Running Red Rock

M and I just returned from a trip to Vegas. We stayed at the Red Rock Resort way off the strip. This is totally the way to do Vegas. Much more peaceful. We rented a car and on Wednesday I headed off to do a little adventure running. I have read that Red Rock Canyon has some great running and I was not disappointed. I am still early in my marathon training so I thought I would do a 4 mile loop and see how I felt. If I felt good enough I would continue on for a few more miles. I was scheduled for 7 miles with my training program, but with the heat, and dry air I wasn’t sure how I would do.

I started by asking one of the rangers at the visitor center what trails she suggested. Her name was Porsche. A nice older lady. I imagined with a name like Porsche in a town like Vegas she must have been a stripper back in the day, but now that time has taken its toll she has moved on to park ranger. I told her I wanted to go for a run through the park. Her response with a dumbfounded look was, “you can’t run here.” Great I thought they must have some rule prohibiting running. What kind of place would prohibit running? She explained that there were rocks on the trail and you can’t run on rocks. Okay good I wouldn’t be breaking any rule, she just thought I was crazy for wanting to run. I explained that I didn’t mind and in fact preferred to run on trails. She just didn’t get it and didn’t have any advise for me.

I set off from the visitors center on Moenkopi Loop (#1 on the map). This was supposed to be a 2 mile easy loop. Well I missed a turn and after running about 1 1/2 miles I came across a couple and asked them when the trail turned back. They said they had gotten lost too and gave up and were heading back. Well I’m too ornery to give up so I just kept going.

I think I was on a dried up creek bed and not an actual trail. I had brought along my camera and my pace was constantly broken up by the need to stop and take photos. Plus it was hard to get a really good pace with the variation of surface and unsure footing. The wind was howling directly in my face as the elevation kept going up. No problem just turn up my music and I’m good. After nearly 4 miles I ended up on the road. I followed the road for a while till I came across another trail. Every car that drove by looked at me like I was a lunatic. Haven’t they ever seen a runner before? After 7 miles I ended up in the Calico Hills. These beautiful red rocks are an amazing rugged sight to see. The wind had died down and it was generally down hill running now. I could tell whenever I was getting close to the road on the trail because suddenly the trail would become better marked. I guess the rangers feel that those that might get lost generally won’t go more that a 100 yards off the roadway.

I finished the last bit of my run with the visitor center in sight. Almost there I picked up my pace and was feeling great. That is until I realized the visitor center where I had left my car was still a ways away from the fee booth that I had just sprinted to. Turns out I missed another turn and what I thought was the visitor center was actually the fee both. The visitor center was up the hill.

My overall run was more then 10 miles. Temperature was mid 70’s. Total assent 1300 feet. Totally wonderful run! The elevation issue was a great boost for me since I was worried about a marathon I am doing in August that has 2500 feet of assent spread out over 12 miles. I did a good portion of that in half the distance so I am a lot less worried about the marathon now.

I enjoyed Red Rock so much that I took M there the next day so we could hike around there together. Here are a few more photos of this wonderful place. Click on the image for a larger view.