The Grand Canyon R2R2R (take two)

On Friday, April 1, I traveled to the Grand Canyon to do the R2R2R (Rim to Rim to Rim) for the second time in 3.5 years. The first time I did this was a solo effort on Halloween in 2018. That was my first R2R2R and was an incredible experience.

I hadn’t planned on doing a second R2R2R but one of my athlete’s I coach wanted to use this as a training run for another long endurance run we are both doing together in May. I didn’t think twice as there is something very special about spending time in one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

Of course, I took advantage of doing my second R2R2R to do another nutrition experiment. My first R2R2R was done only on UCAN products and was a huge success. This time around, I was going to fuel the entire adventure on my new Gourmet Snack Bites that I have created with my company, All Around Snack Co.

It would prove to be an interesting nutrition experiment because I had only tried them during a few training runs (topping out at only 2.5 hours). They worked during shorter, more “intense” sessions but I had no idea how my system would react with two crossings of the Grand Canyon! So that I wasn’t tempted, I did not bring any other source of calories. Risky I know but I really wanted to put my new Gourmet Snack Bites to the test.

Based on my training and degree of metabolic efficiency, I had planned on consuming two Gourmet Snack Bites per hour (180 calories). I had four flavors with me to ensure I had good palate variety: Chocolate Cherry, Chocolate Espresso, Berry, and Tropical (these last two are still in beta formulation).

Here’s the lowdown of my pre-R2R2R travel:

Friday, April 1

  • woke up at 2:30am

  • left for airport at 4:00am

  • flight left at 6:30am

  • arrived, Las Vegas at 7:30am

  • consumed 1 scoop of Orange UCAN Energy powder with 25 grams of vanilla whey protein powder

  • drove to the Grand Canyon, arrived at 12:30pm

  • snacked on All Around Snack Co. Dark Chocolate & Tart Cherries Gourmet Snack Mix

  • ate lunch at 1:30pm (chicken and salad)

  • checked into hotel at 2:00pm

  • left hotel at 3:00pm to begin the R2R2R (walked 1.65 miles from hotel to the South Rim)

Nutrition Summary

  • Consumed 51 Gourmet Snack Bites

    • 19 Berry Bites

    • 16 Tropical Bites

    • 9 Chocolate Cherry Bites

    • 7 Chocolate Espresso Bites

  • Consumed 11 bottles of water (24 ounces each)

  • Consumed 17 saltstick capsules

  • Consumed 8 Saltstick Fastchews

  • Consumed 6 pieces of RunGum


Total calories consumed: 4285

  • 197 calories per hour

Total carbohydrates consumed: 469 grams

  • 22 grams per hour (88 calories)

Total protein consumed: 144 grams

  • 7 grams per hour (28 calories)

Total fat consumed: 204 grams

  • 9 grams per hour (81 calories)

Total sodium consumed: 4055 milligrams

  • 186 milligrams per hour

Total water consumed: 264 ounces

  • 12 ounces per hour

Total caffeine consumed: 372 milligrams

Total time of R2R2R: 21:46 hours (watch was running the entire time)

This was a very successful adventure from a nutrition perspective. Of the almost 200 calories I consumed per hour, 45% were from carbohydrate, 14% were from protein and 41% were from fat. I proved (in this n of 1 experiment) that real food can be consumed without any need for simple sugar based nutrition products. Looks like I hit a home run with my Gourmet Snack Bites!

Onto the next adventure on May 2. Stay tuned!

Bob SeeboharComment