Sutton is the only New Zealander lining up in the Badwater 135-mile (217km) ultramarathon through Death Valley.
The 40-year-old is one of 100 entered in the race and will leave in the second wave of runners at 2am on Tuesday (NZ time - local time is Monday 7am).
The temperatures have been averaging well over 40degC in the afternoon in Death Valley before the race, and Sutton has had nine days training in Darwin to adjust to the heat.
He believes he is in good condition for the race, which he estimates will take him about 30 to 35 hours to complete.
Sutton built a heat box in his garage in Dunedin. He stuck a treadmill and a heater in it and ran in temperatures of over 40degC.
He hoped that was ideal preparation for the long run in the baking California sun.
''I'd like to think my heat box work will help. From what I have been told, running in the heat box is worse than the actual road. There is no airflow in the box, so I'm hoping the race might be a bit easier,'' he said.
He had completed sessions of up to two hours in the heat box and lost about 2kg during that time.
''For the actual race, my support team will have scales with them and I will weigh myself. If I lose any more than 4kg, I will be worried, and if I gain any more than 1kg, I'll be concerned also. If you start to retain water, you can get yourself into trouble.''
The mental challenge will be as tough as the physical one for Sutton but he is confident he has that under control.
''I'm looking forward to those times. That's when I really kick in, when it becomes a mental game. I'm looking forward to feeling the pain because it is going to happen. There are going to be some ugly times out there, but if I can stay positive and keep pushing I'll be OK.
''It's obviously not an impossible event, but there are a selected few that get the chance to run it so I will certainly be giving it my best.''
Sutton is supported by former schoolmates Scott Wilson, Rob Cunningham and Mark Murdoch in his event.
