The force was with him. It must have been, otherwise he’d be dead.

Heat runner– which is a person who runs in heat, presumably — Jonathan Rice tapped into his inner dark side and ran a mile in Death Valley on June 30th, a day when temperatures climbed to 129 degrees. He accomplished the feat in 6 minutes and 36 seconds.

He wore a Darth Vader costume, I’m guessing, because why not make this a little crazier than it already is?

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yjijwI3Aqc&w=640&h=360%5D

Rice dragged out a representative of the Guinness Book of World Records to witness the event and verify whether or not this was the hottest verified run. (CORRECTION: No one from Guinness was there, but several independent witnesses were there to witness and time the event.) We’re still eagerly waiting to hear if Jonathan makes it in there. He certainly deserves it.

From an interview with CNET:

This may all sound a little insane to you, and Rice agrees. “This is a ludicrously dangerous endeavor. I don’t support you doing it. I don’t even really support me doing it,” he says. His site is full of disclaimers about the dangers of heat running, such as heart attacks, heatstroke, and death.

This is the fourth straight year Rice has done this, and you can follow along with his exploits at his website.

(Thanks to CNET for sharing.)