I ran over 100 miles through Death Valley in record heat after recovering from chemo — here's what it was like

• Ray Zahab ran over 105 miles through California's Death Valley during its hottest month on record.
• Zahab has traversed over 10,000 miles across Earth's deserts but said this trip was personal.
• He used the Milky Way to help navigate.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ray Zahab, a 55-year-old Canadian explorer and ultra-distance runner who has traversed nearly 12,400 miles across Earth's most extreme environments, from the Arctic to the Sahara. It's been edited for length and clarity.

July was the hottest month in Death Valley National Park's recorded history. It's also when I ran over 100 miles through the scorching desert heat.