Furnace Creek 508 was an ultramarathon bicycle race that took place annually each October between 1989 and 2013 in Southern

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Its route started in

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(25 miles north of

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), went northeast to Towne Pass and dropped into

Death Valley Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. During summer, it is the Highest temperature recorded on Earth, hottest place on Earth. Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the ...

, traversed Death Valley in the southern direction, crossed

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily ...

and ended at Twentynine Palms. The race was named after the total length of its course (508 miles) and the location of its midpoint (near Furnace Creek). Rather than use names or numbers as in other races and other sports, the Furnace Creek 508 identified riders and teams with "totems" - animal names said to signify or have a special meaning for a rider or team. The race was discontinued in 2014 due to a policy change of the Death Valley National Park that prohibited competitive cycling events in the park. Its organizers have since created a new annual event, the "Silver State 508", which keeps the overall format and the total distance of the course, but takes place in Nevada. At of length and of elevation gain, the Furnace Creek route was roughly comparable to four typical mountain stages of

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

ridden back-to-back. Until rules changes in 2003, the Furnace Creek 508 was a qualifying event for the

Race Across America The Race Across America, or RAAM, is an ultra-distance road cycling race held across the United States that started in 1982 as the Great American Bike Race. RAAM is one of the longest annual endurance events in the world. All entrants must prove ...

Route

(start) *

Antelope Valley The Antelope Valley is located in northern Los Angeles County, California, and the southeast portion of Kern County, California, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert. It is situated between the Tehachapi, Sierra Pelona, and t ...

* California City (82 miles) *

Trona Trona (trisodium hydrogendicarbonate dihydrate, also sodium sesquicarbonate dihydrate, Na2CO3•2NaHCO3•3H2O) is a non-marine evaporite mineral. It is mined as the primary source of sodium carbonate in the United States, where it has replaced ...

(152 miles) * Panamint Valley *Townes Pass * Furnace Creek (252 miles) *

*Salsberry Pass * Shoshone (325 miles) * Baker (382 miles) * Kelso (416 miles) * Amboy (450 miles) * Twentynine Palms (finish)

Participants and results

In 2006, Furnace Creek 508 had its largest number of entrants, at 179 (75 solo and 104 in teams). In order to be declared an "official finisher", an entrant must have crossed the finishing line within 48 hours (46 hours for relay teams). The official finishing rate was usually around 60% for solo cyclists and approaching 100% for relay teams. The median finishing time was around 36 hours. Among solo competitors, overall records are 27:15:21 (men) and 28:46:34 (women).

External links

Official web site of Silver State 508
Cycle races in the United States Cycling in California Recurring sporting events established in 1989 1989 establishments in California Road bicycle races {{California-sport-stub