Grand Canyon

I was planning to run Rim to Rim to Rim (R2R2R) in 2019. After I finished John Muir Trail (JMT) at the end of August , my friend Cyndi convinced me to do R2R2R. I only had 6 weeks to train for. I did a lot of hiking to train for JMT during the last 4 months. My legs are strong but I have not run much. The longest distance I ever ran was my only one marathon distance of 26.2 miles. The distance from South Rim (South Kaibab) to North Rim (North Kaibab) is 22 miles with 6,000 ft climb and from North Rim to South Rim (Bright Angel) is 24 miles with 5,000ft climb. I need to learn how to run smart if I want to complete R2R2R. My goal is to finish regardless how long it will take me.

I was not sure what happened to me on Oct 13th but I finished with a decent time. The distance of 46 miles with 11,000ft was the longest distance and elevation gain i ever did in one day! It took me about 15 hours which it was much better than I expected. I really enjoyed the run and power hiked up to North Rim. I made to the North Rim and felt great. I knew I could run back to South Rim. I was very nervous and did not know how my body would feel after 22 miles. I guessed i was in much better shape than I gave myself credit for.

It was a short windows for me to train but I was so glad that I decided and determined to do R2R2R. I could check off this adventure from my bucket list and looking forward for another awesome adventure in 2019!

Happy trails!

Dan