Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim 2010 - Recap and videos

It's 3 days since I finished the Rim to Rim to Rim (double crossing) of the Grand Canyon, and I still can't truly believe i did it.  It was 48 miles of "hard".  It was fantastic. It was beautiful. It was fun. It was something I'm going to do again next year and I'm already counting down the days!

There are no good words to describe how incredible the views are from the top, on the way down (or up), or from the bottom.  It's a one in a kind place on earth, so i can't really compare to anything.  What I can do, is to tell you a little bit about how it played out, then let you review the photos I posted earlier, and some video footage I took of our adventure.

Last year, my friend JT ran this on his own and came back with tales of nothing but "awesome".  He immediately said he was going back this year and I signed up to join him.  Fast forward 12 months and add about a dozen other people, and there we were driving up to the Grand Canyon from Phoenix airport in multiple cars.  We met up with JT (lives in Colorado) on Friday night for dinner and finalized the plans we had discussed via emails. 

3am start for John, Carrie and Kelly.  5:30 start for Ken, JT and I, and the rest who weren't planning on a full R2R2R would start around 7 and go a variety of distances between 20-30 miles. 

5am we took off to meet JT, we then picked up another friend of his, "Mailman" John, and at 5:20 we were at the South Kaibab trailhead ready to descend. 

The plan was simple. Take a look at this map as a reference.  Run down the South Kaibab (lower Right), run North bound up to the very top and the North Kaibab Traihead, then run back down but returning via Bright Angel Trail instead so we could have the official finish at the Bright Angel Lodge Bar to drink a celebratory beer.

Below is a photo I took for the south rim.  Our run started way off to the right side of this photo, we ran down 4200 feet then up the valley/canyon all the way up to the north side, then returning via the yellow line i drew. The red circle being Indian Gardens (4 miles out), and the blue circle the 3 mile rest area.  The way out on this south end is around the side and consists of never ending uphill switchbacks for 3 miles.

The Challenge for me was that I'd been training for Boston, my legs are a little beat up, and I hadn't run any farther than 27 miles since I ran 36 on January 10th (4 months earlier).  I also hadn't done any hill work, so i knew this would be quite challenging, especially both climbs, up 5000 ft on the North Kaibab Trail which looks like this: 

and then the run back up the Bright Angel Trail for 4200 ft out of the canyon. 

As you can see, there are plenty of stops along the way to refill water.   In addition, there is the "Phantom Ranch" at the bottom, (see Bright Angel Camp Ground), which has a limited restaurant where you can get needed food and $4.50 tecates.

I knew this was going to be tough, but I also knew I had plenty of time to get it done.  I had run 5hrs and 15 mins last weekend and was absolute TOAST after those 24 miles, so I was prepared to be out there for 16 or so hours if I was really suffering and was reduced to a hike. I was also prepared to turn around earlier if the legs (knee and hamstring) weren't going to play nice.

The outcome was good for me.  The views were absolutely amazing and as expected helped keep me going and and more than motivated to get it done.  I had no issues with my knee at all, and i got taped up before i left and it really helped my hamstrings (you can see this tape as we reach the top of North Kaibab in the video).

We left at 5:20, reached the Phantom Ranch at the bottom in about 1hr20, about 9 miles, then stopped for lunch at Pumping Station 3 hours in.  As you'll see and hear in the videos, my legs as expected due to the lack of hill training were quite dead for the climbs, but i was able to push good paces on all descents and flats.  We  reached the top of the North side in 5:15, stayed for 15 minutes or so, then floated down the trails for the 15 or so miles back to the Phantom Ranch where JT greeted me with a tasty Tecate.   Ken and I were in no hurry so we stayed for 40-45 minutes before departing for our final 9 mile return up the long climb out of the canyon.   I figured 3 hours for those 9 miles, but it ended up taking us 3:45, because i really had to slow things down due to very fatigued legs.

Overall, this was the most incredible run I've ever done in my life.  The views are amazing, and believe it or not, as much as twelve hours and fifty-four minutes sounds like a long time to be out there, it didn't feel like it because it was such an amazing experience.  To top it off, the company was second to none, and like Kelly said in an email earlier today, I'm not sure if my abs hurt from all the running, or if they hurt from laughing from the weekend. 

Here are the videos Ken and I took during the run.  Make sure you pick Part 1, then 2, then 3, then the one that I forgot to tag Part 4 and just called "Back up via Bright Angel".  As much as I sound like I'm suffering, believe me, this was the best run experience I've ever had in my life, and am ready to go back next year again!

Carrie and John also finished the full double crossing, as did JT's friend Mailman John (but he finished after this photo was taken).  From left to right, Ken, Carrie, John, JT and myself.

JT, thanks for the invite.  You were right... "The run of a lifetime", indeed!