Steel Ball Run (race)

"Listen closely! True failure is forgetting the pioneer spirit! And staying away from challenging hardships! There is no such thing as failure in this race! There are only adventurers! This Steel Ball Run race will be an event the likes of which the world has never experienced before!"

- Steven Steel,

The Steel Ball Run (スティールボールラン) is a race consisting of a series of checkpoints and routes on a rough course approximately 6000 km long that runs from to, USA. The race drives the plot of the Steel Ball Run manga, which is named after this event.

Summary
The Steel Ball Run is hosted by Steven Steel. As an open invitation to adventurers, the rules of the race permit competitors to use horses, camels, newly-invented, and even their own two feet, as long as they use the same method of transportation across the entire race. Different kinds of hazards and climates await, from the dryness of the to the harsh cold and unstable terrain of a frozen.

The race's estimated completion time is 60 to 80 days. Participants must be at least 16 years old and there is a necessary participation fee of $1200 per person with no refunds. All expenses of the participants such as travel, medical, food, and hotel costs are covered. Participants are also permitted to carry weapons as long as they are not used for criminal behavior.

Sponsors
The news company, East and West Tribune, has exclusive coverage of the race. Other sponsors include publishing companies, hotel groups such as the San Diego Beach Hotel, B&C Meat Packaging Corporation, Winchester Firearm Production, Horizontal Continental Railroad Corporation, and the Speedwagon Oil Company.

The president of the United States, Funny Valentine, is backing the race as well and provides Steven with most of its funding.

Prizes
At the end of each stage, points are awarded based on the racer's placement, following this table:

The competitor who completes the race with the most points is declared the winner and receives the grand prize of 50 million dollars. The racers who finish in second, third, fourth, and fifth place will receive $1,000,000, $500,000, $250,000, and $120,000 respectively. Special prizes up to tenth place such as the checkpoint award are also available. Participants who finish first in each stage receive a one-hour time bonus along with an additional $10,000.

There are extra prizes for the overall winner from the sponsors, including the Transcontinental Railroad Stockholder Award, the Horizon Newspaper Award, the North American Horse Owner Association Award, the Selective Breeding Vegetable Company Award, and the Communication Catalog Sales Award.

Championship Trophy
The championship trophy of the Steel Ball Run is placed inside an ice boulder which came from the South Pole. According to scientists, the ice froze over 300 million years ago. The trophy is transported to the goal in New York via railroad and the ice is calculated to melt by the time the race finishes.

The trophy itself is golden and resembles the logo of the race, with a horseshoe symbol on the center of a sphere. On top of the sphere is a jockey with long hair and a hat riding a horse.

History
The concept of the Steel Ball Run was conceived by Steven Steel and a young Lucy Pendleton at some point around 1888. Listening to Steven's ramblings about organizing a long distance horse ride, Lucy proposed that Steven make it a race across America instead with an enormous prize. Steven first found the idea ridiculous, but talked about it at a bar anyway, which caught the attention of numerous sponsors ready to gamble on such huge event. Around 1889, the president of the United States met Steven and became a backer for the race, structuring the race's route around a map created by and secretly turning the event into a front for the search for the Saint Corpse Parts.

The race takes place in the USA, starting September 25, 1890 at 10 A.M. on and concluding at the final finish line in front of New York City's. The total distance covered is estimated at around 6,000 km, which is divided into nine stages separated by known landmarks. In cases where the stage's order of arrival is not clear, five judges are able to examine a photograph of the racers as they cross the finish line in order to determine their placement.

The race concludes on January 19, 1891, with Pocoloco declared the winner on account of Diego Brando's unexplained disappearance. Out of 3,652 initial competitors, only 39 manage to complete the entire race. The race ultimately produces 50 billion dollars (7 trillion yen) in total profit. Although the race is initially heavily criticized for being inhumane due to the deaths of numerous competitors, the news that Steven Steel had donated everything he earned from the race to various causes satisfies most of the dissent.

Trivia

 * The grand cash prize of 50 million dollars is estimated with reference to modern values, and is not to be confused with what $50 million would be worth in 1890 (which would approximately equal to 1.5 billion USD as of 2021). Within the manga, the prize is said to be 6 billion yen.