By: Brian Chambers
“The Grand Canyon experience was with out a doubt the most challenging and rewarding adventure of my life.”
I thought I was prepared. I really thought I was prepared. I did plenty of miles and hill workouts on a treadmill. I listened to the Run2Revive team with a smidge of skepticism, but I tried to heed their advice and I stocked up on the gear they recommended. I really, really thought I was prepared. The heat, the sun, the stairs, the incline all took a toll on my body…
By: Brian Chambers
“The Grand Canyon experience was with out a doubt the most challenging and rewarding adventure of my life.”
I thought I was prepared. I really thought I was prepared. I did plenty of miles and hill workouts on a treadmill. I listened to the Run2Revive team with a smidge of skepticism, but I tried to heed their advice and I stocked up on the gear they recommended. I really, really thought I was prepared. The heat, the sun, the stairs, the incline all took a toll on my body…
By: Elizabeth Skelly
As I look down at my feet, I begin to think about all the feet that have walked this very same path before me. Thousands of people, hundreds of thousands, millions? The number of people I have crossed today alone is surprising. As we pass and say our hello’s I can’t help but be surprised at these people. Some are fit and seem well-suited to the task, others I would never in a million years guess were capable of such a tremendous feat. The distance they may be traveling is irrelevant: any distance traversed in this canyon is impressive. The elevation and the heat are enough to wither any hardy soul. And yet here they are. Just like me, taking one step at a time, putting one foot in front of the other, in pursuit of their goal. I get to thinking – just what is it that makes a person capable of such an extraordinary achievement? What sets us apart? …
By: Dave Smithey
…Then, we started the climb. I am typically a mountain guy and have a strong sense of what it feels like to climb up, but getting out of the canyon is more like climbing out of a hole with very steep walls. It is relentless until the top. Rob was out in front when we started the climb and just kept opening up the gap. Matt and I maintained a nice comfortable steady pace until about 2 miles before the top, when Matt started increasingly leaning on his poles. We kept him fueled and soon enough, we reached the top, roughly 9 hours after we started. Tom met us at the trailhead with Snickers bars, water and a foam roller to work out the kinks before we headed back down…
By: Shara Orr
By the time we reached Phantom Ranch at the bottom of the canyon, I thought, naively confident, “OK. That wasn’t so bad!” Although I was starting to feel the heat of the sun beating down on me, physically I still felt pretty good. And mentally, I felt pretty damn great. “I’M DOING THIS!” We had a short rest, snack and refilled our water packs at Phantom Ranch. Then we were back on the move, beginning the long stretch through the bottom of the canyon…
