MEMPHIS FIT
ULTRARUNNING BUCKET LIST: Hundreds of miles away in the wilder part of Arizona lies the Grand Canyon—one of the seven natural wonders of the world that’s home to one of the hardest trail runs in the U.S. The Rim2Rim2Rim, or R2R2R, takes runners down one side of the canyon, across the floor, up to the other side, and then back again. It totals about 50 miles with over 10,000 feet of elevation gain. Who’s crazy enough to try that? Olaf Shultz, Casey Hyneman, Christophe Block, Ellen Bransford, Jennifer Payne, Nancyanne Hickman, Bryan Roberson, and Kyle Grady. This group of eight from Memphis set out to run the “FKT”—what they call the “Funnest Known Time”—on the trail.
By Laurenne Hom 36
Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Jennifer Marshall
Ellen Bransford
How did you train? Having decided to run the canyon 48 hours before getting on the plane, I told myself was that being well rested was key to my success. I was coming off a month of recovery from a prior race. I was relying on fitness from Three Days of Syllamo (trail race) to get me through it.
How did you train for the elevation? We went out to Shelby Forest as much as possible and climbed about every hill we could find. There were also a couple of weekend adventures around Arkansas finding slightly bigger hills/mountains, but it was more about a mindset that the climbs were going to be long and painful and you just had to embrace it and roll with it.
What gear were you most grateful to have? My hydration vest! It’s all I carried. My water, food, jacket, gloves, and sunscreen fit into one pack. How did you fuel and hydrate? I drink a lot of water. I went through 2 to 3 handhelds between each water stop. The water stations are great reminders to eat too. I carried around 2,000 calories to take in during the day like gels, chips, nuts, chews, and fruit snacks. I looked in a trash can at one point for some “real” food, but I ended up intercepting someone’s leftover pizza crust before it actually got tossed. How did your teammates help you on the trail? We shared gels and snacks, took each other’s pictures, cheered, and sang. Bryan made sure I didn’t fall off the cliff when I sat down and immediately fell asleep just before we finished the last climb.
How did your teammates help you on the trail? They provided constant entertainment, laughter, and distraction from moments of pain. Whether it’s telling ridiculous stories or talking philosophy or car mechanics, there was always some entertaining conversation happening to take you out of yourself. Nobody was going to let you wallow too long in self-pity and did everything they could to put a smile on your face. What were you most grateful to have on the trail? Pickles and cheese. When I was sick of sugary gels, they provided a nice little savory/sour pick-me-up.
