Telma Ghazarian Altoon with her crew members.
NORTHRIDGE, CA – Telma Ghazarian Altoon is competing in the world’s toughest footrace in about one month.  But no one achieves success in such events alone. All the racers are backed up by crews of three or four (the maximum allowed) people.
Telma’s crew will consist of four, and is very international. Currently, one slot is open because two people who had planned on filling it were sidelined by health issues.  The search is on for a replacement. Meanwhile, the other three are busily preparing for the big two-days in July that the Badwater 135 race spans.
The crew’s sole purpose for those days will be to see to the racer’s needs. They will support her by running beside her not only to hand her water and food, but also to keep her from running too fast! They will spray her with water to cool down in the 120–130°F heat of the desert, make sure all supplies are immediately available (e.g. fresh socks), keep the support van close for the brief naps she may take, etc. In short, they are there to make sure all she does is focus on the grueling task of running 135 miles and 14,600 feet of gain in the desert.
Valod Shaverdian, an engineer born in Iran, is the crew chief, and is responsible for making sure all the nitty-gritty arrangements are made and a tight schedule adhered to. He is the first Armenian to serve in that position in this three-decade-old race.  He is most proud of being his daughter, Audrey’s, dad. But he also brings a dozen years’ worth of hiking/mountaineering/running experience.
Before seeing the documentary “Running on the Sun: The Badwater 135″ in 2006, Shaverdian had never been involved in any organized sports and claims “I couldn’t run to save my life.â€
