But running also offers the opportunity to see Death Valley more intimately. “Every once in a while you’ll see a little wildflower, and it’s surviving in one of the harshest conditions in the world and yet it has such an innate beauty to it,” Ulrich said.
More than anything, his time in Death Valley has left him with an immense respect for the park, both in its brutality and beauty: “There’s this violence that can happen, but then when it’s calm and the stars come out at night, it cannot be more tranquil and peaceful. I don’t think there’s any other place in the world where you can get that.”