Canyon de Chelly Ultra 2014

With my "A" race behind me (the Grand to Grand Ultra) and a couple of weeks off for rest, I recently participated in my end of season fun run.  The Canyon de Chelly Ultra is only in its second year but what a race this is!  Race Director and former High School cross country coach Shaun Martin has pulled something real special together.  Proceeds go to help Native American runners (over $7,000 this year) and the whole community pitches in to help.  The prize table and participant awards are all representative of Native American crafts and most are hand made.  The logistics of this event are also impressive since it entailed over a year of planning and coordination with numerous federal and tribal entities.

Prize Table (Jacqueline Smith photograph)

I met Shaun back in 2012 during my first foray into stage racing at Desert RATS.  Being from the same general location (southwest) and with my youngest daughter a former XC runner there was much to talk about over the days.  Shaun is a great guy and very proud of his Navajo heritage.

Shaun at Desert RATS 2012

My first exposure to Canyon de Chelly was also back in 2012 while accompanying my wife on an equine expedition (ie hunt club trail ride outing).  I also got in a little training for my first MDS.  Here is a link to an older post.  Having only seeing the upper portion of the canyon I definitely wanted to go back.  This was my chance.

Tim White, my brother Dirk and myself made a road trip out of it (one had to since you really can't fly into Chinley AZ).  This was also a big event for Dirk since he was starting to picking up some experience for his first attempt at the Marathon des Sables next year.  We used this opportunity to go over his gear and packing tips as well as starting to coordinate our travel logistics.

Race check in was low key but the program that evening was intense.  Native song and lore were presented explaining the Navajo connection to running and why it is so important to them as a people.

Race day began early and with a little bit of fall nip in the air.  The race start was only about 300 yards from the hotel which was convenient.  A big bonfire was on hand to take some of the chill off and spirits were high.

At the start (Dirk Reader photograph)

As we prepared for the start, a traditional Navajo blessing was installed upon the group.  A representative male and female runner were chosen to receive this and to my surprise Shaun tapped me to stand in for the male part.  This was quite an honor. 


As the sun peeked over the horizon we started the race with a Navajo tradition of yelling to announce our presence before making our way into the canyon.  Heading east towards the sun we crossed the first sandy miles.  Fortunately it was not too sandy since there had been some rain a couple of days before.  In addition to the sand there were numerous water crossings (only ankle deep) and one steep climb out of the canyon at the turn around point.  Local runners were manning the aid stations and were quite cheerful and helpful even for us grumpy cats towards the end.  The pace was quite fast.

Sand and scenery early in the morning

Overall the race went OK for me.  I was there to have a fun time and see the sights.  I was still not totally recovered from Grand to Grand and while the first half was fast for me the last five miles were tough and saw more walking than I cared to.  Dirk and Tim both finished and were pleased with their performances. 

At the finish

One needs to understand how special running in this canyon is.  Not only is the scenery a knock out (even by southwestern standards) but we were allowed to run unescorted.  At any other time if you wanted to go into Canyon de Chelly you needed to be accompanied by a native guide.  This exception was due to Shaun's hard work and dedication to this race.

Wild Horses (Jacqueline Smith photograph)

Spider Rock from below

I am definitely coming back to this next year!