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A man dressed as Darth Vader ran a mile in 128-degree Death Valley

A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:

Good morning. I'm A Martínez.

It's a near-annual tradition for Jon Rice to run a mile as fast as he can in California's Death Valley on the hottest day of the year while wearing a Darth Vader costume. So why? Rice says the thrill of the 128-degree run is worth it. And occasionally someone in a Chewbacca costume runs alongside. Why hasn't Mark Hamill joined him? Anyway, let's hope he remembers to hydrate, because, as you all know, Sith happens.

It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

A Martínez is one of the hosts of Morning Edition and Up First. He came to NPR in 2021 and is based out of NPR West.