2013 Canyon De Chelly 55K – The only ultramarathon on Navajo land.

Dear HURT community,

I just wanted to share the news, and a few details with you of an ultra foot race happening this October in Arizona.

The event will take place on October 12th, 2013, and will be the first official ultra run to be held in the spectacular Canyon de Chelly, on the Navajo Nation in Northern Arizona.

The 55k ultra running race will be held within the beautiful expansive canyon, which is home to the Navajo people, and sits within the tribe's reservation land. 

The event has been planned and organized by Shaun Martin, a Northern Arizona University Alumni, teacher & coach, and ultra athlete as featured in Outside Magazine here, http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/running/Running-Down-A-Dream.html and the documentary film Racing the Rez.

The event's website is up at: http://canyondechellyultra.com/

Signup is now open via Ultrasignup: http://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=19813

Spaces available have been limited to 100, which is why I wanted to share a brief intro to the event with you all.

I do realize it is the week before the Peacock 50k/100k and so might not be an ideal race for many people, but if you feel like a trip to the breath taking, wild and open spaces of Northern Arizona maybe it could be a new race to add to your diary. And Hawaiian fly directly from Honolulu to either Phoenix or Las Vegas! 

Personally, I can't wait to run again in Northern Arizona. I met Shaun at NAU, where we were team mates for two years, and it was Shaun who introduced me to the Navajo tradition of running towards the rising sun at dawn, to greet the new day. 

The course will wind through the trails that traverse the canyon, and apparently the Bat Canyon Trail is pretty 'rough', along with the elevation, but the beauty of the landscape and the ultra running community outweigh any lung busting issues. It all sounds like good HURT 100 training to me! 

For a full course description see the website: http://canyondechellyultra.com/?page_id=46

If anyone has any questions please feel free to drop me a line, long run yoga at g mail dot com

Thanks

Susie Stephen