Too Hot For You?
Run in the Summer Sun to Coincide With Hottest Day Ever Recorded in Phoenix Metro Area: 122° in 1990
There are great feats of athletic endurance and achievement worthy of note: marathons, triathlons and runs through mud, cold and up mountains. But there has not been anything like this: a trying dash through the desert heat on what will be one of the hottest days of the year at the hottest time of day. It takes a special kind of athlete to sign on to such a thing so we are asking: Are you tough enough to beat the heat of Scottsdale?
The 11.22-kilometer race, and a shorter 5K race, will take place on June 22, 2013 at WestWorld in Scottsdale, the day after the Summer Solstice, and the Saturday before the hottest day ever recorded in Phoenix. There will be no early morning start to avoid the broiling temps. Nor will this be a race at dusk when the cooler air begins creeping in. No, the gun will go off at 2:47pm sharp, the time of day in 1990 when thermometers in the Phoenix metropolitan area struck 122 degrees on June 26.
On that day, 22 flights were canceled at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, two-thirds of the city’s bus fleet stopped working and one airline worker reported that the soles of his shoes melted, as did the rubber gloves he was wearing.
A special challenge like this draws a special brand of athlete. That’s why David Goggins, ultramarathon runner, exceptional athlete and world record holder for most pull-ups (4,025 in 17 hours) was the first person to sign up for Beat the Heat Scottsdale 2013. He will be joined by Tillman Run co-founder and ultra-athlete Perry Edinger.
Registration and the race will begin indoors at the Tony Nelssen Equestrian Center at WestWorld of Scottsdale, home of the nationally-renowned Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show. Runners will be outside briefly before traveling through the massive tent that is home to the World’s Most Famous Collector Car Event, Barrett-Jackson.
Racers will then proceed outside on a course routing through WestWorld and around its arenas and barns before entering the pathways, beauty and undulation of the adjacent McDowell Mountain Golf Club, owned in part by legendary Masters and PGA Champion Phil Mickelson. Runners will traverse a combination of hard-packed dirt, asphalt, off-road and concrete paths, golf cart paths and grass. Runners will then return to WestWorld before finishing amidst the sprinklers and chute slides on the Polo Field, home of the Scottsdale Polo Championships: Horses + Horsepower, which is America’s largest polo event.
To recognize the hottest day on record, the entry fee for the inaugural year will be $62.60 per person. A VIP package is available for $122.00. Interested runners may register now at www.ScottsdaleBeattheHeat.com.
The prize money for Scottsdale Beat the Heat is also steeped in symbolism. It will be available for the Top 10 finishers, as follows:
First Place: $1990: To celebrate the year of the hottest day of recorded in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The winner will also receive a two-night all-inclusive stay valued at $1,200 at Hidden Meadow Ranch, the premier luxury guest ranch in eastern Arizona’s White Mountains. There’s no better place to cool down.
Second Place: $1957: The year Scottsdale became a city.
Third Place: $1949: The year Olympic champion Bruce Jenner was born.
Fourth Place: $826: To recognize the date world record for 10K was set in 2005.
Fifth Place: $700: The average number of calories burned during a 10K, though runners might burn many more on June 22nd.
Sixth Place: $626: In recognition of the date of hottest temperature recorded in Phoenix.
Seventh Place: $143: The greatest number of 100°F+ days recorded in Phoenix (1989).
Eighth Place: $122: Highest temperature ever recorded in Phoenix.
Ninth Place: $121: 2nd highest temperature ever recorded in Phoenix.
Tenth Place: $92: Average number of 100°F+ days in Phoenix.
Great precautions will be taken for the Scottsdale Beat the Heat. Runners will be strongly encouraged to visit with a doctor before registering, even seeking their permission. Due to the heat, hydration stations will be provided every half-mile as opposed to every two miles as is typical in a 10K race. And Professional Medical Transport (PMT), Scottsdale’s medical transportation provider, is the event’s title sponsor. They will have multiple ambulances, paramedics and other safety personnel onsite. Coors Light, Powerade and Sole Sports will be presenting sponsors.
Family, friends and fans will be welcome along the race route and deserved
The event is organized by the owners and producers of The Scottsdale Polo Championships: Horses + Horsepower, the largest polo event in the United States (www.thepoloparty.com). Event operations will be managed by Raceplace Event Systems, the most experienced organizer of running events in Arizona. Edinger is also serving as a race consultant.
The event was conceived by Scottsdale Polo Championships co-owner and Rose+Moser+Allyn Public and Online Relations founder Jason Rose. Attending a City of Scottsdale Tourism strategy meeting several months ago on “seasonality,” Rose crafted an event to celebrate the area’s supreme heat, not shrink from it.
“Two summers ago Major League Baseball held its All-Star game in Phoenix in July. This summer we wanted to create a dramatic way to highlight what an exceptional place this is to visit, even in the summer,” said Jason Rose, now co-owner of Innovative Racing Events, LLC which is producing the race.
For more information or to interview a race organizer or participants, please contact Jennifer Parks. To register for the event, please do so at www.ScottsdaleBeattheHeat.com.
###
