R2R2R – Extreme Grand Canyon Run
Ray Barrett came to Innovative Fitness Kitsilano five years ago with one goal in mind: strengthen his core to improve his running. In 2013 Ray completed three 50 km races and then on October 26th, with a few running buddies, Ray tackled the Grand Canyon’s Rim to Rim to Rim (R2R2R) – South Kaibab Trail to North Kaibab Trail to Bright Angel Trail of the Grand Canyon all in one day. A 46 mile run with over 11,000 feet in elevation gain completed in just over 14 hours. The run took them through some amazing and beautiful sights such as carved out rock tunnels, old trestle bridges, and some Arizona desert wildlife including a few cowboys out for a ride on their steeds.
This adventure is definitely not for the faint of heart as there are some tricky spots with gigantic drops on the way down these tight single track trails. With the extensive amount of speed, agility, and quickness drills that have been incorporated into his program over the past year as well as his snowshoe cross training through the winter and spring, Ray’s explosiveness allowed him to avoid hazards and power through the challenging uphill’s. Have a look at this video made by one of Ray’s running partners and you will see Ray ahead of the pack and leading the crew down, up, down, and back up the South and North rim’s of the spectacular Grand Canyon:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86D0moJV2kg
With this new 75 km run under his belt and a solid training program in place, we are getting Ray ready to train for his first 100 km race in 2014.
What will you challenge yourself to this year?
— Randy Stubbs, Innovative Fitness Kitsilano
