Japanese ultra-athlete Yoshihiko Ishikawa shattered California’s Badwater 135 ultramarathon record by more than an hour. And that was the second-best thing that happened to him.
Lots of ultrarunners drop to their knees after crossing the finish line in a race. But when Yoshihiko Ishikawa did so at the end of the Badwater 135 on Wednesday, it had nothing to do with fatigue or relief.
No, Ishikawa knelt down to properly ask his girlfriend to marry him. The stunning moment was captured on video that you have to see to appreciate:
Badwater 135: A Grueling Ultramarathon
The Badwater Ultramarathon is one of the more brutal races one can imagine. The 135-mile course starts at 279 feet below sea level in the Badwater Basin in Death Valley, California.
Temperatures can reach up to 130 degrees F during the run. As if the heat and sun aren’t tough enough, runners also have to climb a lot to reach the finish, which sits at a soaring 8,360 feet at the Whitney Portal trailhead to Mount Whitney.
And as most ultramarathoners know, the finish of a brutal race like this is almost always an outpouring of emotion. Tack on the heartfelt marriage proposal, and we’re doubting this story will leave a dry eye.
And almost as a side note — after all, she said yes — 31-year-old Ishikawa etched his name into the record books with a blistering time of 21:33:01 — the fastest ever for the 135-mile race.
