I run therefore, I am!

On December 24th, 2013 it will be my 20th anniversary  of my life changing pedestrian vs. auto accident I was in.   http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705376283/Nearly-18-years-after-accident-runner-Walter-Brown-defying-odds-to-keep-racing.html?pg=1

I have put many negative doubts to rest with a lot of hard work and  mental perseverance. I made some big goals to prove to my neigh Sayers and myself that I can do that which they say is impossible or dangerous.

So I planned to run Rim to Rim to Rim in the Grand Canyon. I got a group of 12 crazy other runners that seemed to share the same goal. Steve Hooper, John Beckstrand, Ben Ford, Wan Kou, Mandi Mcbride, Maurine Lee, Clyde Behunin, Steve Anderson, Brett Peterson, ChristiegKrompel and myself.  We got an RV and drove down to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon with a few flat tires to deal with. One of them was a few miles from our destination. We decided to get to the parking lot and pursue but Steve Anderson stayed back and worked on getting the tire fixed. We decided to run from the north rim to the south rim and back at 5 am on Saturday. Steve Anderson said he would join us on our start. That ended up being a great move on his part as Maurine was struggling from the start on this venture. He nursed her back to the RV. We found ourselves split in half at this point as Steve Hooper, Ben Kroff, and John Beckstrand came a couple hours later to start out. The conditions at the start were snow covered and slick. It soon melted with the drop in elevation. Our first real stop for Christie Clyde and me was at Phantom Ranch. 14 miles+ from the north rim. It warmed up so we shed my heavier pack and some clothes to a lighter hydro pack. We then ran up to the south Kaibab rim and caught a shuttle over to Bright Angel rim and grabbed a drink. It took us 4:29:19.  I should've got something to eat here that was a mistake. I felt a bit drained from the push up Kaibab as it was freaking draining. Clyde gave me two Aleve and a Tylenol. It seem to help my legs a bit. The run commenced downhill back towards the north rim. I felt really great and my legs felt a lot better. We ran into our two groups that were working their way up as we were headed down. We made it down to the river and over to Phantom ranch. Grabbed my pack and headed for the rim. This is where my body decided to get picked apart. I was really starting to show signs of struggling at mile 36 I had taken a 5 hour energy drink which made  me sick to my stomach. Mile 38 I was puking. I started back at it and then my calves tightened up. So bad I had cramping. Christie gave me a pair of her compression socks which seemed to help. But as we got moving on the cramping was going up my legs. I ran into Steve with 6 miles of the hardest miles yet to go. He cut a toe out of a sock and used it as a home made compression sock for my hamstrings. It worked a bit. I made it to mile 42 when my body felt complete tiredness I sat on the trail and was mentally gone at this point. Steve gave me some Fritos and I ate half the bag and followed it with water. I rested a bit and got back at it. I got a second wind and was able to catch back up with Clyde and Christie with less than a mile to go. What a death march. I got to .20 and couldn't go so I sat in the snow. My body was blown up. I wasn't thinking clear at all. Steve got me back on my feet and we got to the top. I've never been more proud and more tired in my life. This was a bucket list check off that I am estatic about achieving. My overall time on the trail with breaks was 13 hours. Of the 11 that came with us 8 finished but Steve should be considered doing it as he has to hold back for the tire. Thanks Steve and thank you to all my friends that joined me on this venture. Sooo fun!!

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