German ultrarunner Arda Saatçi reached Santa Monica Pier on Sunday after covering 604.6 kilometers from Badwater Basin in Death Valley, finishing in 123 hours, 21 minutes, and 10 seconds. The 28-year-old from Berlin had aimed to cover the distance in 96 hours but missed that target by more than a day, according to a report from Red Bull, which sponsored the run.
When the 96-hour mark passed, Saatçi was at 458 kilometers, with more than 140 kilometers still to run. He chose to keep going. “I gave it my all,” he told his livestream audience, in remarks carried on the Red Bull broadcast. “I may not be the fastest, but I will never give up. You will never see that from me. Never.”
The route covered the equivalent of 14 marathons in five days, with nearly 6,000 meters of climbing. Red Bull reports that he started on May 5 at 11:00 local time at Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America, and reached the Pacific on May 10 at 14:29.
Heat, sand, and sleep deprivation
Conditions were severe. Red Bull’s post-run summary notes air temperatures near 40°C, asphalt readings up to 60°C, and humidity between 10 and 20 percent. Saatçi lost up to 1.5 liters of fluid per hour. To keep moving, his team fed him about 90 grams of carbohydrate and 800 to 1,000 milligrams of sodium per hour, with daily intake totaling roughly 15,000 calories. Over the full distance he burned an estimated 75,000.
The first major climb came early, a 1,510-meter ascent with grades reaching 10 percent. By day two, his feet were swelling and he was managing a pinched abdominal muscle, his support team told Red Bull. The middle 300 kilometers, on loose sand and unpaved roads along Highway 395, slowed him to a walk in stretches. His team switched him to run-walk intervals to manage core temperature.
“The sandy part drained a lot of energy because you have to put in much more effort, keep your balance, everything,” Saatçi said in a livestream update reported by Red Bull. “The 300km felt like 3,000km.”
After 61 hours and roughly 320 kilometers, he began hallucinating, according to the Red Bull account. A sports physician checked him over, and he took a 90-minute sleep break before continuing.
Resetting after missing the goal
When Saatçi hit the 96-hour mark short of the finish, his team extended his next sleep block rather than push him forward. The longer rest preserved enough capacity for the final stretch, including a 700-meter climb near Summit Terrace and a night descent on gravel roads, Teton Gravity Research reported. On the downhill sections of Route 66, his pace returned to under six minutes per kilometer.
Red Bull notes that the planned 600-kilometer route grew by 4.6 kilometers after a landslide forced a late detour. His average heart rate across the run was around 90 beats per minute, peaking at 165.
At the 471-kilometer mark, fans in Germany sent a bouquet of flowers with a handwritten note. He took the longer sleep his team had been pushing for and rolled on toward the coast.
Preparation and support
Saatçi did not arrive in California cold. His build-up included several training runs in the 80 to 100-kilometer range, a seven-day block totaling 242 kilometers, and a 32-hour stretch without sleep, according to Red Bull. He also used heat gear on a treadmill to simulate desert running conditions, then acclimatized in California with support from the Red Bull Athlete Performance Center in Santa Monica.
On course, he was supported by physiotherapist Gzim Ferizi and running coach Lukasz Wolejko-Wolejszo. Other runners joined for sections. Red Bull reported that Swedish creator Marlon Lundgren Garcia ran about 17 kilometers with him, and one fan drove from San Diego to run a short stretch.
A live audience of more than a million
More than 250,000 viewers watched at peak across YouTube, Twitch, and Red Bull TV, with total live viewership exceeding one million, according to Red Bull’s figures. Saatçi, who has more than 2.5 million social media followers and runs under the slogan “You vs. You,” told the broadcast: “I feel very honoured that I can give something to people through this challenge. In the end, it’s not just about me.”
The 604.6-kilometer run is the third installment of his self-titled “Cyborg Season” project. He ran 3,000 kilometers from Berlin to New York City in 2024 and completed 72 marathons in 43 days across Japan in 2025, per Red Bull.
At the pier, Saatçi was greeted by his mother. “What am I supposed to say? We made it. We actually made it,” he said, in footage shared by Red Bull. “Mum, I think it’s time to celebrate with an ice cream.”
