Guy Plans to Set World Record for Running in 130 Degree Heat While Wearing Darth Vader Costume

The force is strong with this one or he is crazy.

If you think it's hot out, try this. Every year in Death Valley, California, there's something called the Badwater Ultramarathon, where a bunch of crazy people run 135 miles in temperatures that top 120 degrees. It's an extreme sport called "heat running." Apparently running in extreme heat gets boring after a while.  So a guy named Jonathan Rice added a new element.

For the past few years, he's been going to Death Valley and running one-mile sprints in a full Darth Vader costume. He calls it the "Darth Valley Challenge," and it's actually becoming popular.  Now other runners are showing up dressed as "Star Wars" characters including Princess Leia, R2-D2, Chewbacca, and Yoda.

This year, Rice did it in 129-degree heat, and clocked in at six minutes, thirty-six seconds.  That's about 20 seconds shy of his personal record. He was specifically trying to set a world record for the "hottest verified run." The official temperature when he started his run was 129 degrees.  He's still waiting to hear back from Guinness.

[Times Call]