Sorry for the long read, but the pictures are nice.

Prequel: 

Before I was even running ultramarathon distances I had heard about running across the Grand Canyon from one rim to the next and then back.  I had never been to the Grand Canyon, but this seemed like something I would love to do someday.  As I ventured into longer and longer distances, the idea was always in my head, I just needed the push to get out to Arizona.  Enter my brother.  He has planned a golf outing for a group of 12 for the past 28 years.  We’ve played in many wonderful locations and his trips usually have to do with playing some beautiful courses and getting a great deal.  Last year his travel agent told him Scottsdale golf courses were having some economic difficulties and had dropped some prices in hopes of luring some East Coast golfers.  The deal was set, and we were heading to Arizona.  Mark, my long time running buddy, hot off his first 50 miler, has been on the past 5 trips and I said “you know we’ll be in Arizona anyway, why not go out a few days early and run the Canyon”.  He was in.  We had both previously run the Mt. Washington Road Race as well as Pikes Peak, so we had “some” idea what climbing we were getting into.

Training: 

I upped my mileage over my usual winter buildup and added a specific day of power walking the treadmill at max elevation.  I also added downhill repeats to my uphill days and we did seven 20+ milers over a 12 week span before taper time.  I knew we couldn’t replicate dropping 1000’ in a mile, but I tried to do everything that I could to be ready for running down and up and down and up.

Trip:

We flew into Phoenix on Saturday April 11^th landing over 90 minutes late.  We switched hotels to one near the airport, grabbed a quick bite to eat and went to bed.  Sunday we drove up, via Sedona, AZ and did some sightseeing while we hydrated and ate liberally.

Sedona, AZ

We arrived at the Grand Canyon around noon and tried to check into our room, but were told it would not be ready before 4pm, so we went to the rim to see what was ahead.  Only a few places in my life have lived up to the hype, and the Grand Canyon is one.  We were in total awe and sat on the rim wall for several minutes anticipating what we would be doing in a few hours.

Our first view of GC

Then we went to the pizza pub at Maswik Lodge, ate some pizza for lunch and watched the Master golf on their big screen TV.  After 4 we checked in and got our gear ready (fully loaded pack with water weighed in at 12 pounds).  I called the Taxi service to arrange a 4:45am pick-up and was told to call 45 minutes before we wanted a ride.  That meant I had to get up at 3:45 for the call, but I had to do it.  After a pretty good pasta dinner, I had a fair night of sleep and was looking at my phone at 3:44 before the alarm went off.  I called the Taxi and was told he would be there in 7 minutes.  I said that’s too soon, and was told to call back later and that there were no guarantees as only 1 Taxi was currently running.  We got dressed and decided that if we needed to get started earlier we would to avoid starting too late after the mules started their trip down around 5:20 or so. So after a second call we were picked up at 4:15 and dropped off at the trail $20 lighter and 20 minutes earlier but happy to be there.

The Run:

Mark is a 3:20 marathoner (at age 56) but I have completed over 20 ultras to his 4, so it was decided that I would be the one setting the pace. We were off as the South Kaibab trail starts at 7200’ and drops down to 2400’ over the 7 mile journey. We started in the dark at 26 degrees wearing light jackets, gloves and neck buff’s.  Right away we knew we we’re running too quickly, so I pulled the reins in and we slowed to a nice pace.  It felt very gentle as we dropped thousands of feet the next few miles watching the sun come up.

Early Start

After sunrise, we had some regular stops for pictures and got our first view of the Colorado River below us from the Tipoff.

Making my way down.

First view of the Colorado River from the Tip Off

Bridge in the distance.

Mark on the Kaibab Bridge

We reached Kaibab Bridge via the tunnel and crossed the Colorado River on our way to Phantom Ranch.  At Phantom, we filled our packs took care of anything bothering us and went on our way up to the North rim.  The next 7 miles are slightly uphill and we were running at a great pace and even clicked off a few sub 9 minute miles.  Both of us felt really good in the warming weather as we stripped clothes down to shorts and short sleeved shirts.  As the trail continued we passed Cottonwood camp where the water was “supposed” to be on, but wasn't.  We felt we had plenty of water still, from Phantom, so we pushed off.  At this point, the elevation was increasing and we broke out our poles for the first time.  We were running when we could and power hiking when we should and I was using my breathing as indication of which one to do.

Somewhere in the Box

We passed Roaring Springs and took in the views, but now the temperature was really climbing and it was getting very hot.

Roaring Springs

We were 100% in the sun now and Mark had to stop when he was bonking a bit from low nutrition.  We sat for 5 minutes while he got some calories but he never go to 100%.  We made our way across the bridge climbed another mile to the Supai tunnel and were now 1.7 mile from the North Rim.  We passed several workers who were doing trail maintenance and they were surprised when we told them what time we left.  They had extra water so we borrowed a bit for the last steep push to the North Rim.

Almost to the top.  Flagstaff in the distance.

We crested the rim 6:28 into the run and drank some deliciously cold water and I changed socks due to grit in my shoes and reapplied some glide to sensitive areas.  Then we were on out return.

Selfie at the NR.

I had really recovered well at the rim and was feeling great.  As I was pace setter, I was running very well down and this time using the poles to help ease over some of the bigger steps (some 14-16&rdquo.  The workers cheered us on and we were back at Supai before we knew it.

Supai Tunnel

At this point we saw 2 other runners who said they had seen out light early on and started 20 minutes after us.  They said we looked strong and that we kept pulling away from them (that made us feel good because we thought we were going slow).  Shortly we passed a single runner and then a bit late 2 more runner who told us they couldn’t get a Taxi and had to wait for the bus and therefore started after the mules.  We talked a bit and they told us water was on at the Pump House even though board said it was off.  This was great news as it meant we had 1 extra water station before Phantom.

Heading down.  Small bridge is 1.1 miles away and 1000' below us.

I was getting pretty excited and was running well and then Mark called out for me to stop.  He was sitting on the trail and said he was really feeling the heat.  This was a total surprise as he usually does very well in the heat (I’m the one who does poorly in the heat) and then he told me his tube was kinked and he wasn’t getting a full flow of water ever since we left the rim.  I was ready to strangle him for not fixing it since we had stopped 3 times to talk to other runners, but he said he didn’t think it was a real problem.

Direct sun for a while. Not a cloud in the sky.

At this time it was 91 dergrees and we were in direct sun for another 4 miles before hitting the Box where we were hoping to catch some shade.  The decision was to slow down too whatever pace we need to get to Phantom, let him take the lead and then reevaluate our needs.  We walked a lot the next few miles which was a bit upsetting to us both since these miles were so runnable.  We refilled at Pump House and I re-wet my buff and hat to keep water around my head and neck.  This really helped cool me a bit and I was very surprised at how well I was doing with the heat since I’m not historically a heat runner.  We also made a slight side trip to Ribbon Falls and splashed and cooled off a bit in the cold water.

In the Box, a box canyon section

After several slow mile we were at Phantom and Mark sat down for a while and I made a collect call from the “pay phone” to let DW know we were going to be later than we thought due to the heat. She was very relieved to hear from me and I found out later my call cost me $19.70, but DW said it was priceless.  We were back at Phantom well before 4:00, but they weren’t selling anything and told us they had “closed” around 3:00 that day. No lemonade for us. After Phantom, we had some confusion making our way to the Bright Angel Trail due to detours for water pipe construction.  We knew the way but were told by some campers that it wasn’t the right way (they were wrong and we were right).  After some extra distance we crossed the river on the Silver Bridge.  The views were awesome and we made our way to River Rest house with some gentle climbs and some gentle downhills.  The only problem with this area was it was very sandy, as in beach sandy, and even if we wanted to run, it was easier to walk.

The Silver Bridge.

After River Rest House we started a slow climb for 3 miles before the steep stuff started again.  I kept doing time checks and was pushing Mark as safely as I could.  He was no worse, but not really much better.  We made it to Indian Garden Campground and refilled one last time for the last 4.7 miles and 3100’ of climbing.

Follow the trail.

I could see the light of the South rim and check my phone and had service, so I fired off a text to DW for an update.  I had to tend to my friend at IG and he sat while I filled his pack and poured water over his head.  We decided that I would push on and run ahead and stop when I didn’t see him and go when I saw him.  This would give him a target and hopefully pull him along. (This is how I run with DW, and it’s her rules.)  This last climb, I started getting “finish line fever” and was really ready to get back to the South Rim.  The new strategy was working and my friend was able to pick up the pace a bit.  The temperature had dropped some and I think this was really what sparked Mark’s improvement.

Last selfie at the all to famous sign.

The sun was below the rim and getting dark quickly and we had to turn on our lights and I was a bit upset we missed out goal of bring our before sunset, but happy we were making progress.  After the 1 ½ mile rest house Mark got a kick of adrenalin and we ran a bit mixed in with power walking. When Mark was behind, I would turn off my light and take in the stars and I started to feel much better about missing our goal.  I started to get emotional a couple of times as it really was a spectacular site and I knew we were so close to finishing.  Before the rim I waited for Mark and we ran the last ¼ mile together raiding our hands as we reached the rim.

Post Race:

We walked on to Bright Angel Lodge where we sat for dinner.  I got a burger and had 4 glasses of lemonade and Mark tried to eat some soup with poor result.  After I was hydrated a bit I had a beer.  From Bright Angel Lodge it’s a ½ mile walk to Maswik Lodge and when Mark tried to get up from the table he was cramping pretty bad, so I ran back to the lodge to get the car and came back and picked him up. After we were in the room for a bit, Mark starting to get his appetite back and was drinking well.  Both of us slept very well and in the morning we were surprisingly chipper and moved around better than anticipated.  We had a HUGE breakfast and went to Visitors Center and walked around for a few mile and the more we walked the better we felt.  Mark was very disappointed in slowing down right after we finished, but as time went on he started to appreciate the experience much more.  I should note that besides my experience,  Mark is an Anesthesiologist, and we monitored his condition very closely on the trail and even had an IV available back at the room that I could have administered if needed.

Mark and I the next day with a celebratory beer.

Details:

I ran in Altra Lone Peak 2.0 shoes, shorts and short sleeved shirt.  I wore a neck Buff and dipped it in water, along with my hat, to keep cool.  I mixed 4 scoops of Tailwind in 20oz bottle each time.  I would drink ¼ of it at a time with some sips of water to dilute.  I changed up between lemon and berry flavor and used 20 scoops for the whole day (2000 cal).  I supplemented with some gels and granola bars as needed.  I really felt I did a great job on fluid and nutrition keeping to around 250cal per hour.  My pack was an Ultimate Direction (older model that has space for a bladder plus 2 bottles in the back) and I used an Osprey 2.5L bladder.

What I learned from my first Grand Canyon R2R2R run.

• Call the taxi 10 minutes before you want it. They’ll give you a pick-up time.
• Start before the mules!
• Downhill training is just as important as uphill.
• Sunrise on the SK is magical.
• Read all the RR’s but don’t look at too many videos or pictures, it takes away from the “newness” of the trail.
• NK Trailhead water is like unicorn tears - yes, that good.
• The BA trail is very sandy for the first 2 miles after the bridge.
• Gaiters are great.
• BA Camp and River Rest House may both be 2480’, but you climb up and drop down a few times between the two.
• A wet neck wrap (buff) really helps cool you on a hot day.
• Cell service (Verizon) works from Indian Gardens and a few places above it.
• Seeing the sunset on BA is not as disastrous I thought (we were so close).
• Don’t sweat your finish time
• The run is about enjoying your time below the rims and not just getting to the rims.

Wow!!  Thanks for sharing, AT.  Great report and I enjoyed all the photos.  Despite your friend having difficulties, it sounds as if you both had amazing experiences (including the evening stargazing).

Thanks.  We really had prepared for me to have heat issues since that's my MO (Sole Challenge 24hr, Ironmasters 50k, etc.), so when Mark had issues we were somewhat ready for it.  91 degrees is hot, I don't care if it's low humidity of not, it's hot.

Nice report, great picks, excellent work on the time.

Thanks, BIrdwell.  I know you've been there. Hope little "bird" is doing well.

Finally got my coffee and settled in to read your report, AT!  So awesome.  It sucks that your friend had issues, but I'm glad you two stuck together.  The photos are fantastic.  My parents are talking about going to Sedona next winter instead of Tucson.  I may attempt a R2R (but not R2R2R -- won't do that alone) if that's the case.

Finally got my coffee and settled in to read your report, AT!  So awesome.  It sucks that your friend had issues, but I'm glad you two stuck together.  The photos are fantastic.  My parents are talking about going to Sedona next winter instead of Tucson.  I may attempt a R2R (but not R2R2R -- won't do that alone) if that's the case.

Mandy, there is a great FB site. (Grand Canyon R2R2R)  The moderator keeps a google calendar that you can post your trip date.  It makes it easy to find a running buddy if you can't talk someone into going along.  Many people are looking for R2R or R2R2R running buddies.

Mandy, Rim 2 River and back is a great trip and so much easier logistically than going R2R.  It is a 200+ mile drive to get from 1 rim to the other.

/thread hijack.

 

Heh.  If I wind up at the Grand Canyon next year, I'll be sure to PM you regarding ideas, logistics, etc. 

Mandy -  There is a big rise in Rim 2 River 2 Rim runners.  Going down South Kaibab and up Bright Angel.

Sounds like an epic trip!!! I wasn't that far away in NM. I am glad Tailwind worked so well for you. I believe in it. I take it the Lone Peak 2.0 worked well, too.

Lone Peaks worked very well.  No blisters at all.  Had one hot spot after Phantom the second time and that was some grit in my shoe.  I wasn't sure how the zero drop would work on the climbs but I did fine with them, but I'm not new to zero drop.

I've been using Tailwind for a while.  The way I mixed it was perfect, for me.  It was very sweet to taste but I chased it down with a few sips of water each time so no stomach upset.  My friend used CarboPro, and I it doesn't have electrolytes.  I think that had something to do with his issues since he had some stomach issues early on when he first was bonking.  He used S-caps, but not sure how well he did with taking those.