I️ find few things more gratifying than having a concept float into my consciousness “can I️ make something happen?” and then realizing the idea. Whether it’s a vacation, creative project, present or running adventure, figuring out a path from concept through to reality always feels amazing.

This is how the idea of running the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim came together. A few weeks prior to the trip I monitored weather conditions and got beta from runners who recently visited the national park. After checking flight prices, I pitched the run concept to a local Facebook running group to see if anyone wanted to join me on the trek. Luckily, my buddy Carolyn signed on for the adventure.

After working a full week of work, she and I hopped a Southwest flight to Vegas, rented a minivan and drove the 276 miles to the trailhead. We arrived at 4:30am on Saturday morning. We started off on the run decked out in headlamps. This was our experience on the 43-mile run.

We started from the South Rim of the trail, descended down the South Kaibab Trail, crossed across the canyon and climbed up to the North Rim. On our return trek we climbed up Bright Angel Trail back to our car. According to my Garmin file, the total trek took about 16:20 and includes 11,000’ of climbing and descent.

Stats

• Distance: 43.20 mi

• Time: 16:20:01

• Avg Pace: 22:41 min/mi

• Elev Gain 10,988 ft

• Calories 6,112 C