “hemophilia” and I perked right up!
The movie “Badwater 135” is a documentary about the Mount to Coast Badwater® 135, a 135-mile non-stop ultramarathon known as the world’s toughest foot race. It takes place in Death Valley—that should tell you everything you need to know. Death Valley is one of the hottest places on earth. People without any medical issues have a difficult time running it, as the movie shows. It starts in Badwater Basin, Death Valley, California, at −282 feet below sea level, the lowest elevation in North America. It finishes at the Whitney Portal (8,300 feet, the trailhead to Mt. Whitney. This is brutal!
The movie profiles several runners, how they trained and why they run. “Hemophilia” was the last thing I expected to hear. But Ricardo Ramirez competed and completed Badwater 135, representing Mexico and is the first person with hemophilia to finish the world’s toughest foot race.
From Facebook, Ricardo “has been running ultras since 2011 and on his Badwater 135 application Ricardo listed strong completions of six 100-milers including Angeles Crest, Born To Run, and Kodiak. Also, he served on the support crew for Badwater 135 runners in 2018 and 2019. Ricardo also told us “I want to run Badwater 135 because I live with hemophilia, a genetic bleeding disorder which causes blood to not clot with spontaneous bleeding in joints such as knees and ankles. Spontaneous bleeds have prevented me from competing in various races throughout my running career. Most people living with hemophilia are afraid to be active but I have defied the odds and have proven that people can properly manage their condition. I dedicate myself to being active and want to show everyone that even with hemophilia I can compete in extreme sports such as the world’s toughest foot race.”
Watch the movie: it’s free on Kanopy (you just need a library card number), and be amazed! It’s so inspirational, courageous, outrageous and true! Ricardo: another hemophilia hero.
