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.
Movie Clip
Direct URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RQQyfnSuRc
Some Pics
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.
FKT Podcast
Check out the FKT podcast at https://fastestknowntime.com/podcast/episode-7-christof-teuscher
Mountain Outhouse News
The Ginger Runner Live #235
Episode 7 Stories from the Grand Canyon R2R2R
http://humansofultrarunning.com/episode-7-stories-from-the-grand-canyon-r2r2r
The History of Crossing the Grand Canyon
Check out the great article and podcast by Davy Crockett: http://ultrarunninghistory.com/crossing-the-grand-canyon
Data and Stats
- Total distance: 4 x 42mi = 168mi
- Total elevation gain: 4 x (5,000 + 6,000)ft = 44,000ft
- Total elapsed time: 58:11:15
- Average time per R2R2R: 58:11:15 / 4 = 14:33
- Splits (with breaks):
- 1st R2R2R: 11:37
- 2nd R2R2R: 15:30
- 3rd R2R2R: 14:46
- 4th R2R2R: 16:06
- Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/1933366335/overview
- SPOT adventure (with all SPOT messages): https://www.findmespot.com/spotadventures/index.php/view_adventure?tripid=357741
- FKT entry: https://fastestknowntime.com/fkt/christof-teuscher-grand-canyon-crossings-az-2018-10-26
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.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to…
- …Ursina for the support on the South rim.
- …all the amazing people in the canyon who cheered me on and inspired me to keep going.
- …R2R2R runners Jenn, Jitka, and Lauren, who surprised me at the Ooh Aah Point and paced me to the finish line.
- …the FKT team (Buzz, Craig, Peter) for the coverage and the podcast.
- …all the people on the Internets who followed, cheered, and commented (lovers & haters).