am--23 Ok, it wasn't a race, but it was an accomplishment, and recording it as a race is my way of bookmarking it for the future. We started at the North Rim about 15 after 6 in the morning. The temps were in the high 20s-low 30s. I was wearing shorts, a shirt, and a light running pull-over. It was cold standing there, but I didn't think about the temps for one second after I started running. I had a headlamp on and just went for it down the trail. In the dark, as the dust starts kicking up, you kind of lose some depth perception and have to be very aware of where you're sticking your feet. About 7 miles down, the trail starts to level off. The running is amazing. I felt great. I passed some campers and hikers, and they cheered me on. I reached Phantom Ranch--14 miles in--in roughly 2:30. Pretty good pace for me on the trails. I had eaten some Gus, a PBJ, and an Endurolyte or 2. I finished off a water bottle, drank about half of my chia fresca, and drank another bottle of water before filling it up again. Then I ran on down to the bridge. I walked across the bridge because the Colorado is amazing. What a sight this canyon must have been for old one arm. When I hit the other side of the river, I got into the deep sand and ended up logjambed behind a mule train. I followed them at a speedy hike for about 2 miles. They finally pulled over for a view, and I passed. Just in time to hit the Devil's Corkscrew. Now the climbing began. There wasn't much "running" after this. The elevation gain in about 5-6 miles is over 4,000 feet. I did some hard hiking, just trying to keep the legs going. I stopped a few times for Gu and my last PBJ. I finished off the chia fresca and kept going. This is the most soul-crushing part of the trail. I downed a few more Endurolytes going up and kept on trucking. I was passing people, but something inside me was disappointed that I couldn't go faster. To put this part of the trail into perspective, it's like tackling hundreds of stadiums after roughly 18 miles of running. Anyway, I made it without anyone ever passing me--besides the 2 hikers from the Northwest, whom I caught right before the finish--and limped up out of the canyon at 20 after 12--6:05:00 minutes later. I headed straight to the food and got me a hot dog and a soda and sat down to eat before I called my ride. The rim-to-rim is quite the experience. To date it is the hardest thing, physically, that I have ever done in my life. Don't underestimate the canyon. Nonetheless, one day it would be cool to go rim-to-rim and then head back the way I came. For now I'll leave that up to those with ultra legs. PS--Crockett's R2R2R report was very interesting to read the night before diving head first into this adventure. If you google "running rim to rim," it's the first link that comes up.
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