The weather is one of the most important aspects of doing the 508. The main question is “How warm is it going to be?” and the answer is usually, “Very warm, indeed.”
The weather in 2008 was not typical, as a storm system had moved through on Friday and the remnants gave below normal temperatures on Saturday. Sunday was a little warmer, but still below normal.
Given that it’s hard to accurately predict the weather more than 5-7 days in advance, it’s only been now that we’re getting a good idea about the temperatures we’ll be facing for the race, and it turns out that timing is everything. If we had raced the 508 this weekend we would have faced temperatures up to 110 degrees in Death Valley.
Fortunately, the heat wave that was affecting California this weekend will abate somewhat by midweek. Temperatures will recover to around normal by race day, about the mid-to-upper 90s for Death Valley. The temperatures will be even cooler at night, probably in the lower-to-mid 80s, and while still warm, it will be much more pleasant than what they would have faced this weekend.
