Running Roadtrip - PART 3

The Grand Canyon - "Rim 2 Rim 2 Rim"

I'll be honest here on this one, I was getting so jealous that so many other runners had been down to experience the Grand Canyon and I had no real perception as to what they were talking about.  Ive been so fortunate to see so many pockets of the world but I was dieing to see this area and the majestic size of the Grand.

Following up from my previous post on the Zion Traverse, Matt and I had good rest back at the ranch in Hurricane before heading out mid afternoon to drive to the Grand Canyon. We stopped to pick up groceries, soak our feet in the river and then make our way to the South Rim entrance.

We arrived late evening to the Grand, just in time for the sun to set.  It was like a huge melting pot of people from all over the world, everyone coming to peer down to the great canyon below.  On our drive there, the temperatures were soaring which immediately raised some concern about how hot this run was going to be for us as soon as the sun came up again. I went out on a limb to suggest "how about we start at midnight" to which Matt replied "perfect." So, instead of a 6am start as originally planned, we hammered back our dinner, filled our water, gear prepped and got an hour of sleep.  By 12:30am (just 24hrs after the Zion Traverse) it was headlamps on as we descended down the Bright Angel trail.  I knew we were surrounded by huge walls of rock but I wouldn't be able to comprehend their size until morning.  We had definetly made the right call, the deeper down we ran, the warmer it got. I was dripping in sweat by the time we reached Phantom Ranch on the canyon floor.  We loaded up with water and began running towards the North Rim. It was a false flat that I knew would make our descent back down really quick.  We passed a few campsites where hikers were beginning to wake up at 4am in order to beat the heat.  The sun came up as we worked our way up the steep climb to the North Rim.

I'm not very good with remember times at all so I think it was around 6:30am or so when we made it to the top of the Rim, sat down, had a bite to eat, put our thin windjackets on and re-filled our bottles. We ran into a few other hikers as we descended back towards the canyon, trying to get as far as possible before it got too hot and enjoying the shade from the big walls that blocked out the sun. 

As we neared Phantom Ranch, I was craving that lemonade that everyone had talked up so much.  Hikers thought we were crazy for running, we thought we were normal.  We stopped for a good 40mins at Phantom Ranch, ate some food and hydrated like crazy.  I even sent a postcard to a special someone back home as the thought that it would be carried out by a mule was kind of cool. 


It was around 8:30am when with full bellies of water (I could hardly run) and temperatures at 102 F, we headed for our last and final climb. We had originally planned to take the South Kaibab trail back up (shorter by 2.5 miles, less tourists etc) but it was so freak'in hot already and there was no water on that route. We decided that because we were out for a leisurely run and we were ok with added miles, why not just take the Bright Angel trail back up.  We passed tonnes of hikers and a few mule trails which really slowed us down and added time. 

As we neared the top, the last 3-5miles were jam packed with people so we constantly dodged our way around everyone. Matt began to kick it into another gear and I had no choice but to follow. I was in a world of hurt but ready to get done. 

We arrived back to our car 13hrs after having left.  REALLY enjoyed this run as well and was so excited for all my friends and athletes who were also attempting the R2R2R in the next few days to experience it.  WOW - 1:30pm and we still had the whole day in front of us - lol.  We found some showers, got some food and tried to take a nap.  I tried to answer some emails but with very little brain power to do so.  It was then a late night drive around to Bolder City, NV to where we would crash at our friends Paul + Karens on Lake Mead and to where my running road trip with Matt would end and to where I would head up to Big Bear, CA for some R+R and a much needed re-set button on my health and training (blog on this to come.)

I'm grateful for all that I got to jam pack into 5 shorts days - pacing my good buddy at his first 100, experiencing the Zion Traverse and finally getting to achieve a bucket list of item of running the R2R2R.  Good times, great people, what's next? Oh yes, getting healthy again.

Running Roadtrip - PART 2

The Zion Traverse


I was lucky that my trip down to Utah matched well with my old adventure racing team mate, Matt Hart. It had been a long time since we'd caught up and had an adventure together. When I told him that I wanted to run the R2R2R, he quickly replied that we also HAD to do the Zion Traverse.  He convinced me that this was equal to, if not better then the Grand Canyon.  I needed very little convincing.

Matt arrived at the prize giving ceremony for Slater's 100.  We realized that logistics for the traverse would take a bit of prep so we gathered some water and left over food from the van and headed out to do a water drop at the 36mile mark of our run at Wildcat Trailhead.  Running in these environments is all about water management and there were some places that were pretty limited.

So what is the Zion Traverse? It's a 50mile route that stretches horizontally across Zion National Park.  There is over 10,000ft of elevation gain.  It's usually done as a 5 day back packing trip but more recently, people have been running it and claiming new speed recorders on the route.  Read here on Matt's blog for when he set the speed record back in 2010.  However, Matt and I were clear on our goals from the beginning, we'd be running this as pure training and just enjoying trail time. We'd stop, take pictures etc, there would be no record attempt at all.

After our water drop, it was late night but we still needed to do a car drop at Lee's Pass trailhead.  So we drove out, left Matt's car and headed back to get some sleep at the house in Hurricane.  Slater and Mo very kindly volunteered to drive us out to the East trailhead in the morning so that we could start for 8am.

Gorgeous terrain and stunning views, we made it down to the Grotto in about 2hrs at a very easy pace.  We saw all kinds of tourists in this area as it the main trail head for Angels' Landing. We filled up with water, used the toilet and then settled into the long climb with the heat beating down up to Angels Landing (5000ft approx) and beyond.  Once up high, it was pretty flat running with just very rolling terrain. I however, was feeling like crap. Not sure if it was the heat or what, but I was not on my A game.  I needed constant walk break, my achilles was killing me and I just wanted to chug back water but I knew I had to conserve.  I tripped on a rock pretty good and that was enough to kick my frustrations to another level and tell myself to get going. 

Not sure where the time went but we eventually arrived at Wild Cat, filled up with water, took a good 10mins or so sit down in the shade and then pushed on down into the Hop Valley.  It was around 5pm and the temperatures were starting to cool. This was such a cool piece of landscape, it was like a grassy green field that went on for 7miles or so and was surrounded by big red walls.  I knew we still had a big climb out of the Hop and to the car at Lee's.  The climb seemed to go and on but it wasn't nearly as steep as the climb out of the grotto.

We arrived at the trailhead a little after 8pm, a wicked 12hrs of running and time on the trail. Both of us were starving hungry and ready to take our shoes off.  My achilles was in really bad shape and I knew it needed ice immediately.  Such an awesome day on the trail. I was in my glory.


Incredible running, this goes near the top of the list as one of my all time favorite adventure runs! I will be back, possibly to tackle the record when I'm healthy again.  Aside from my achilles, my body was dealing with something else this day internally. Hmmmm, I will have to get re-focused and sort it out.

For this run, I wore the Salomon S-Lab 5 and the Skins Pack.  I've been all over the running skirt lately too so I wore the Whisper II and the Trail Runner II Tank.  I wouldn't have made any changes to what I was using. 

We enjoyed 1 day off as we drove to the Grand Canyon, preparing for Part 3:  The Grand Canyon's R2R2R epic.

Running Roadtrip - PART 1

Pacing at the Zion 100

2 weeks ago, word got to me that my friend and DART team mate Slater Fletcher from California was competing in his first 100miler ever and was without crew for the race. I quickly got on facebook, asked him what his goals were (to win) and how he was going to get the job done (drop-bags.)  I couldn't pass up the opportunity when he asked me to come down and crew/pace him along with his friend James and our good friend Paul Romero.  It's not too often that I get to be on the non-racing side of things and I thought this would be great - I'd get to see the Zion area, run in the sun and help Slater chase his goals.  So, last minute decision turned out to be a great adventure.  I got in touch with another old team mate and running bad-ass Matt Hart who was now living in Salt Lake who was all for hitting some additional epic runs once I was finished my crew duties.  The story builds from there.

So......I flew down to Las Vegas early Thursday morning, was picked up by Paul, James, Mo (Slater's wife) and Mel. We made the trip out to Zion to the town of Hurricane, UT.  The crew had rented a gorgeous house.  We got Slater checked in and our systems dialed.  Between all of us, we had a very experienced crew, dedicate to getting him through it in good time with a great performance.


            "Rental house - HUGE and UNREAL"

The race began at 6am and Slater stuck to the game plan, pacing himself, staying relaxed and staying focused on eating and drinking. It was hot! Paul and James had the first few crewing sections while Mel, Mo and I crewed.  I got Slater at about 6pm in the evening.  He was a bit low on fluids/calories and so I focused all my efforts for the next 5hrs on his pace and making sure he was intaking.  We were in 5th place and moved into second until a poorly un-flagged golf course got us lost, adding 2.5 miles onto the distance. In the process, I forgot to take care of myself, running close to 40km on only 2 potatoes. HA - I was spent by the time that we arrived into the second to last CP where James would run it out with him.  Slater was so ready to go - the dude was on fire! He and James took off and I drove the car to the last CP, turned the car off and set my alarm for 1hr of sleep. Well, wouldn't you know it, Slater came blasting through at 12:50am (my alarm set for 1am), didn't stop, dropped James and took off. He was the most motivated runner, pushing hard to that finish line.  He snatched back 2nd place and went blazing into the finish line.  Solid effort, he lost by just over 1hr to Jay Aldus. It was the most incredible performance that I have seen in such a long time.  I'm so stoked to have gotten to play just a small role in his success.

        "Sweet views!  Can't beat it for running"

The Zion 100 is a must see/do race course. It has absolutely stunning terrain. I've got it on my list now, for sure.  I'd also like to just got hang out in that area and do some mountain biking.  The course went right through Gooseberry which I hear is world class.


       "Slater and Mo - congrats on your 100 and 50"

Saturday morning, it was Mel and Mo, racing the 50miler.  We tried to help crew and give support.  Matt traveled down from SLC that evening for my Running Roadtrip - PART 2:  The Zion Traverse.


       "Legs recovering, they've got work to do in the upcoming days"

Advanced Week Happenings

The past week has been flying by, lots of training, testing, focus groups, massages, photo shoots, video shoots, ortheo sessions, ocean swims, podiatrist analyses, walks to village and adventure racing.  It's been a great time with the Salomon family, lots of laughs and good catch-ups.

Photoshoot!

Video shoot!



Foot doctor!  My foot molds for custom
shoes!

Canyon Running!

Salomon Family!

Incredible running terrain for the week!