One Mile Deep

Ten miles as the crow flies, 20 miles rim to rim.

Cathy Tibbets

© 2009 42K(+) Press, Inc.

Running the Grand Canyon from rim to rim offers runners the opportunity to experience one of the seven natural wonders of the world without ever having to miss a week- end of training. With well-maintained trails, water sources along the way, and food and lodging on both sides, this epic run can be done without having to bring along a support crew. The challenge to make it across draws thousands of runners and hikers every year. While the distance is only 20 to 23 miles from trailhead to trailhead depending on the route you take, the heat, altitude, and lack of shade are so grueling that 250 people are rescued in the canyon every year. Some of them don’t make it.

“This is the best and hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Rebecca Warriner of Wake Forest, North Carolina, said of her first crossing. “Even though it’s only 20 miles, you should train for a 50-miler if you attempt it,” the 34-year-old mother of two said.

“When you hear ’Grand Canyon,’ it’s different than when you actually see it,” rim-to-rim runner Sage Grossi of Tempe, Arizona, said. “It was bigger than what I expected.”

Yet with a lot of training and a little planning, it can be the run of a lifetime. Here is what you need to know to plan a run from the South Rim to the North Rim. Running from the North Rim to the South Rim is fun, too, and actually a little easier. Regardless of which direction you go, remember to bring plenty of extra memory for your camera.

Continued... | Other Editor’s Choices