User:Vish/Sandbox

"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 the race that drives the plot of Steel Ball Run. It consists of a series of checkpoints and routes on a rough course between and, USA.

Summary
Steel Ball Run is named after this event, hosted by Steven Steel and the President of the United States, Funny Valentine.

The concept of the Steel Ball Run was conceived by Steven Steel and a young Lucy Pendleton at some point between 1884 and 1888. Listening to Steven's ramblings about organizing a long distance horse-ride, Lucy proposed that Steven made it a race across America instead with an enormous prize. Steven first found the idea ridiculous, but talked about it anyway, which caught the attention of numerous sponsors ready to gamble on such huge event. At one point, Funny Valentine involved himself in the organization of the race, determining the journey with Joseph of Arimathea's map and secretly taking command over the whole event. It would then serve as a front for the search for the Saint Corpse Parts, with Valentine and a number of competitors participating to gather the relics.

The race took place in the USA, starting September 25, 1890 at 10 a.m. on San Diego Beach, with the final finish line located in New York City. The total distance is estimated at around 6,000 km, made up by nine routes (called "Stages") separated by known landmarks.

For each stage, points are awarded and the one who completed the race with the most points becomes champion. The champion is to receive 50 million dollars, eventually changed to 60 million. Other prizes include 1 million USD, 500,000 USD, 250,000 USD, and 120,000 USD for the second, third, fourth, and fifth ranking finalists respectively. Special prizes up to tenth place such as the checkpoint award are also available. In the case the order in which the racers have reached the finish line is not clear, five judges are able to use a photography of the racers as they finish the race to determine the rankings of the racers.

Points are awarded following this table:

A cash prize is awarded for the winner of each Stage and a one cumulative hour bonus is awarded for the first eight ones to be used at the end of the 8th Stage and adjust their arrival time accordingly.

The original competitors used horses, camels, the new or even their own legs in this mad-dash across the country. Different kinds of hazards and climates awaited, between the dryness of the Arizona desert or the challenge of crossing a frozen lake.

The race ended January 19, 1891. It was heavily criticized for numerous deaths among the competitors, and raised seventy trillion dollars in revenue, which Steven Steel donated to various causes.

Trivia

 * The grand cash prize of $50 million is given in 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). It has been written as such to convey its value to the standard reader, and is said to be closer to 6 billion yen.
 * The list of the first stages reveals a lot more than just the results. Several important characters are named there, as well the next minor villains Gyro and Johnny will face.
 * For example some riders (never seen in the manga) whose names are music references are; Billy White (American composer Barry White) and his horse Love Unlimited (Orchestra featuring Barry White), Sloop John B (Beach Boys song) and his horse Catch a Wave (another Beach Boys song) and Iglesias (Spanish singer Julio Iglesias) and his horse Natalie.
 * Another example are riders named after albums like Dixie Chicken (album by the American rock band Little Feat) and his horse Ramblin' Man (song by The Allman Brothers Band), Nellyville (The second album by American rapper, Nelly) and his horse Country Grammar (the first Nelly album released) and Zenyatta Mondatta (from the album by The Police) and his horse Roxanne (a song by The Police).
 * According to the overall results of the Steel Ball Run, 3,652 competed in the race and 88 died.

Other stuff
Prizes:
 * 1st Place: 5千万/60億 ($50 million)
 * 2nd Place: 100万 ($1 million)
 * 3rd Place: 50万 ($500,000)
 * 4th Place: 25万 ($250,000)
 * 5th Place: 12万 ($120,000)