On Fri, Oct 26, 2018, I managed to finish an octuple (8x) Grand Canyon crossings in 58 hours and 11 minutes. That’s a R2R2R2R2R2R2R2R2R, or 4 double-crossings—which—to the best of my knowledge, has never been done before. UltraPedestrian Ras holds the sextuple (6x) unsupported crossing FKT in 68 hours and 10 minutes. More details can be found on his bog. For all current Grand Canyon records, see the FKT page.
I started my attempt on Wed, Oct 24, 2018, at 4am. I ran 8x times across the canyon on the South and North Kaibab trails and had support on the South Rim only. The total distance was 168 miles with about 44,000 feet of elevation gain.
[pullquote]”The reward of suffering is experience” — Harry S. Truman[/pullquote]
The octuple crossing attempt was announced here.
Check out the short video clip below that is supposed to document some aspects of the challenge. I didn’t have a lot of energy to film and there isn’t much else to say besides the fact that I crossed the canyon a few times until I had seen enough of it. The rest remains a bit of a blur.
As of today, I have no plans to go back to the Grand Canyon anytime soon. But as always, things can change…
Everything is fine. Heading out for the last R2R2R double-crossing. I mean, really, it’s just another two crossings. Nothing to complain about.
Direct URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RQQyfnSuRc
What may I possibly need? Nothing, it turned out. It’s probably all placebo anyway.
Shopping like a kid. Ursina’s cart had salad.
First double-crossing completed. Definitely not feeling it. But I was wrong. Which is often the case.
Done after 58:11. Thanks Jenn, Jitka, and Lauren for the surprise! I look fat, hmm.
R2R2R2R2R2R2R2R2R sticker shock. No, I did not buy all of these.
Recovery.
Check out the FKT podcast at https://fastestknowntime.com/podcast/episode-7-christof-teuscher
http://humansofultrarunning.com/episode-7-stories-from-the-grand-canyon-r2r2r
Check out the great article and podcast by Davy Crockett: http://ultrarunninghistory.com/crossing-the-grand-canyon
Pace analysis
How do 8 Grand Canyon crossings compare to climbing Mt. Everest from the base camp? Ok, well, thankfully the Grand Canyon only goes up to 8,300ish feet at the north rim.
Thanks to…
