Illustration by Wise & Well using Midjourney

Time got away from me one morning last week. I was busy writing and editing stories about extreme heat and health — no joke — and I missed my running window. It was mid-morning, and the temperature was climbing past 100 degrees here on the outskirts of Phoenix.

I get antsy when I miss a run. My body needs to move. I felt out of sorts all day. Around 4 p.m., I thought screw it, gotta get out there.

I know better. I had just edited a story, written by health coach, nurse practitioner and runner Elizabeth Knight, that warned of how quickly heat can overwhelm the body during exercise, and how unpredictable the effects are for each individual. (Full disclosure: Knight’s article is part of special report on Heat and Health here on Wise & Well).

I’m also well aware of heat-related deaths in the desert—often hikers who underestimate the heat and fail to bring enough water, or both. In fact, this year, there have already been seven apparent heat-related deaths just in state and national parks in the Southwest, which if confirmed would be the most on record this early in the summer.

Whether you run, hike, walk or work in the heat, my tale of idiocy is for you. I hope you learn something.

By the time I headed out for my run, it was around 110 degrees out there, and humid. Thinking I’m one of those people who can handle the heat better than others, I figured I’d test out this whole “heat shuts the body down quickly” notion. I’ve run in the heat many times in my life, but perhaps not quite this hot. I was curious.

The plan was a short run, probably just 2 miles compared to my normal 3 to 5, up a familiar local trail out into the desert. As I headed out the door, my wife, also a runner, asked if I had my phone.

“Nope, a short one.”

She was distracted and didn’t ask if I had water with. I do not. This is a test. Off I go.

The first mile is slow, as expected given the heat and the gradual climb of the trail, but otherwise uneventful. I feel fine, so I decide to go another half-mile out, make it a 3-mile out-and-back.