SUGAR LAND, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Steve Maliszewski, an employee of Sugar Land software developer HCSS, is set to run one of the toughest foot races on the planet: the grueling 135 mile Badwater Ultramarathon taking place July 21st - July 23rd, 2014. And to track him along the course, HCSS is installing one of their GPS units, a product he helped design, on his crew’s van to follow his progress in real time. HCSS’s GPS units provide detailed location data, can track vehicle speeds and record mileage, among dozens of other features.

About the Badwater Ultramarathon

Starting in the small town of Lone Pine, California at 3,727 feet above sea level, the race starts off with a 22-mile climb to 10,000 feet and ends at 8,360 feet at the Whitney Portal, the trailhead to Mount Whitney. Taking place in the middle of July when temperatures soar to 120 degrees Fahrenheit, winds radiating off the hot asphalt can hit temperatures of 170 degrees. In Texas sized terms, this is hot enough to smoke a brisket.

The competition is elite with only 100 runners participating from across the globe. Maliszewski is one of six runners from Texas, and this is his first time to compete at Badwater. Each runner brings a crew and support vehicle that stays within 2 miles of the competitor carrying food, water and medical supplies.

With Houston being a mere 50 feet above sea level and a consistently flat landscape, Maliszewski has had to get creative with his training. A few weekends ago he ran the hills at Spotts Park in the shadows of downtown Houston over 1,000 times. He has also been studying the elevation charts of the course and has programmed the first 20 miles of the course into a treadmill at home.

Follow Steve Live

HCSS will build a webpage dedicated to tracking Maliszewski that shows the map of the Badwater route and the GPS unit flashing his progress throughout the race. Geofences will be drawn around each of the way point stops so that each time the support vehicle enters or exits one of these points, an instant message will be sent to his followers via HCSS’s Twitter feed (twitter.com/hcss). HCSS customers employ HCSS GPS for similar purposes: it was developed to help construction companies monitor driver behavior, provide location data, track speeds, provide theft alerts and automate meter readings. Members in his crew will be documenting his journey for supporters to see Maliszewski in his element. Follow Steve through the race at http://www.hcss.com/steverunsbadwater or on twitter twitter.com/hcss #steverunsbadwater.

For more information, read more on the HCSS blog http://hcss.me/badwater2014

ABOUT HCSS

Founded in 1986, HCSS is a leading provider of software solutions for the heavy/highway/utility construction industry. More than 40,000 professionals rely on HCSS software every day, including the bestsellers HeavyBid® and HeavyJob®, to improve their proficiency at estimating, job management, resource management, safety and equipment maintenance. HCSS also offers mobile applications and cloud computing services to allow companies flexibility in the latest in information technologies.

HCSS is located at 13151 West Airport Blvd., Sugar Land, Texas, 77478. For more information about HCSS and its complete line of estimating, field management and resource management products, visit www.hcss.com, call 800-683-3196 or e-mail info@hcss.com.