Grand Canyon R2R2R, Third Time's a Charm

The Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim (R2R2R) route in the Grand Canyon is 68 km with 3,300m of elevation gain, from South Kaibab trailhead, crossing the Colorado River, then up to North Kaibab trailhead before returning back to the start.  I've run this twice before, once in 2016 when I was relatively new to mountain running, and once in 2019 with Marc.  In 2019 we had lots of fun, but I was terribly undertrained and not satisfied with my sufferfest performance.  My personal record (PR) was 12:55 from 2016.  In comparison, the FKT by Jim Walmsley is 5:55, and I always like to go under 2x the FKT in races and adventures.  That means 11:50 target for the R2R2R.

The weather forecast was perfect, cool and dry.  I scoped out the conditions the night before and there was snow and ice up high, so I carried spikes for the north rim.

I started just after 7am, and it was cold, but warmed up fast as I descended into the canyon.  The descent to the river is 10 km, and it’s tricky and really steep in parts.  My main goal was to be safe (no falls) but also to run strong and fast.  I made it down to the river in just over an hour feeling good.

Section 2 is the 15 km floor that gains 600m.  I ran as much as possible, ate and drank consistently, hiked the steep parts but ran everything I could.  Not a fast run, just fast enough to tick off the distance as efficiently as possible.  I don’t know how much time this section took, but I must have been moving pretty well.  I got to the North wall and started the 1,100m climb to the North rim.  I love climbing, and had my poles so got into a nice uphill rhythm.  There was lots of snow and ice at the top (2,500m above sea level) so the spikes came in handy. 

I got to the North rim (halfway point) in 5:10 elapsed which is crazy fast for me.  Since the second half is easier with the downhill floor I thought I might actually negative split the day.  

After about 3 minutes on the North rim I started the descent back down.  This was fine, just tricky and slippery, but I ran it safe and efficiently and my legs responded well.  I continued to eat and drink, and it warmed up as I approached the canyon floor.  The weather forecast was 19 degrees on the floor, but luckily I was in the shade for much of the day so that helped a lot.

I was excited to get to the floor, the 15 km section with 600m of downhill.  My legs felt great, and I was ready to run.  However, now I was 45 km into the day, and I just wasn’t moving as fast as I wanted.  In my mind I felt like I was running 6 min/km pace, but my watch kept saying 7 min/km pace.  Not bad, but I was starting to feel the fatigue from pushing for so long.  I eventually made it to the South end of the floor and fueled up well before the final climb.  I changed my shirt and got out extra gear as it was going to get cold and dark on the way up.  

I crossed the Colorado River with 8:55 elapsed, with 10 km and 1,400m ahead to finish.  I was convinced I could do this in 2 hours, finishing sub 11.  Figured that’s 5 km with 700m elevation gain per hour, 12 min/km pace, easy right?  I pushed and pushed all the way up, and after 1 hour I had covered 4.5 km of the 10 km total.  I didn’t give up, I ate and drank, cranked up heavy metal, and pushed the climb so damn hard to try to get in sub 11.  Nothing special about finishing under 11 hours, I just wanted to bury myself out there and get everything out of my legs and head.  I realized in the final km that I’d go over 11 hours, but was still on a great pace.  It was dark and snowing when I cracked the South rim in 11:03 with tears of joy. 

In the past 18 months I've been lucky to run both Western States and UTMB, and I ran both of those races really safe and conservative.  They’re bucket list races, and my family traveled internationally to watch and crew, so the last thing I wanted was a DNF.  This week in the Grand Canyon was completely different.  I was there to see what I could accomplish, and prove to myself that I can run hard for a long time, and be right on the edge of supernova, but stay on the good side.  I accomplished that in the Grand Canyon, and took almost 2 hours off my PR.  

The day was near perfect, the conditions were great, and 11:03 will be my PR for the R2R2R forever.  My legs hurt like hell today, but I couldn’t be happier. 

 

Western States Endurance Run

Saturday June 25, 2022

After waiting for 7 years to get into Western States, running 5 qualifying races, and training for 6.5 months I woke up at 2am, three hours before the race start.  The excitement and adrenaline of race day overwhelms any chance of falling back to sleep, and that’s okay.

We arrived at Olympic Valley at 4am with plenty of time to eat and drink, then relax before the start.  I lined up at 4:45am to get a good spot a few rows behind the pros as I wanted an efficient start up the Escarpment. 

At 5am with a shotgun blast we all started the long climb up the Escarpment.  I ran a few hundred metres just to get away from the masses then settled into a comfortable hiking pace.  As a strong mountain hiker I knew this first climb would be one of my strengths, but I wanted to keep an easy effort, eat, drink, and ensure a low heartrate.  This 800m climb was easier than expected, and I was disciplined to hike the entire way and not run.  I chatted with a few Canadians on the way up, then crested the escarpment in 52:01 in 126^th place and enjoyed the sunrise over Lake Tahoe. 

Then I ran into the high country for 7 more miles to Lyon Ridge aid station.  This was rocky, wet, tricky, and boggy terrain.  I’m sure the alpine views were spectacular, but I didn’t look up for hours to prevent a massive wipeout.  I ran within myself, let dozens of runners pass me, and didn’t even look at my watch.  This section was harder than expected, but since it was early and cool, I wanted to tick off the miles before the California sun started to cook everyone.  I rolled into Lyon Ridge with 2:34 elapsed in 197^th place.  Wow, 71 people flew by me from the top of the Escarpment to Lyon Ridge aid station.

From Lyon to Redstar was more of the same, fantastic alpine terrain but tricky and challenging to get into a comfortable running rhythm.  Same as before, I took it easy, ran how I wanted, and kept eating and drinking.  When the sun hit the course, it started to get hot, and I knew we were in for a good ol’ WSER scorcher, just like I wanted.  I arrived at Redstar Ridge at mile 15 and took time to eat and drink, fill my bottles with Roctane, apply sunscreen, then get back onto the course.

These early miles seemed to take a long time.  The first 30 miles of the course was totally new to me, and I was looking forward to eventually arriving at Robinson Flat and knowing the final 70 miles from training camp.  However, I wanted to both enjoy the high country alpine, and not do anything stupid.  So, I kept chugging along at my own safe pace, hiking the hills and running the downhills and flats until I finally got to Duncan Canyon at mile 24 where Damien and Charles were ready to crew.  In hindsight I could have gone faster during these first miles, but the maniacal focus on finishing the race and not doing anything stupid kept me in check all day and night. 

I made a mistake at Duncan Canyon aid station, leaving with 2 bottles full of Tailwind but not chugging a couple litres of water before heading back onto the course.  I was so excited to see my friends that I forgot about this important step.  It was getting very hot, and the next 6 miles to Robinson Flat would dehydrate me significantly.  I considered drinking directly from the rivers and creeks but decided against spinning the giardia roulette wheel and instead fully dunked myself in every water crossing to keep my core temperature down. 

After what seemed like forever, and with long-empty bottles I ran the final climb into Robinson Flat and yelled to Heather “I’m really dehydrated, I need water now!”.  It was great to see Heather, Christina, Darien, and Camille and they helped me restock food, drink, change my shoes and socks, and fill every compartment with ice (bandana, pack, hat, and arm sleeves). 

Let’s check in on how I’m doing with 24-hour pace.  Almost everyone that starts Western States wants to run sub-24 to get the coveted silver buckle.  Yet only approximately 50-100 people annually get that sub-24, with the heat being a big factor.  I knew I was physically ready to run sub-24 and had the splits by each aid station, but there were so many other variables that would heavily influence my finish time.  I left Robinson Flat aid station already 52 minutes behind 24-hour pace, due to my conservative run in the high country.  No regrets, just the reality that I was significantly behind my A-goal. 

The 13 miles from Robinson Flat to Last Chance are good running miles before you drop into Deadwood Canyon.  After leaving Robinson I hiked the climb then set off on the long downhill.  I was still dehydrated but starting to catch up by chugging an immense volume of water at every aid station.  My kidneys were getting a big workout, and hopefully could survive all the way to Auburn.  Whether it was the heat, or the >50km already on my legs, I had low energy running this downhill, and many runners passed me on this stretch of the course.  Even though I was moving slower than expected I did a good job taking care of myself, eating, drinking, and keeping up with my “ice everywhere” mantra to keep the core body temperature under control. 

Damien and Charles met me at Dusty Corners at mile 38.  I was in rough shape, really hungry, and both hot and cold at the same time (I’m serious, this was super weird).  I changed socks again to prevent blisters, covered most of skin with body glide then set off on the gradual downhill.

Last Chance is the final aid station before plummeting into Deadwood Canyon.  I rolled into Last Chance shivering cold, despite the 37-degree heat.  I didn’t know what was going on, but my body was punishing me physiologically for running over 43 miles in this heat.  The volunteers filled up my ice bandana and pack with ice, and I pleaded with them not to fill my arm sleeves as I was so cold.  One volunteer insisted he fill my arm sleeves with ice, and promised that in 5 minutes when I dropped into the blast furnace canyon I would be thankful.  Despite my shivering, I allowed them to fill me up with ice and push me off towards the canyons. 

After dropping into Deadwood Canyon the temperature rose another 5 degrees and all airflow stopped.  Luckily, I was covered in ice, so this helped me to not overheat.  I eventually arrived at the bridge at the bottom, drenched myself in cold water from the creek, and started the steep 600m climb up Devil’s Thumb.  At training camp in May I crushed this climb in 32 minutes but knew it would take much longer during the race.  It was so hot, and I passed many people on the ascent, including 3 people just lying on the side of the trail.  I got to the Devil’s Thumb aid station with mixed emotions.  I was happy to be through the steepest and hottest canyon of the day but the fact that I was only 48% of the way done the course weighed heavily on my mind.  Foresthill still seemed a long way. 

I changed socks again at Devil’s then dropped into El Dorado Canyon with a longer and more gradual 5-mile descent.  Somewhere during the descent, I passed through the 50-mile mark and was now finally closer to Auburn than to Olympic Valley.  25-time finisher Tim Twietmeyer was at the aid station at the bottom of the canyon, getting runners ice and water, and sending us quicky up the other side towards Michigan Bluff.  I ate a couple caffeinated gels as I knew this climb was going to be challenging.  Again, back in May I blasted this climb in 44 minutes, yet it only took me 59 minutes during the race which seemed pretty good.

I ran into Michigan Bluff at 7:40pm and was happy to see my crew even though I was 2 hours behind 24h pace.  Volcano Canyon between Michigan Bluff and Foresthill is my least favourite part of the course, it’s the last canyon, is not as deep, but is still tricky especially on tired legs.  And I knew I’d need my headlamp long before arriving in Foresthill.  My crew had to push me out of Michigan Bluff and get me moving down into Volcano Canyon.  Luckily the sun was going down and the temperature was dropping to a more manageable level. 

Coming out of Volcano Canyon by headlamp I arrived on the paved neighbourhood Bath Road and hiked up to Foresthill at 9:15pm where Darien was waiting for me.  We ran on the road and picked up Charles, Christina, Camille, and Damien along the way.  I said “hi” to Gordy Ainsleigh in the Foresthill aid station, got food and shuffled to my crew area where all I wanted to do was sit down for 5 minutes, eat my grilled cheese, chug a can of coke and reset my legs and brain.  I changed shoes and socks, then Damien, Darien and I set off towards Cal Street.  I said goodbye to Darien at the corner then with Damien began the long 16-mile descent towards the American River. 

Running with Damien provided a massive blast of energy.  I was planning on telling Damien not to speak to me, stay behind me keep quiet as I was in agony.  But we ended up chatting most of the time, and this helped so much.  The downhills were tough as my quads were wrecked, but I was hiking well on the climbs, and could run 8 min/km pace on the flats.  We rolled through Cal 1, Cal 2, and Cal 3 aid stations, eating drinking, laughing, and having fun throughout the night.  As I was sweating less at night, I had to cut down on my salt intake as I was bloated with water and couldn’t pee, just one of the seemingly dozens of vitals to continuously monitor. 

At 2:30am we arrived at the Rucky Chucky river crossing.  Christina, Heather, Darien and Camille were there to greet me, and I switched pacers from Damien to Charles.  After the hideous quad-busting stone steps down to the river Charles and I waded into the 12 degrees chilly waist-deep water by headlamp.  Luckily there were many fantastic volunteers to help us across safely.  After scrambling up the riverbank I changed shoes and socks and started hiking the gradual climb to Green Gate.  By this time, I knew there was no way I was finishing sub-24, but I was still feeling okay, especially on the uphills and flats.  I tried not to think about the long 22 miles to the finish line and kept pushing forward.

I found the trail from Green Gate to Auburn Lake Trails challenging… hard to get into a decent running rhythm in the dark and with constantly changing terrain.  Luckily, I knew the next stretch was really nice, flat and smooth California single track.  Once on the flat trail I returned to my 8 min/km running pace and kept pushing forward towards Quarry Road aid station at mile 90.

By this point I had started calculating my expected finish time, and specifically how much longer I needed to be out on this course before I could collapse on the track with my family and friends.  I was so focused on getting out of the Quarry Road aid station that I almost missed meeting 7-time Western States winner Scott Jurek and 2-time winner Hal Koerner.  As it was 6:30am and already getting warm Scott told us to get moving and finish before the heat really kicked in again. 

We ran along the fire road, then made the infamous left turn and started the long climb towards the Highway 49 crossing.  After crossing the highway, we continued the climb up to Cool Meadow, my favourite part of the course, and into Pointed Rocks aid station.  By this time, I was giving Charles my empty bottles and requesting that he fill them with water for me while I get food, then get us back running as quick as possible.  Scott’s words of advice were constantly in my mind, and I wanted to finish before 10am.

The long descent from Pointed Rocks to No Hands Bridge took forever, my quads were done, and I knew this last long trail downhill was going to be agonizingly painful.  But my other favourite part of the Western States course is the final climb from No Hands Bridge to Robie Point.  In my pre-race vision, I imagined arriving at the bridge at 4:30am and having to storm the final climb in order to finish sub-24.  Even though I was hours behind my A-goal I still wanted to bury myself on this 3-mile climb and leave it all on the course.  Charles and I ran up from the bridge with everything I had left in the tank.  We probably weren’t moving that fast, but I felt like Geoff Roes running away from Anton Krupicka in 2010. 

As we approached Robie Point I could see Damien, Christina, and Darien cheering at the top.  They joined us at mile 98.9 and we shuffled together downhill through the streets of Auburn towards Placer High School, talking, and laughing about the 7-year journey and how I was actually about to finish Western States!

We picked up Camille and Heather at the entrance to the track and the 7 of us ran the victory lap around the track.  I crossed the finish line in 28:10 in 192^nd place out of 383 starters.  At the awards ceremony I received my bronze buckle.  I write this blog 7 days after finishing and am still overwhelmed with complete happiness and joy with the 7-year journey to Olympic Valley, the 6.5 months of intense training, and the 28 hours and 10 minutes on the Western States course.  Now I’m a Western States finisher!

Video of my race preparation

Race recap video by Christina 

Training camp video by Bren 

  

Western States Training Camp

On December 4, 2021 my lottery ticket was picked to run the 2022 Western States Endurance Run.  After 5 years in the lottery, and with 16 tickets I had a 17% chance of being selected.  I was really excited and a little terrified about the next 6.5 months.  The original plan was to ski 120 days this winter, but that changed to focus on hundred-mile ultra training.  After three 100s I still have little idea how to properly train or race, so I immediately hired coach Kat Drew to get me to the start line in great shape, and to the finish line in under 30 hours.

On Memorial Day long weekend Bren and I went to California to run the final 70 miles of the course over 3 days.  I’ve read dozens of Western States blogs and watched countless videos on YouTube but running the course before race day will help with my confidence and course knowledge.

Day 1:  50km from Robinson Flat to Foresthill

After a bus ride to Robinson Flat we started a gradual climb, followed by a long runnable downhill.  The goal is to bank time when possible but also save my legs for all the running on the final third of the course.  After Last Chance we dropped into Deadwood Canyon with a very steep, rocky and technical descent.  I took it easy as I didn’t want to fall or blow up my quads.  We crossed the bridge at the bottom of the canyon and started the steep 600m climb up Devil's Thumb.  On race day I’ll hike this conservatively, but today I wanted to see what I had in my legs, so I pushed this climb and got to the top in 32 minutes, passing 30+ people during the climb.  Lots of fun in training, but not a great idea for race day.

Then we dropped into El Dorado Canyon, a more gradual 8km descent to the bottom, followed by a longer but less steep climb up to Michigan Bluff.  Again, I wanted to see what I could do so I pushed the climb and got to the top in 44 minutes. 

Took my time at Michigan Bluff to eat and drink before heading into the final canyon.  After leaving Michigan Bluff we were surprised with a relatively long climb before dropping into the technical descent of Volcano Canyon.  This canyon is not as big as the other two, but good to know not to underestimate it on race day.  The climb out of Volcano Canyon eventually merges with the paved Bath Road for the final ascent into Foresthill. 

Day 2:  30km from Foresthill to Rucky Chucky

Today is the famous Cal Street section of Western States, the long descent from Foresthill to the American River.  As this is a long runnable downhill it’s important that I get to Foresthill (mile 62) on race day feeling good.  As expected, the trail starts descending immediately after leaving Foresthill, gradual at first then becoming more steep.  We enjoyed the 15 rollers after Cal 1 and the Elevator Shaft descent into Cal 2 aid station. 

Leaving Cal 2 I felt ready to open it up and blast my downhill legs, something fun to do in training and not on race day.  We flew down the switchbacks passing a dozen people along the way.  The trail then pulls parallel with the American River and rolls for another 8km to Rucky Chucky.  This is hot and exposed, but all very runnable trail. 

Upon finally reaching the American River we left the course for a hike up to Drivers Flat.  On race day we will cross the river at Rucky Chucky and continue up to Green Gate on the other side.

Day 3:  35km from Green Gate to Auburn

Save your legs for the final 20 miles, that’s the advice you hear all the time in preparing for Western States as this section of trail is very runnable.  Instead of blasting specific sections like the past two days I decided to run smart today around 6:45 min/km pace.  Unlike Jim Walmsley in 2016 we made the left turn from Quarry Fire Road to the single-track climb up to Highway 49, then continued the long climb up to spectacular Cool Meadow and into Pointed Rocks aid station. 

After leaving the aid station we ran the final 2.7-mile trail descent of the course and over the famous No Hands Bridge at mile 96.5.  Then it’s the final long 2.4-mile climb of Western States.  I’ll be back here on June 26^th and may be pushing for a specific finish time so wanted to see if I could run the ascent to Robie Point.  I pushed hard, ran most of the climb, and passed a dozen people on the way up and into Auburn.  From mile 99 it’s a celebratory downhill run on road to the famous track at Placer High. 

Race day will be hotter, longer, and very different but it was a great experience to run 70 miles of the course.  I now understand the canyons, Cal Street, and how to run the final sections of Western States.  I’m still really excited but also a little terrified to return in 25 days, but after 7 years of dreaming about running this race I can’t wait to get started.

Bren created 3 great videos, one after each day of running:

Day 1 video

Day 2 video

Day 3 video

Last Runner Standing 2020

Backyard ultras have become popular in the past couple years due mainly to Big Backyard Ultra in Tennessee.  The concept is simple, run 4.167 miles (6.7km) an hour, every hour.  The last runner standing wins, everyone else gets a DNF. 

I would never have run a Backyard ultra as I prefer mountain trails, and I can’t run 4 miles an hour in the mountains.  But thanks to a global pandemic that led to the closure of all provincial parks and many trails, the stars aligned for me to run 100 miles on pavement.  Plus, I’ve always wanted to run 100 miles in under 24 hours, so this was my shot. 

The training block was aggressive, 450km in 4 weeks, followed by a 2 week taper. 

On Saturday June 6^th at 8am I started out on lap #1 in the rain with Marc.  The plan was to hold back at 7:30 min/km pace.  I knew that pacing properly was the only way I would finish, and I enjoyed the jogging pace.

Like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day I did the same thing over and over again.  Run for 50 minutes, sit down, eat, drink, repeat.  Christina coordinated people to run with me and in 24 hours I was alone for less than 90 minutes.  17 different people ran or biked with me.  I had never actually met Charles and he ran 13 laps with me overnight.

In addition to my pacers 4 families came out at various times to cheer me on.  This lifted my spirits and gave me the push to keep on going, especially as the agony and boredom set in during the second half. 

There were a few really dark times during the night.  The stretch from midnight to 5am was particularly bad.  Darien joined me at 3am, yet that was my slowest lap.  I was worried we’d start slipping time, but after a 52 minute lap at 3am we got back on track with 50 minutes at 4am and 5am.  When Brendan showed up at 5am and Aarash at 6am I was really miserable, but still shuffling forward at the right pace.

Starting the final lap with Charles, Brendan, Darien, Camille, Christina, Aarash, Parisa, Denna, Abby and Matt was amazing.  I was less than an hour from an official DNF, but this was my victory lap.  With a mile to go I realized the faster I ran the sooner it would be done, so we picked up the pace for the quickest lap of the day.  A dozen friends were waiting at 7:47am to celebrate the finish. 

This was a great experience for so many reasons, mainly due to the friends and family that ran with me and cheered throughout the day and night.  Officially I dropped out after 100 miles in 23 hours and 47 minutes.  There were only 3 runners that continued onto lap 25 and the winner ran 29 laps.  I will never run 100 miles on pavement again.

2020 Black Canyon 100k

Black Canyon 2016 was blazing hot and my first 100k, 2017 brought terrible mud and hail, so 2020 was to be my year.  I set a completely arbitrary goal of a 3-hour PR, the "A" goal was to finish under 12:52.

Training

A lot went right.  I focused on run quality over quantity, did strength training twice a week, and dropped 15 pounds in January.  I was strong, fast and light.  My run volume averaged 80km per week with a peak of 97k including multiple weekly quality runs such as speed work and tempo runs. 

Race Preparation

I’ve spent too long at aid stations in the past.  The food is great, drinks are warm, volunteers are friendly, and the seats are so comfortable.  At Black Canyon the plan was 60 seconds at minor aid stations to refill bottles and 5 minutes max at major ones to load up on nutrition and deal with any issues, get out fast and don’t waste time.

My gear plan was simple, one pair of shoes, one pair of socks and no shirt changes.  With 4 knee deep river crossings this was risky, but I wanted to keep it simple stupid and free my mind to focus on running.

The nutrition plan was also simple, just gels and tailwind.  I like solid food during a race but knew I wouldn’t be able to digest a grilled cheese while running fast.

0-30k

It was nice and cold for the 7am start and I averaged 5:40 min/k pace over the first 6k.  Even at the time I knew this was too fast but I felt good and decided to push.  When we hit the first hill everyone ran the climb including me.  For the second hill I walked but was the only person that didn't run.  Then it occurred to me that I was running near the front with people that don’t hike the climbs.  This was scary, these are not my people and was the first sign that I may be in over my head.

I arrived at the first aid station at 12.5k, filled water bottles and was out in under a minute.  Same thing for the second aid station at 21k.  I got to 30k in just over 3 hours and was feeling great.  My plan was to bank time early then dial back the effort later and cruise to a strong finish. 

30-60k

Things got harder but I was still running well and feeling pretty good.  After hitting 50k in 6 hours I was encouraged with my progress.  I ate and drank regularly, and the intense midday heat wasn’t a bother.  However, when I came into the second major aid station at 60k I was in rough shape.  My head and stomach were okay but my legs were shot.  I ate and drank everything in sight to recover.  Had I been running the 60k race that would have been an amazing finish and a perfect day.  Unfortunately I still had another 40k ahead of me.

60-101k

Black Canyon is a deceptive race.  With only 1,600m of elevation gain it looks like an easy course.  But the constant ankle-twisting rocks take a significant toll.  The climbs aren’t steep but they’re miles long.  I prefer short steep climbs, but these ones go on forever and suck the life out of your legs and mind.  And the second half of the course is harder than the first with very technical rocky terrain.  I power hiked the climbs which spiked my heart rate and could barely run the descents due to the million rocks.

After multiple unsuccessful physical and mental attempts to rally and get back on track I admitted that my sub 13-hour finish was out of reach.  I had pushed myself too hard, blew up spectacularly and the race was now about finishing under 17 hours to get my Western States lottery ticket.  I took my time at aid stations, ate the good food (quesadillas not gels) and finished in 15:23 for 330^th place out of 721 runners. 

Summary

I don’t regret going out so fast as it was an amazing experience.  I do wonder if I could have held on if I moderated my effort better in the first half.  When a runner passed me at 95k I figured they ran a smart race and saved energy for the end.  Maybe I could have trained better, probably with more long quality runs of 30-50k at a solid pace.  Since I don’t have a coach this is just one big experiment.  This is just a hobby and I thoroughly enjoy the process.  I do this for fun, and somehow really enjoy suffering in a desert canyon for 15 hours.