Adventure Report - 2012 Grand Canyon Rim-To-Rim-To-Rim

View of Grand Canyon from upper South Kaibab Trail.

By Thursday afternoon, we all had arrived in Phoenix, ready to head to the Grand Canyon National Park. Rich had arrived earlier and I had already been there since Monday, so we picked up Dan at the airport and took off straight from there. We arrived at the halfway point in Sedona, AZ just in time for a late lunch. One of the Phoenix locals had recommended this quaint little town a little off the beaten path but definitely on the way to the Grand Canyon as a great spot for lunch. After refueling on sandwiches and soda we continued on our trip, eager to make it to our destination. After another couple of hours, we finally arrived.

We decided to check into our cabin first (Dan had hooked us up with a lodge for 2 nights right at the South Rim and inside the actual National Park. Thanks, Dan!) before doing South Kaibab trailhead reconnaissance in anticipation of our early morning start the next day. There is no parking allowed at the trailhead, but we found a parking spot just a short three quarter mile walk from the trailhead. After we arrived at the actual trailhead, I almost lost it: "We were gonna do what? Run across that? No way, the other side is like 2 states away. It didn't look this big on the map. There is no way we can make that! I can't even see the bottom". After my inner voices stopped talking for a moment, I decided to stop thinking about it and head back to the cabin for some much needed rest after carb loading at the lodge cafeteria. By 7PM, I was out.

View of Grand Canyon from South Rim.

My alarm went off at 2AM. I had spend about 30 minutes the night before lining up my gear and loading up my pack. I ended up with close to 20 lbs in my Inov-8 Race Pro 22 pack mostly due food and water. I had also received some very sound and helpful advice from local ultra runner Eric Charette who had just completed the run weeks earlier. He willingly shared of of his gear and food lists with me, allowing me to cut down on some serious logistics time. In hindsight, I overpacked...as usual. However, while I plan to run much lighter if I ever do this run again, it is definitely better safe than sorry on this run. In addition to some essential gear I was also carrying trekking poles (the most challenging piece of gear to stow away for the downhills) and a GoPro Hero HD camera (video footage to be shared online at a later time) as well as some other non-essential gear.

Gear & Food List

After a quick cup of coffee we bundled up in some warm clothes and grabbed our packs on our way out the door. Temperatures were in the high 30s as we drove the 10 minutes to the trailhead. I decided to wear my winter running jacket, which was nice and comfy for the first 30 minutes. After that, it quickly became a heavy piece of non-essential gear stuffed in my backpack. At 3:06 Mountain Time, Dan, Rich and I started our adventure, running down the South Kaibab Trail in complete darkness, our path illuminated only by the light of our headlamps. I was kinda glad I couldn't see where we were going. It just seemed too daunting. We kept shining our headlamps just to the side of the trail and there was nothing there, no bottom for the light to bounce off of. Most if not all of the trail is basically cut into the side of the canyon, so one side is generally the canyon wall and the other side is what I like to call "the abyss".

Approaching the hanging bridge across the Colorado River from the North Rim on our way back.

About 2-3 miles from the trailhead, we got lost for the first and last time at a mule station just along the trail. Instead of bypassing the station we though we had to turn right. Well, it was dark and you really couldn't see where the trail continued. After about 5-10 minutes, we finally spotted the trail to continue our journey. Richard and I would "dart" ahead (I'm using the term dart ahead very loosely) with Dan and his 40 lbs pack following behind. We had hoped to cover the first six miles to the Colorado River and the bottom of the Grand Canyon rather quickly, but the lack of light coupled with the steepness of the trails made speeds faster than 15 min miles nearly impossible. I know, I know, that's crawling and not running, but that is the nature of the Grand Canyon....unless you're a genetic ultra running freak and not a midpacker like us;-)

We arrived at the Colorado River at the bottom of the Canyon about 2 hours after we started around 5AM. Just before we arrived at the bridge crossing the river, a caravan of hikers started to kake their way up the South Rim. They had started their hike just minutes earlier at the Phantom Ranch and already the majority of them was soaked in sweat and breathing heavily. Oh great, so this is what we'll get to do on our way back during the hottest time of the day. This is gonna be fun!

We had just completed the first of four legs of our double crossing, making our way down the South Rim in just over 2 hours. After we crossed over to the North Side of the Canyon via one of the two hanging bridges, I realized that the sun still hadn't come up. These two trail bridges near the Phantom Ranch are the only bridges crossing the Colorado River within 200 miles. I hadn't snapped a single picture yet, but that would change as soon as the sun came out. We would reach Phantom Ranch in about a mile to refill our water bottles and hydration bladders before continuing our trek up the North Kaibab Trail.

We passed the Bright Angel Campground just before arriving at Phantom Ranch. At this point we had descended almost 5000 feet from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. We now had about 6000 feet of climbing to the North Rim ahead of us. Although it was still dark, there were already some hikers and trail runners scurrying around and getting ready for the day ahead. We found the water spicket just outside the Phantom Ranch canteen to refill our hydration bladders. The canteen was still closed at this time. I was already looking forward about stopping here on the way back for some ice cold lemonade. Still struggling with my new pack, I took some time to refill my hydration bladder and shove it back into my pack.

After about 10 minutes we continued our trek up the North Kaibab Trail. This trail was about 14 miles in length and led us through the Bright Angel Canyon criss-crossing back and forth over the Bright Angel Creek along the way. We hoped for good weather on the North Rim and for making it to the top in a reasonable amount of time.

We moved slowly but steadily and the temperatures never really got too cold on the way up. Dan and I reached the top in a little over 7 hours with Richard right behind us. I couldn't believe it, but there was actually still snow at the North Rim, how cool was that!

We took a 30 minute break to refuel with the snacks we had packed and to top off on salt. I had been taking salt and gels quite regularly during the entire duration of the run so far, but it seemed like I wasn't taking in enough salt. I devoured my first bag of Fritos and ate a cereal bar. Once Richard caught up to us, we adjusted our packs, stowed away our trekking poles (Rich and I, Dan was using any) and started the second leg of our adventure.

I was now wearing the GoPro HD Hero camcorder and holding my digital camera, ready to snap tons of pictures. After all, this run wasn't about being fast, but about taking in this amazing scenery. However, no matter how hard I tried, none of the pictures or videos I took truly captures the enormity and grandeur of the Grand Canyon. Around every corner there was another breathtaking view, literally. I still tried to capture these images, sometimes successfully, sometimes not.

While we didn't meet any fellow runners or many hikers for that matter while descending the South Rim early in the morning, on the North Kaibab Trail there was almost constant back and forth traffic of runners and hikers. There were still many hours of solitude, but we were definitely not alone out there. I think we might not have been the only ones that had this one on our bucket lists (add sarcastic undertone here).

We continued our steady descend back down through a man-made tunnel and on trails so narrow, I kept wanting to "hug" the canyon wall on the other side of the trail. I kept wondering how they actually built this trail so many years ago and how they even decided on where to build it. We were fortunate enough to see some park rangers and volunteers on the trail so we could actually thank someone personally for the work they do to maintain these trails and this amazing place for all of us to enjoy.

About a mile out from one of the ranger stations near the bottom of the canyon, I finally ran out of water. The North Kaibab trailhead has access to water about 1.5 miles away from the trailhead and neither one of us felt like going there just to fill up. Instead, we figured 70oz would be enough to get us up and down from the North Rim. And it did...almost. Thankfully, the water had already been turned on at the ranger station, so we were able to refill our hydration bladders here rather than wait another mile or so to reach the Cottonwood campground. After washing the salt off my face and refilling my water, we continued on to Cottonwood campground. Dan had stashed about 20lbs of food and gear there on our way to the North Rim and it was now time to retrieve it for a lunch break.

Dan had thought of everything. There were peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and even three full-size oranges, one for each of us. Dan, you are the man! Instead of refilling my hydration bladder again once at Cottonwood, I refilled a collapsible bottle I had brought along for emergencies with Gatorade. I guzzled down the Gatorade and my last bottle of Ensure (I had finished the other bottle on the way out). We took our time before continuing on. The heat was starting to climb. The sun had finally reached the bottom of the canyon, which is exactly where we were at.

While we were still running somewhat together, the three of us now stretched out over a mile. It gave each one of us the opportunity to let our thoughts drift and to take it all in. We knew we would catch up with each other at the Phantom Ranch. To me, the running part of this adventure had become all about the final 6 miles up to the South Rim. We had chosen the traditional route (South Kaibab Trail - NorthKaibab Trail - South Kaibab Trail) and climbing the 6 miles up South Kaibab Trail would be a significant challenge. Approaching Phantom Ranch, I was still feeling pretty good and actually pushing a little. When I arrived, the place was hustling and bustling. Folks were eating their lunches and hanging out in the canteen or under one of the many shade trees surrounding the ranch.

The whole gang during a brief break.

I grabbed a seat at one of the picnic tables and refilled my bladder before heading into the canteen for a big cup of lemonade. By the time I came back out, Dan had arrived as well. I sat down and started chatting with another group of ultra runners , who were doing the R2R2R as well, but they had chosen the Bright Angel Trail as the route up and down from the South Rim. We all started to compare notes about ultra races past and future. As it turned out, quite a few of us had run in some of the same events, proof again that the ultra running community was still fairly small.

Richard arrived at the Ranch a few minutes later and we all took our time to refill and refuel. We knew what lay ahead and none of us were very eager to "get on with it". No matter who we talked to, guesses ranged from 3-4 hours as the time it would take to reach the South Rim from Phantom Ranch. We decided that we would all go our own pace up to the South Rim. It would be a crawl and each one of us crawled at a different pace. My camera battery was running low and I started to slow down on the picture taking. To be honest, I quickly became too focused on putting one foot in front of the other to even think about snapping pics. Every switchback felt like eternity. Luckily, the sun started to disappear behind the canyon, but it was still hot. I continued my climb, literally stopping every half mile to catch my breath and to regroup.

Dan was fairly close behind me, while Richard took his time about a mike back. During the initial climb, I would still see him on the trails below, but as we progressed upwards, I stopped seeing him. I knew he was there, struggling with the rest of us. I slowly started to get concerned about reaching the top in a reasonable amount of time. We had taken some long breaks and I was now starting to think that we might not make the top of the South Rim before sundown. It didn't make a difference, I couldn't go any faster if I wanted to. Instead, I decided to pull out my camera again to try to capture some of these amazing views and images from the South Kaibab Trail.

I reached the bottom of the final set of switchbacks around 6:30PM local time. Dan was right behind me and he somehow convinced me that these switchbacks were another mile or so away from the trailhead. At this point, I had no recollection of earlier in the day, when we first descended this section. I just believed him. I agonized over this final section, but I wanted to get it done. I started to push and after just 6 quick switchbacks, I couldn't believe my eyes, I saw what looked to be the trailhead sign.

After 15 hours and 44 minutes I had reached the South Kaibab trailhead, the place were it all started earlier in the day. I was ecstatic. Looking back over the canyon, I still could not believe that I had crossed it, not once but twice.

Dan arrived just a couple of minutes later and we decided to get the car, take a shower and pick up some food, so we could meet Richard at the trailhead with food and beer at hand.

Just a little over an hour later, Richard had completed his journey as well. We all enjoyed the cold beer and headed back to our cabin for a 2 hour nap before taking off for Phoenix Airport. It all was still a little surreal and it still really hasn't sunk in all the way.

A map of our run and the elevation profile can be seen at the bottom of this post.

RunningAhead.com statistics based on Garmin FR 310XT readings.

Training Log - Wednesday, April 25, 2012 (Phoenix, Arizona)

An old ruin about 1.5 miles from the National Trailhead on South Mountain.

I arrived in Phoenix, Arizona three days earlier for a conference at which I was going to be a participant as well as a speaker. After three interesting but long days I decided it was definitely time to check out the neighborhood. I had never been to Phoenix, but I knew they had trails here. I had already made arrangements to meet up with a couple of friends who were flying in, so we could make the 4 hour drive to Grand Canyon National Park on Friday to attempt a double crossing (or Rim-To-Rim-To-Rim) of the Grand Canyon. I needed to shake the cobwebs lose. After checking with the Ultralist and getting some pointers about great running locations, I went online to find a trail map of South Mountain. It looked very promising.

Race Report - 2012 Cookie Dash 5K

Race swag: A bright colored NF tech shirt and.....COOKIES!

Today´s race plan was an easy choice. This was the third time my ¨wife¨ Anya and I ran the Cookie Dash 5K. It still feels strange to call her my wife. After all, we had just gotten married six days earlier. I had paced her the previous two years and this year was to be no different. This was the first eyar that my thirteen year old son Mace ran this race as well. He had just come off his first High school JV soccer season and was ready to go. I basically told him to stick with us until he felt he needed to go faster or slower. Well, he left us behind after about one mile, but we kept him in sight for most of the race. Not bad for someone that barely runs for running´s sake these days. Just one more proof that soccer creates all around athletes:-)

Training Log - Wednesday, April 18, 2012

First tough workout since the Connemarathon Ultra in Ireland this morning. Rich and I met up at 5:30AM for hill repeats at Cotton Row's "puke hill". Lots of other runners in the area this morning prepping for the Cotton Row run next month. I decided to do 10 repeats with the usual 1 mile warm up and cool down before and after. I wasn't really feelin' it initially, but as soon as I got the first two repeats under my belt, I was feeling better. I'm glad to slowly be getting back into my training routine again. After all, my Grand Canyon R2R2R attempt is coming up next week.

Training Log - Saturday, April 14, 2012

After arriving back in the US yesterday, I figured I´d tackle the usual jet lag with an early morning run. The fact that I gained a few pounds during my trip added to my motivation to go for a run. I met up with Richard and Mike and we went for our usual Ranger Station out & back. With our R2R2R attempt just 2 weeks away, I decided to try out my new trekking poles (Black Diamond Spire Elliptic) and Pack (Inov-8 Race Pro 22) to test for comfort and convenience and to add some training weight as well. Both performed well, but the pack has one friction point at the back of my neck, which I will need to resolve somehow before R3.

Training Log - Friday, April 13, 2012 (Dublin, Ireland)

4 hours before my flight back to the US. After lounging around in my hotel room for the last 24 hours I decided to check out the hotel gym. Since the hotel was located just a mile from the airport, there really weren't any great running routes available, so I opted for a quick 5K tempo run on the hotel treadmill before heading to the airport. 7 minute pace definitely woke me up. Time to increase my training regimen to get ready for R3.

Training Log - Wednesday, April 11, 2012 (Flensburg, Germany & Sandager, Denmark)

"Gendarmstien" trail marker.

After slacking off for almost a week, I finally stepped on to a weight scale and realized that all that good German food and no running had added a couple of pounds. It was time to get off my butt to go out for a fun run around my old stomping grounds. To keep it interesting I opted for a run in two countries, Germany and Denmark.

Training Log - Thursday, April 5, 2012 (Connemara, Ireland)

Derroura Trailhead in Connemara

I was able to convince my local colleagues and friends Cecil Looney and Mike Mulligan to take me for a trail run after a busy day at the office. At 5:30PM we met at the Derroura trailhead in the Connemara region on the west coast of Ireland after a 45 minute drive from Galway. Neither one of us knew what to expect. Me, because I'd never been to this area and they,  because they had never been on a trail run. Hey, with a little luck, I'd turn these two road warriors into trail runners by the end of the day.

Race Report - 2012 Ronhill Connemara International Ultra Marathon

Cool medal, cool shirt "slogan" fitting for an amazing race course.

"The Hell of the West"

This was yet another "adventure" race. We were just about to take off at Atlanta airport when the captain announced on the PA that our plane had engine trouble, something about one of the engines revving too low. I could've lived with that, but then he came back on the intercom to announce "We're going to be delayed a little longer. The mechanics will try to identify and fix the problem...I guess?" Really? I guess? Is that how pilots reassure their passengers these days? That's not really the message I'm looking for from a pilot who is about to the me across the Atlantic Ocean for 8 hours. Everyone around me just smiled nervously, in disbelief what they just heard. Thankfully, we took off 2 hours later and arrived safely in Dublin, Ireland.

After arriving in Galway, Ireland after a 2 hour drive I quickly checked into my hotel before being picked up by local colleague and friend Mike Mulligan to pick up our race packets. I would have an early Sunday morning (European races usually take place on Sundays), so we opted to get an early cargo dinner at an Italian restaurant. I love pasta with a side of garlic bread. By 8PM I was back at my hotel, laying out my running gear and nervously looking ahead at 39.3 miles of the Connemarathon, lovingly referred to as the "Hell of the West" due to its road course mainly consisting of punishing rolling hills.

The following paragraph directly taken from the race's website truly reflects the experience. "The key to the event's success has been its ability to offer a unique package of experience. The popular sport of long-distance running is transformed for runners and walkers in the dramatic setting of mountains, glacier lakes, rugged green-brown landscape which winds in and around the challenging mountain wilderness of Galway in the west of Ireland. The course meanders past bogs, hills, lakes, and the Twelve Pin mountains rising up over the great expanse of Killary Lough, through the quiet village of Leenane, around the Maam Turk Mountains and all the way back up to Maam Cross. International participants enjoy the Irish welcome, the sense of comradeship on the lonely route and unmistakable buzz throughout the day. No other sporting event sends people away with such a taste of Ireland and all its highlights."

The race host a half marathon, a marathon and an ultra marathon. The ultra marathon started just outside Maam Cross about an hour outside of Galway and a race start of 9AM for the ultra and a mandatory pre-race briefing at 8:15AM meant that the 200 ultra runners would be picked up in Galway by shuttle at 7AM. We arrived at the "Peacocke" hotel in Maam Cross for the pre-race briefing and after a few welcoming words by the race director and a some very interesting introductions (see picture below), runners placed their drop bags in the aid station buckets that were lined up inside the meeting room. I was very surprised to see so many runners place so many items in the various collection bins for the aid stations and would find out later (and too late), why.

World 100K Champion Giorgio Calcatella (center) and RD  Ray O' Connor (on right)

All runners including myself placed drop bags at the finish area just behind the hotel. Afterwards, we got onto another shuttle bus that would take us to the starting line just a mile and a half away. We arrived at the starting line with 15 minutes to spare, just enough time to chat with other runners and to check out the front runners. This was also only the second ultra I attended (the first one was in Germany) that had TV crews recording the race. I believe there were two TV crews from Italy, one following the current 100K world champ Giorgio Calcatella and one following an extreme athlete from Italy for a reality TV show. 

The race started right on time. The RD had explained the race course in great detail: "You run about 1.5 miles and then you turn right. You run about 9 miles and turn right. Then run another 10 miles and turn right. Now run another 10 miles and... ?" - "Turn right!" responded 200 runners.

When looking at a map the course looked fairly flat and fairly almost shaped like a square. Well, once you hit the actual course, you realize that reality looked differently. While the race's nickname "Hell of the West" was intimidating, the course was actually very exciting with just the right amount of hills at just the right times...right in the middle and right at the end of the course. I has opted to run in my new Hoka One One Bondi Bs, lovingly referred to as "clown shoes" by my fiancee. I figured that 40 miles of asphalt might be easier on my joints in a pair of Hokas and I was right.

The first 10 miles went pretty smoothly and quickly, but I also realized why everyone had packed so much stuff in their drop bags. Unbeknownst to me, the aid stations only carried water and two of them Lucozade, an isotonic drink popular in the UK and Ireland. However, nothing else was provided, no food or snack of any kind other than "Fig Newtons" with 3 miles to go. Luckily, I had packed 6 energy gus and that would have to do.

As I was plodding along at sub 9 min pace, I was able to take in the amazing scenery. Connemara has to be one of the most beautiful areas in Ireland. The course led us in between the mountains, so we were basically surrounded by the so called "Twelve Bens of Connemara" the entire time. About 25 miles into the race, the pounding of the road couple with my busy ultra racing schedule of the past couple of months caught up with me. My quad muscles started to hurt and would continue to hurt for the remainder of the race. Instead of pushing through I decided to just back off and try to enjoy it.

The course led us through a couple of quaint little Irish towns along a couple of little lakes and rivers. It was just beautiful. The race course was basically one giant loop and marathoners would join the same course about 13.1 miles into the ultra marathon followed by the half marathoners, the largest group by far with 2200 runners, 26.2 miles into the ultra course. That allowed every runner to cross the same finish line. Bottle necks were avoided by race organizers by having the marathoners and half marathoners start 30 and 60 minutes after the ultra marathoners, respectively. 

The final climb was a 2 mile stretch of road that would slowly take runners to the top of a hill before we would finish the race with another 2 miles of downhill running. I had decided to just walk that final hill as my legs were feeling rather tight at this point. I normally would not walk a road race, but this was not one of my key races but rather an "experience race". Instead, this allowed me to chat with another couple of runners who were running their first marathon and had slowed to a walk as well.

When I reached the top of the hill, I was itching to start running again. I said my goodbyes and started running and running fast. I think I clocked a 7 and an 8 minute mile or so it felt. I did pass quite a few runners who had passed me previously on the climb. I just wanted to finish strong and finish the race running. I succeeded and was thankful to cross the finish line to earn a nice medal and another unique t-shirt with a cool slogan. I has missed my original goal of sub 6 hours, but it was still my fastest pace over this distance. I even had an unofficial 50K PR of around 4:48.

The profile below shows the course, but doesn't show the amazing scenery. I can only recommend this race to anyone who ever wanted to visit Ireland and to do an ultra while there. The race organization was absolutely fantastic and the course provided the most interesting sightseeing tour I had ever participated in. If you count the times I used the words "amazing" and "fantastic" in this race report, you know this is a must do event.