Rim 2 Rim

This was the race I hemmed and hawed about for most of the summer. I mean really running up a canyon, across a bridge (See Perrine Bridge in above photo), back down said canyon, over a narrow catwalk crossing a river, and back to the start doesn’t sound overly appealing. Especially the “running up a canyon” part. Finally I just bit the proverbial bullet and registered so I would HAVE to do it. Saturday it all came to fruition and I completed the 2013 Rim 2 Rim Challenge.

Best part was my “new” running buddy came along. Yeah, Kevin has discovered that running keeps you in conditioned for hunting season. The bug bit after he did the Sawtooth Relay this spring and he’s been running with me at least once a week since.      

We made a deal that we would try to stay together. I’ve got to say when we first started and were headed up the grade I thought that wasn’t going to happen. Kevin was out infront of me and doing pretty well. I was several hundred feet back watching the shirts and jackets come flying off and wondering if the girl next to me puffing the inhaler would be willing share.

When we hit the flat up at the top I caught up though. We stuck together across the Perrine Bridge but when we went back down into the canyon I pulled ahead. This course is about 7.5 miles long and Kevin’s previous max distance is 5ish. I figured he might burn out a bit toward the end. Still I could hear him chatting with another jogger behind me so I figured I’d just go for it and meet him at the finish.

So anyone want to tell me what is with this hilly course. They run you up and down, then, just for fun, they toss in a tiny steep hill right at the end. It’s like they just want to suck the rest of your life force right out of you. This course was no exception. After crossing that somewhat dubious catwalk over the river (it wasn’t designed to be run on for sure) you come around a curve and see this nice little hill that someone ever so kindly painted “Killer Hill” on and added a smiley face just for kicks. Somehow I managed to drag myself up it by telling myself that I had less than a mile to go and I couldn’t quit now.

Now most of this last mile there was a gal running behind me about 100 feet or so. As we came into the finish line I could feel her picking up the pace. I thought to myself, “Oh hell no!” There was no way she was going to pass me now. So I ran a little faster.  So did she. We ended up in a mad sprint across the finish line together….she didn’t pass me. We gave each other congratulations, high fives, and a hug… then went on our merry way. That is one of the awesome things about running. Most of the folks doing it are supportive and encouraging. It’s not about winning it’s about beating your own challenges.

Kevin finished about three minutes behind me. Really he did fantastic for someone whose never run 7.5 miles before. I haven’t found the official stats yet, but I finished somewhere around 1 hours and 23 minutes and Kevin around 1 hours 26 minutes. Looking forward to next year already.