It may sound crazy to want to run at all in Death Valley when temperatures have been setting record highs, but that’s what one man has been doing for more than 13 years.
Jon Rice is a runner and Star Wars fan who pioneered the “Darth Valley Challenge” in Death Valley. The challenge involves running a mile as fast as possible dressed as Darth Vader on the hottest day of the year through a route which passes by many filming locations. Rice had taken on the annual hot run in Death Valley for several years before even remembering that Star Wars was filmed there. That made the run all the sweeter for this die-hard fan.
The challenge is considered exceptionally dangerous due to the extreme heat of Death Valley, which is littered with warning signs advising people not to visit.
Death Valley is popularly known as the “hottest place on earth,” a moniker not to be taken lightly given that extreme heat events globally have become a defining feature of 2023.
But not only does this not deter Rice from doing the dangerous run, but equally, it hasn’t deterred visitors who in fact, flocked there in droves when temperatures reached 130 degrees Fahrenheit recently.
This year, while authorities were advising people to avoid strenuous activity, Rice was gearing up to make himself as hot as possible.
But he does have serious warnings for wannabe copycats. “I have trained for years in the sauna to acclimate to these temperatures,” he told Insider.
“Although the run itself is supposed to be fun and whimsical, dropping dead in the desert … isn’t,” he added. “I simply wouldn’t do this unless I was properly trained, had an escape plan, and knew precisely how to recognize and counter the symptoms of heatstroke.”
Rice maintains a dedicated website about the Darth Valley Challenge, which, among other things, gives his times each year.
“Some people collect porcelain kittens. I run in the heat,” he wrote on his blog.
