This isn't a race but it's one of those things that I count as one. A just for fun event. I wanted to get in a North Rim to South and back (R2R2R) trail run again this year in the Grand Canyon. I batted the idea around a few times with friends but everybody had a busy Fall schedule. But then the kids were gone for the weekend and the weather looked perfect. All the water was still on along the trail except the North Rim. In my experience, a host of things need to come together for a R2R2R, so if a few line up you just have to go for it. My running has been in a slump for a while, too many injuries to train for speed. But I have done a lot of long slow trail runs. Maybe that would translate to a good R2R2R. Also I found it appealing to try it solo. What would it be like crossing that canyon on your own? I slept through my alarm Saturday morning and woke at 7am. I had minimal gear for the run today, a small Camelback, tons of gummi bears, and for the first time a Go Pro camera that would clip on my headlamp band outside it's case. It was 18 degrees and I was freezing, but I knew it would warm up quick. The weather forecast was perfect. I hit the trail at 7:45 and planned on filling the Camelback at the first water stop, Supai Tunnel, 1.7 miles down the North Rim Kaibob trail. Down the trail I really missed Rob, as this section of the trail is as vivid in my memory as yesterday. It was my first experience running the Grand Canyon two years ago, and we talked the whole way down. I knew it would be a tough run without him. My knee was not happy and a few doubts entered my mind around 5 miles into it. But my pace was excellent and I was enjoying running the North Rim trail in the light. The Camelback was a new experience. I won it in a race raffle a few years ago and had never used it. Who the heck needs 50 ounces of water? But it was amazing. It held all my gear and I could sip from the tube on the go. I passed Cottonwood and Phantom Ranch without stopping. In the base of the canyon you usually pass other R2R runners on their way across and it was again awesome today to say Hi as you pass. There were three separate groups and a lot of very fit women running. I hadn't seen this before and wondered if it had something to do with the shutdown or it being one of the last weekends to get a R2R done. I stopped in Indian Gardens to drink and refill. I decided to just continue the run without the usual breaks up to the South Rim and go slow on the way back. I got into a rhythm and made the Rim just after 12 noon. My Garmin said 24.2 miles which was due to the short run from the North campground. Now I plugged the Garmin in at the lodge and made two huge PB&J sandwiches and had the best Coke on the planet. I was hurting though and wondering what that crossing would mean for the way back, having skipped the usual 15 minute breaks at the water stations. It was a mess getting going again. Everything hurt. My first mile going down was 11 minutes. Lots of hikers as usual on this side, and very friendly, even shouting encouragement. Now I took my time, stopping at Indian Gardens for 15 minutes. Coming down Bright Angel just after the Devil's Corkscrew a very fit 20 something runner that I had crossed paths with in the early morning stopped to talk to me. He was out if water and hurting, having crossed via South Kaibob, the shorter trail, in 3:45. A sweet time! I saw none of the other runners from the morning which means they were all R2R's. But coming up on Phantom Ranch there was the big group I had passed going the other way. We all sat and talked with a large group from France hiking the canyon in a week. One of the French guys was incredulous about the amount of serious runners in the canyon. He said his impression of Americans had totally changed. I had the same impression from this run. You can easily get discouraged about the state of people and their attitudes, then get out doing something like this and find there are hundreds just like you. The big group doing a R2R2R had 5 guys and 3 girls. They said they had started at two am from the South Kaibob trailhead. That's nuts. They had waited fir the whole group to get into Phantom Ranch since only the 9 mile climb up the Bright Angel trail was left. They had been there over an hour waiting for stragglers. Two of the guys were flat out on the ground. I sat with them for a bit talking through the day and making sure they were OK. Phantom Ranch has full facilities so it would be a good cutoff point. I had 14 miles to go and it was hitting me too. Now the lack of rest stops on the south crossing caught up. By Cottonwood campground I was toast. I drenched in water, filled up the Camelback, and headed up. It was impossible. I decided to run a mile and hike 5 minutes, then alternate it as long as I could. After 3 miles I was baking in the sun and was just hiking. But I know from long trail runs in the past that you never know what you'll feel like in 30 minutes, so keep going at any cost. When I reached the ranger station at the bottom of the North Rim Kaibob trail I was tempted to knock on the door and crash for the day. I was so dead. But after sitting for 15 minutes and freezing my butt off, I had to get going. My jacket and light were a mile up the trail stashed in a bush and with temperatures dropping and not knowing how I was going to make it, I was getting worried. Going this far on your own is a whole different animal. Despite feeling like I could barely hike, I settled on a run up the trail and sure enough, the fatigue passed. At least enough that I could keep going. I passed two groups of day hikers on the last climb, but not a single ranger all day. At the top I was overcome by the feeling of having made it, pushing through. I haven't experienced such a day full of incredible people and awesome energy in as long as I remember. I really missed running it with the guys who showed it to me, but also enjoyed the total focus it took to do it solo. I have unlimited respect for those who run 100 mile trail races. I can't even imagine it. I saw more wildlife than ever before in the canyon today. Jumped three deer, a big buck, wild turkeys everywhere, a fox, and squirrels all over. That was different than past crossings. I also had that Go Pro along so I'll get a video of some of the clips put together. | 