success

On Friday we left town and began our Navajo adventure. We began our journey by stopping in Window Rock, AZ, the capital of the Navajo Nation. We walked through the zoo and enjoyed seeing some of the animals that live in our area - porcupines, owls, elk, mountain lions, black bears, wolves, and bobcats (to name a few). The Navajo Zoo has done a good job of providing the animals with the space and natural environment that thrive in as the park is build into one of the numerous canyons in the area.

Porcupine!

Horned Owl

After leaving the zoo we continued our journey to Chinle, AZ, the home of Canyon de Chelly. The mister checked in for the race and then we set up camp. Thanks to dual management of Canyon de Chelly, we were still able to camp near the mouth of the canyon and the start line of the race. Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation has stepped up in this time of the government shut down and has kept activity in the monument running smoothly. We were able to explore the north side of the canyon after setting up the camp, enjoying that none of the overlooks had been closed as we have heard happening in other areas managed by the National Parks Service.

After our quick tour of the north rim, we returned to the park for the pre-race meeting and an introduction to the Navajo culture by the race director, his father in law, and a resident of the canyon (at other times, a park ranger, but for now, just a resident he pointed out). The Navajo tradition of running was explained to the race participants and their families, a brief history of the canyon and its significance to the Navajo people was described, and a fair number of jokes were shared, and everyone had a great time.

We all retreated to our tents, campers or hotel rooms and prepared for race day. The mister and I ran into town to get some food and then climbed into our tent for a fantastic night of sleep in the cool fall air. When the alarm went off in the morning we were ready to roll. 

The race began with a blessing and prayer ceremony around a bonfire. The racers gathered around to keep warm and to receive a blessing to stay with them throughout their journeys into and out of the canyon. The race course went 17 miles into the canyon, ending at the top of bat trail, and then came back out of the mouth where racers were greeted with mutton stew and fresh fry bread.

Preparing for the blessing and prayer ceremony

At the starting line

The race began at roughly 7:00AM, with the rising of the sun and a great yell by all of the runners. In Navajo tradition, the Gods come out with the sun, and so the people run to greet the Gods. The great yell is a way to clear the lungs after a night of sleep and to present yourself and say, "I am here."

After the runners took off, I drove out to White House Ruins, and hiked down into the canyon where I would be able to see the mister as he came through mile 5.5. He was looking good as he ran through the water and subsequently through his clothes from the cold morning start at me. He continued his journey into the canyon and I stayed at the Ruins for a while talking to the family members of other runners and cheering as more people splashed through the muddy water at the bottom of the canyon.

The mister running at 5.5 miles

White House Ruins

After I while I climbed back out of the canyon, only to hear Shaun, the race director finish up a conversation with two of his cross country athletes - the truck for the next aid station had gotten stuck trying to go up a hill and was only about halfway to where it needed to be. He quickly made a plan with his runners and sent them running back to the truck to execute the plan for providing aid to the runners as they progressed through the canyon.

I climbed out of the canyon and drove further down the south rim and pulled into the Spider Rock overlook. I hiked down to the edge of the rim and stood with a Navajo family for a long time, cheering on the ant sized runners as the passed the base of Spider Rock. I believe that cheering from this location was one of the most enjoyable cheering experiences that I have had at a race. From the top of the canyon you cry out your support and then hear it echoed back about 10 seconds later as it makes its way into the canyon and to the runners. It was fantastic!

Spider Rock

After spotting the mister's bright red cap running back from the turn around I returned to White House Ruins. The hike is so beautiful that it was hard to resist another chance to descend into the canyon. My efforts were blessed with these views:

As I waited at the bottom of the canyon for the mister to come running back through, I kept checking my watch. Based on the times that I had seen him running earlier, his pace had fallen off. At first I had thought that perhaps I had been too slow and missed him coming back through, but I checked with the Navajo family that I had been cheering with earlier and they said that all of the runners that they had seen come through were wearing shirts, so I knew the mister was still out there. He eventually came through, but was hobbling along thanks to an old knee injury that had flared up. However, he pushed on, and eventually made it out of the canyon, rounding out the top third of runners.

The mister coming through the finish line

Receiving his hand beaded turquoise finisher's necklace from Shaun, the RD

After the runners crossed the finish line, they received hand beaded turquoise necklaces. Shaun's (the race director) grandmother made all of the necklaces, with some help from Shaun and other family members. All of the prizes were created by family members and included moccasins, star quilts, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and photographs of the canyon. After all of the prizes were handed out there was a traditional toss out of other gifts to the runners, including magazine subscriptions, runner's vests, posters, and t-shirts. Not to be forgotten, all of the runners also received their fill of homemade mutton stew (or vegetable stew) and fry bread. Family members could also enjoy these delicious creations by giving a donation to the local cross country programs.

All in all it was a fantastic event, culturally rich and centered on the community. All of the proceeds from the race are going to the local cross country programs, and thanks to some amazing sponsors, I believe that the programs have been really blessed by this event. We cannot wait to go back next year, and I am already thinking that I want one of those finisher's necklaces too. We'll see!

As a follow up to my post prior to our trip, the federal government shutdown has not been able to shut down the Navajo Nation. In this we were truly blessed on this adventure, and look forward to exploring many more cultural landmarks throughout the nation.