Antelope 50K Marathon Race
February 1 kicked off in 2014 with the annual Antelope Marathon 50K Race, a coordinated effort of Ultra Adventures with Navajo Parks and Recreation, allowing runners to pass through Upper Antelope Canyon. Both the 50 mile and 50k distances began at the Into The Grand, a privately owned museum located at 148 6th Avenue in Page, Arizona.
Marathon runner on the Rim Trail near Lakeview Elementary.
Near mile 6, runners entered the first aid station at Antelope Canyon and then dropped into a slot canyon, just under a mile. Runners decended a fixed ladder about half way through the canyon. The slot canyon opens up into a large open wash, which runners followed south for about 3 miles to the entrance to the incomparable Upper Antelope Canyon.
After passing through the slot canyon, runners climbed over a sand hill, headed out for a 2 mile out-and-back up a beautiful wash and headed west toward the Horseshoe Bend/Waterholes Canyon leg. A Slickrock Aid station was located about a mile into the desert after crossing S. Coppermine Rd. From there, runners traversed another open desert for about 3 miles before reaching the famous Horseshoe Bend of the Colorado River. Another aid station was set up near the parking lot of this spectacular overlook (Horseshoe Bend Aid).
The next section weaves through slickrock along the rim of the Colorado River, in an area that few humans have traveled which offers views that are beyond words. After about a mile in the slot, runners headed back towards Page, then passed through the Horseshoe Bend and Slickrock aid stations for a second time. From there, 50 milers ran a ten mile loop along the Page Rim singletrack before finishing at the park where they started. The 50k runners ran this section as the first leg of their run which has spectacular views of Lake Powell.
