Background #
If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro’ narrow chinks of his cavern. — William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
I first ran the legendary, Rim2Rim2Rim route, in November 2022. It’s been under my skin ever since.
The trail is approximately 42 miles with over 10,000 feet of elevation gain and it’s a completely self-supported run, meaning there aren’t aid stations and it’s not part of any organized event.
On that first trip, I was with 2 of my best friends and closest running buddies. We had cobbled together a loose plan, trained as best as we could, read what we could find online, asked for some advice on some online running communities, and hoped for the best. Unlike many other organized trail races, there wasn’t an official guide, directions, or a race director to email with questions. A lot of learning happened that trip and we decided to return for another go in 2023.
On the second trip, we invited a larger group of friends who would would be running R2R2R for the first time and had a much more structured plan. We had planning meetings, built spreadsheets, gave guidance on gear, nutrition, GPS tracking, etc. Coming out of that trip, I decided I wanted to take those materials and knowledge and help others learn and prepare for this incredible adventure.
Project & Tools #
I already had spreadsheets, Google Docs, training plans, maps, resources, and emails built for that second trip in 2023, but I needed to package it in a way that made it more accessible and useful for others. All too frequently, ideas and projects like this will stall out while I spin my wheels on all the technical details and dream about the perfect site, app, or tool.
However, in this case, I made a clear decision to take action and “just get something out there.” I could always improve it later. I tossed up a static, single page site using Carrd. While it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles, isn’t as flexible as a fully-featured site, it was a great way to get something up and available to the running community.
✅ Mission accomplished
If you’re interested in tackling R2R2R, I hope you’ll find R2R2R.guide useful.
What’s Next? #
R2R2R.guide is a great starting point and I’m glad to have it out there. I get emails periodically from people who have found it useful and are planning their own trips. This has already been wonderfully rewarding to make a small impact on the running community.
The miracle is not walking on the water; the miracle is walking on the earth. The miracle is all around us as the awareness of life itself. — Thich Nhat Hanh
More than any other run I’ve done so far, the Grand Canyon has been a constant, nearly spiritual presence in my mind. It’s impossible to describe the feeling of standing on the edge of the south rim and looking across the immensity of the canyon. It’s one of the rare places on earth where I feel I can almost glimpse the infinite. I have a sense that I could return hundreds of times and the Canyon would still have new lessons and meaning to reveal. I hope to return and continue to share what I learn. Until then, I’ll be looking for other big, challenging, outdoor adventures.
Running teaches me every single day, that those first steps are the hardest.
🏃♂️⛰️ See you on the trail!