Grand Canyon R2R2R Report

Wow. That’s really all I can say about my R2R2R experience this past weekend. What an unbelievable journey, both physically and mentally. I had the pleasure of doing it with good friends, which made it that much more memorable. I have tried to put into words what I saw and felt, but for anyone who has ever had the chance to accomplish this feat will tell you, words cannot possibly do justice to the experience. I’m sure I will leave out someone or something, but it’s hard to remember it all. In any case, here is my report.

Part 1 – The Idea

I think most ultra runners look at running the Grand Canyon from rim to rim and back again in one day (R2R2R) as a “must do” adventure, a bucket list item. I had never really entertained the idea until I had the chance to visit the Grand Canyon last summer with my friend Chris. Upon first catching a glimpse of the canyon, I was awestruck. No words can adequately capture the beauty and awe that such a sight induces. It really is breathtaking. Chris had run R2R2R before, but we didn’t have enough time while we were there to do it, so we settled on a 35 mile run that took us as far as Cottonwood Campground, at the base of the big climb up the North Kaibab Trail to the North Rim. Although I am more of a mountain guy, I really enjoyed our run and knew then that I wanted to attempt R2R2R. Around the same time, Tom Bowling had taken a family vacation to the Grand Canyon and ran a little of the trail too. Soon after, he concocted a plan to get a group together to make the trip to Arizona to run across the big ditch. We decided to plan our trip to coincide with the weekend that Joe P was taking a group out from Austin. It would be fun to share the experience with others like-minded runners. Tom set about the task of booking rooms and organizing the weekend. When all the dust had settled, we had a solid group of 8 representing San Antonio. In addition to Tom and myself, we were going to be joined by Kelli, Joe T, Darren, Troy and his wife Kerry, and John.

(Looking over the South Rim)

(Elevation profile from South Rim to North Rim)

Part 2 – Leading Up To the Run

Most of our group was flying into Phoenix early Friday morning, but I opted to head out Thursday evening with the hope of getting a good night’s rest before meeting up with the others. Unfortunately, the 2 hour time difference made sleeping in almost impossible. The sun was up, and I was wide awake by 5:30 AM. Oh well, at least we would all be tired. I grabbed a bite to eat and took the hotel shuttle to the airport, where everyone was waiting on Kelli’s bag, which had been misplaced by the airline. The bag was eventually found, and Tom and I headed to get the minivan. John found a ride with a friend (Troy and Kerry had flown in the day before and were meeting us at the Grand Canyon), so we had plenty of room. After a stop for groceries, we set off for Sedona, where we would stop for lunch.

Sedona is a beautiful place, nestled between giant red rock formations and cliffs. There are miles of trails all around, and I had to fight off the urge to throw on my shoes and head out for a run. We found a good restaurant, grabbed sandwiches, and set off in search of one key piece of the weekend’s festivities – BEER. Few things beat a nice cold beer after a long day on the trails. Our search took us first to a local brewpub, which didn’t sell beer to go. Not wanting to waste a good opportunity, we sampled the local brews and decided to find a store that sold their brand. We ended up finding a place with a great selection and bought everything from Moose Drool Brown Ale to a Belgian Ale called the “Three Philosophers”. Having procured the necessary beer and food, we made the 2 hour drive from Sedona to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, where we would spend the next 2 days.

(Lunch in Sedona)

Tom had booked 2 rooms at the Maswik Lodge, located a few hundred yards from the Bright Angel trailhead, which would mark the beginning and end of our R2R2R journey. We checked in and tried to organize and assemble the gear we would need for a 15+ hour day in the canyon. The logistics of such an ordeal can get tricky, as one will encounter temperatures ranging from 30 to well over 90, meaning we would need to pack both cold and warm weather clothes. You need enough food to last almost an entire day (close to 5000 calories for most people attempting this). We would start and finish in the dark, so headlamps and flashlights are needed. Everything that you take in must also be carried out (just ask Kelli), so we needed room to store our trash as well. On the beds were spread out a variety of gels, sandwiches, shot bloks, and enough trail mix to feed a small army. Once finished, we headed over to the South Rim to snap a few photos and to see the monstrosity that we would be crossing in a few hours. Until you’ve seen it with your own eyes, words and pictures can’t do justice to the Grand Canyon. It is both magnificent and ominous, beautiful and frightening. After the obligatory pictures, we ate dinner (steak and potato for most of us) and retired to our rooms to take care of a few last minute packing details and to crawl into bed for a few restless hours of sleep.

Part 3 – The Run

I had set my alarm for 2:30, but I was wide awake well before that. I rolled out of bed and began my normal pre race (or long run) routine. I don’t like to eat anything before a race, choosing instead to start consuming gels early in the run. A quick trip outside told me it was chilly, but not unbearable. I knew things would warm up as soon as we dropped below the rim and escaped the wind, so I decided to only wear a short sleeve shirt (my new favorite polyester button down with pockets!), arm warmers, and gloves. Just before 3:15, we all met in the hallway and made the short walk together to the trailhead. There are 2 routes you can take to get down to the river at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. We chose the Bright Angel Trailhead because it was much closer to our hotel (you need to take a shuttle to the South Kaibab trailhead) and because it has several places to fill up your bottles/packs with water, something the South Kaibab Trail lacks. This route makes the trip approximately 23 miles each way (rim to rim), but we would tack on a couple side trips to make it closer to 50 miles total for the day, with over 20,000’ of elevation change. Although I wasn’t concerned with time, I initially thought we could complete our run in 15-16 hours, getting us back before dark and in time to eat at the cafeteria.

(Kelli, Troy, and Joe geared up and ready)

We arrived at the trailhead to find at least 15 other people waiting to start their R2R2R effort. We would later learn that 37 people from Texas (that we know of) would complete the full R2R2R, a pretty amazing number. At 3:30, our group of 6 (John Sharp would start with other friends but would finish with Tom, and Kerry would meet Troy at Indian Gardens later) plunged into the darkness and began the 4000’+ descent to the Colorado River. Our pace was very relaxed, and no one got too carried away, which is easy to do when you start on a downhill. It can be difficult to establish any kind of running rhythm on the upper portions of trail at the Grand Canyon, as there are hundreds of “steps”, pieces of wood (or in some cases rock) designed to ease erosion. These become annoying, as you have to really pick up your feet to step over them. These, combined with all the dust runners were kicking up in front of me, forced me to move slowly and deliberately so I wouldn’t make a misstep and fall off the trail into the abyss below. We chatted with each other and with other runners, and it was fun to look below and above and see tiny headlamps in the distance as people made their way down.

Since it was cool, and I knew there were several water stops before we hit the river, I only carried 2 handheld bottles with me at the start (I wore my Ultimate Direction pack but left the bladder empty). We blew through the 1.5 mile water station and kept going. My plan was to consume 1 gel every 20 minutes until I couldn’t stand them any longer and then switch to solid food. I would try to drink at least 20 ounces of water an hour as well, more when it got hot. In addition, I would down 3-4 Endurolytes an hour to get my electrolytes and stave off cramping. I kept my eye out for the next water stop (mile 3), but I must have been talking and distracted, because before I knew it we were at Indian Gardens (mile 4.5). Here we all filled up our bottles, and I hit the restroom and removed my gloves and arm warmers. You could see light creeping up from the canyon floor, and it was hard to imagine that it was still barely 4:30AM.

The next couple miles were fun to run, and we didn’t stop until we hit the Devil’s Corkscrew, a twisted series of switchbacks that are way more fun to descend than climb, especially in the heat of the day. We took pictures along the way, and Joe T got enough video footage to make a good documentary. In a matter of minutes, the roaring Colorado River came into view, and we were at the first bridge. Having run this section with Chris the previous summer, I suggested we tack on an extra couple miles and run across the River Trail to connect with the lower portion of South Kaibab, which would take us through a tunnel and across a different bridge. Since no one seemed to object, I led Troy up and over in that direction. We ran into a couple other runners (not in our group) who were attempting a R2R2R crossing as well. We wished each other luck and headed across the river and into Phantom Ranch (mile 9).

(Troy, Joe T, and Darren)

(Crossing the Colorado River)

At Phantom Ranch we took a quick break to re-fuel and sit down. My legs were a little fatigued from the constant pounding of downhill running, and I needed a quick rest. Kelli and Tom managed to make a couple friends here (Tom was called a pig, and Kelli was yelled at by a man who thought she didn’t know trail etiquette). The next 7 miles cut through a deep canyon known as “The Box”, which winds its way alongside Bright Angel Creek as it gently ascends 2000’ to Cottonwood Campground. This section is deceptive because it is very runnable if you are feeling good, but if you push too hard you can dig yourself a hole and trash your legs before any of the real climbing begins. Troy, Kelli, Darren, and Joe seemed to be feeling spry and ran most of this section at (what seemed to me) a quick pace, while Tom and I lagged behind. A little over an our later, we cruised into Cottonwood Campground, about 16 miles into our journey but still nearly 7 miles (and over 4000 vertical feet) from the top of the North Rim.

(Darren, Troy, and Joe running in "The Box")

Knowing we had a huge climb ahead of us, we lingered at Cottonwood for a while to fill our bottles and our hydration packs, as well as to eat some solid food (pb&j sandwich for me). Here we saw several other friends from Austin, including Joe and Joyce Prusaitis, who put on many of the great trail races in the South/Central Texas area. Joe T took off ahead of the group, and soon we were all on our way to the final water stop (the Pumphouse) before the North Rim. To be clear, there are other water stops along the way, including one at the top of the North Rim, but these are shut off during the winter and don’t get turned back on until the chances of frozen pipes are gone. Unfortunately for us, these faucets would all be off on this day. Darren and I pulled off at the Pumphouse together, with Joe, Kelli, and Troy ahead, and Tom slightly behind us. I told Darren that he could take off while I waited for Tom. We topped off our water and began the real climb, knowing we would have to make this water last 12 grueling miles.

My recent long races (50+ miles) seem to have played out in a similar way – 10-15 miles of me feeling good, another 10-15 feeling lousy, and the last half being the best part of my race when I run the strongest. This was also the case at the Grand Canyon. Up to that point, I was having a good (not great) run. On the climb up the North Kaibab Trail, that would change. My legs felt heavy, no food sounded good, and I struggled to maintain a decent hiking pace. Luckily for me (I mean that in a good way), Tom seemed to be struggling a bit too. We would hike for a bit and then find a rock in a shady spot to sit on. Although we were both enduring a rough patch, we knew it would pass and tried to enjoy the moment. This is what I love about running ultra distances. Despite feeling crappy, we were surrounded by such beauty that we couldn’t help but enjoy ourselves. Hike, sit, eat, drink, repeat. That was our plan. About 7 hours into our adventure, I took my hourly dose of Endurolytes and felt an all too familiar feeling in my stomach. I headed to the side of the trail and vomited for a couple minutes. This sounds terrible, but it has happened many times before, and I almost always feel better immediately after doing so. As before, I felt much better now and was ready to continue.

(North Kaibab Trail)

Somewhere along the way John Sharp caught up to us, and we all enjoyed a handful of jellybeans while sitting under a tree (we almost had to share with a very curious squirrel as well). We passed the Supai Tunnel and knew we were less than 2 miles from the top and soon saw Kelli, Joe T, Troy, and Darren making their way down. They told us that the bugs at the top were horrendous but the snow was tasty. Encouraged by the fact that there was snow to be had, Tom and I made our final push to the North Rim (elevation over 8200’), where we filled our bottles with snow and took a break.

(Tom on the North Rim)

Knowing we were halfway done was a relief, but the fact that it had taken us over 9 hours to accomplish this meant we would most likely be climbing up the South Rim in the dark. And the second half would most certainly be more difficult than the first, both physically and mentally. Tom and I both put on our headphones for the extra boost that music can provide (although I’m pretty sure we didn’t have any of the same songs on our playlists). As we started to jog down the trail, I noticed that my legs felt pretty good, really fresh. Encouraged by this, I told Tom that I was going to run ahead and would wait for him. I ended up running the majority of trail from the North Rim back to the Pumphouse (had to walk a couple sections that had steep dropoffs on the side). Along the way I passed my friend Naresh as he was ascending North Kaibab. He was having issues with his quad, but I knew he would finish. I waited for Tom at the Pumphouse, where we downed a couple bottles of water (over 4 hours since our last refill) and relaxed under a tree. Ready to go, I ran to Cottonwood ahead of Tom. Here I met a nice couple from nearby who had hiked down into the canyon to camp for 6 nights. We chatted for a while as Tom, Naresh, Roger Davis, and myself rested and ate.

(Naresh, myself, and Roger)

The 4 of us soon set out for Phantom Ranch, but Tom and I planned to make a detour to see Ribbon Falls. Chris and I had explored the falls the previous summer, and I had mentioned it to Tom, who seemed eager to see them for himself. They were just as I remembered them, beautiful and seemingly out of place in this desert. We both took in the views and cooled off with water from the falls, and then we were off again, climbing back out onto the main trail that would take us to Phantom Ranch, about 6 downhill miles away. This section is enjoyable to run if your legs are feeling good (which mine seemed to be), but it feels like it goes on forever, as you enter the seemingly endless Box section. I ran most of the way, with Tom not too far behind, until I ran into Naresh (he had bypassed Ribbon Falls), who seemed to be really struggling with his leg. Tom soon caught up, and the 3 of us hiked the last mile into Phantom Ranch.

(Ribbon Falls)

As campers who were staying at Phantom Ranch waited for the dinner bell, we sat at a picnic table and ate, drank, and rested. Naresh took a quick nap, I ate another pb&j sandwich, and Tom made a phone call home. We lingered for over 30 minutes here, knowing we had a long climb up to the South Rim ahead of us, and that we would be doing it in the dark. While having to climb out of the canyon in the dark didn’t seem overly appealing, we did manage to miss the 90+ degree heat that the faster runners encountered. I’d like to think this move was strategic on our part, but it was purely by chance (and me being a slow runner).

Just before we crossed the bridge that would take us back across the Colorado River, we caught up to Roger and John, who had stopped to rest on a rock. Now 5 runners strong, we took off for our last 10 miles. Just before we reached the Devil’s Corkscrew, light faded and we were forced to turn on our headlamps. Aside from the general fatigue of having traveled 40 miles on foot, I felt pretty good and managed to keep a decent pace on the climb. Every now and then, we would stop and sit on a rock. It was so peaceful to turn off our headlamps and just sit on the trail, engulfed by the quietness of the night. You could see the faint glow of tiny headlamps off in the distance as other runners made their way up Bright Angel. While I enjoyed the solitude, it was comforting to know that there were other people out there, sharing in this unbelievable experience.

We soon entered Indian Gardens, where we turned off our lights and sat on benches while we ate and drank water. I could have stayed there for hours, but my body was beginning to cool from lack of movement, so we decided to push on to warm up. Another 1.5 miles and we hit the 3 mile water stop, where Tom told me he wasn’t feeling good and needed to lie down. He told me I could keep going if I felt good. I didn’t want to leave him behind, but I knew John was near and that Naresh was somewhere below as well. The next 3 miles seemed to fly by, as I had my headphones on and knew I was almost done. I passed through the tunnels and unexpectedly found myself at the top. Nearly 20 hours after we had first set off on this journey, I had completed a Grand Canyon R2R2R crossing.

I was amazed that I still felt good, so I quickly headed back to the room, expecting to find the others awake. Instead, I found Darren sound asleep (the others were asleep in the next room as well) and the room dark. I peeled of my dusty shoes, took a quick shower, and headed back to the trailhead to wait for Tom and John. Around 12:45, I saw the green glow of Tom’s light and knew he was almost done. Shortly after, John made his way to the top as well. We congratulated each other and headed back to the room for a celebratory pizza (the rest of our group had finished hours earlier and left dinner for us) and beer. We were all exhausted but still riding a high from having accomplished something monumental.

I’ll spare the details from the rest of the trip, but Sunday was fun too, as we all hung out and took our time driving back to Phoenix, stopping in Sedona again for lunch. As I sit here and reflect on what took place this past Saturday, I have come to several conclusions. First, I learned that I seem to thrive on longer distances. For some reason, my legs feel better after 30 miles than after 10. Second, the human body is capable of amazing things. I have run several 50 milers and a couple 100Ks, but that was by far the toughest of them all (only the Wasatch 100 was tougher for me). It is a mental and physical grind. Being out there for that long really lets you find out what you are made of, how tough you can be. Finally, I am truly blessed to have such great friends. To share an experience like R2R2R with close friends is amazing, and I wouldn’t want to do it any other way. Thanks to Tom for organizing this trip and to Kelli, John, Troy, Kerry, Joe T, and Darren for making it so much fun. It was truly an amazing experience.

(Joe, Kelli, Darren, Tom, myself, and Troy - the day after)