UA News

On October 28, two UA Engineering graduate students and a friend ran from the south rim of Grand Canyon to the north rim and then turned around and ran back to the south rim.

That's about 42 miles and 20,000 feet of elevation change. The elevation figure counts the descents as well as the ascents. As many hikers and runners with sore knees can tell you, even though you're going downhill, don't discount the steep descents in Grand Canyon.

If you go to one of the popular hiking sites on the web, it describes this trip as "strenuous" -- noting that it requires five to seven days to complete.

Environmental Engineering graduate students Dave Byrnes and Pete Littlehat and their friend, Ben Yates (a financial advisor for Chase Bank) did it in 14 hours, shaving 2 hours off the first time they ran it on April 8, 2006.

They started with headlamps in the dark, descended the Kaibab Trail, ran up the 14.2-mile North Kaibab Trail to the North Rim and then turned around and followed the same route back.

Run Takes Planning
This isn't something that you decide to do on a whim. It can be dangerous for anyone who isn't superbly conditioned and accustomed to running long distances in extreme terrain. Even a day hike to the river and back from the south rim is beyond the ability of most hikers, and people have died on Grand Canyon's trails. More than 250 people need to be rescued in Grand Canyon each year. (See the Grand Canyon hiking info under the "Related Web Sites" on this page.)

The trio began seriously training for the run three months earlier. Littlehat devised a scientific day-by-day training schedule that he has taped to the wall above his desk in UA's Civil Engineering Building. It includes recovery days that are every bit as important as the running days.

He said careful planning is vital to avoiding training injuries and to being prepared for the extreme demands of running in the desert environment in temperatures that can vary by 50 degrees throughout the run and at elevations ranging from about 3,000 to 9,000 feet.

Part of the training schedule included getting out of bed nearly every Saturday morning at 3 a.m., donning running togs and packs and meeting at the Douglas Spring trailhead east of Tucson at 5 a.m. From there, the group would run to Cowhead Saddle and back in Saguaro National Park, an 18-mile trek that includes about 6,000 feet of elevation change.

Fitness, Challenge Motivate Runners
Littlehat, who grew up in Red Mesa, a small community on the Navajo Reservation in far northeastern Arizona, said running has always been part of his life. "When we were young, we were told to get up early and run," he said. "It was a way of staying strong and active."

But the object was never competition, training to beat someone else, he added. The goal was to do it for both your physical and spiritual health.

Byrnes, who was a middle-distance runner and swimmer in high school said, "I loved training hard for a goal and in college I wasn't pushing myself like that anymore and I found I missed it. When Pete told me he was going to do the run, I saw it as an opportunity to do something cool and to push myself again."

Yates said he's not really fast so he chooses to run long. "Not many people accomplish this type of stuff and that helps me push on," he added. "A lot of people don't know how long a marathon distance is, but they know what Grand Canyon is and that they usually drive if they have to travel 42 miles."

Yates ran track and cross-country and played basketball in high school. "I really got the bug to run longer distances -- half marathons, marathons and beyond -- after college. I was working way too much and getting no exercise. I looked in the mirror and was horrified. Going long distances requires sustained training and cross training and I like being active."

In addition to the canyon runs, Yates runs a couple of marathons each year and plans to run a 50-mile race in Montana later this year.

Climbing Out is Toughest Part
The toughest part of the canyon run came at the end -- that nearly 4,800-foot climb back up the steep South Kaibab trail to the canyon's rim, Byrnes said. "Around mile 35, I really felt that our training was pulling me through."

Yates said that when he finished he said he'd never to run it again because it's just so long and physically draining. There are plenty of other longer runs in places like Moab, for instance, that don't require the extreme effort of Grand Canyon.

"Over time, though, Pete started working on me -- 'We need to do it again,' 'We need to take off 2 hours from last time,' and so forth. I know I learned a few things not to do last time and, what the heck, everyone else is doing it," Yates said.

In fact, Littlehat already is planning the next rim-to-rim-to-rim effort. "It took me 17 hours the first time and the second time was 14 hours. So I want to shave off another 2 hours and complete the run in 12 hours next time," he said.

"I know where the water stations are along the trail, and I plan to carrying less. For instance, I'll probably drop my warm clothing along with some food near the bottom of the canyon and pick it up on the way back."

The motivation for all the training and extreme effort on the day of the run is to do something that few people do, Littlehat said.

"I wanted to challenge myself in an extreme way," he said. "Along the way, I realized that the mental part plays a greater role during times of struggle than the physical part. I found myself digging deep within to stay motivated to finish the run, especially at the end when my energy level was about depleted. That is what I wanted to experience!"