How fun would it be to run 170 miles!!!

Kanab, Utah – For the fourth year in a row, the world-class Grand to Grand Ultra – America’s first and only self-supported ultra-marathon stage race – will take place in Utah’s Kane County, providing some of the most beautiful and difficult terrain in the world of ultra-marathons.

Because of its location, the 170-mile long Grand to Grand Ultra has been ranked anywhere from the third most difficult to the most difficult ultra-marathon in the world.

The six-stage seven-day ultra-marathon will start at the awe inspiring North Rim of the Grand Canyon, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, and finish on the summit of the Grand Staircase, one of the world’s most iconic geological formations.

The course takes competitors through some of the most remote parts of continental America, made up of an unforgiving and surreal desert landscape of sand dunes, red rock canyons, buttes, mesas and hoodoos. To succeed, racers will be required to navigate numerous slot canyons and cross the inaccessible high desert of the Colorado Plateau, in the way of the earliest settlers, Navajo and Paiute Indian tribes.

“We are happy to return to Kanab and its fantastic landscape,” said Colin Geddes, Grand to Grand Ultra’s event director. “We needed an iconic course to match this grand event, and Kanab’s surrounding area is only fitting.”

More than 130 racers from over 25 different countries will be racing in this year’s Grand to Grand Ultra, including famed runners Lahcen Ahansal , Mohamad Ahansal and Laurence Klein, all previous multiple winners of the Sahara Desert’s Marathon Des Sables.

The race will kick off with competitor check-in in Kanab on Friday, September 18 and finish at Grand Staircase, Utah on Saturday, Sept 26. The race is open to the public and registration closes on June 30.

“Kanab is thrilled to again host these incredible athletes from around the world,” said Ken Gotzen- Berg, executive director of Kane County Office of Tourism. “Our great community and surrounding terrain will make for an incredible adventure racers won’t be able to find anywhere else in the world, and we look forward to again working with Geddes and the Grand to Grand to host this world-class event.”

For more information about the event or if you think you have what it takes, visit www.g2gultra.com

About Grand to Grand Ultra

The Grand to Grand Ultra is the culmination of a vision to create a world class stage event in North America. The race’s founders searched high and low for the most iconic course possible on a continent that offers a plethora of unsurpassed beauty. It was the unique opportunity to hold an event that would stretch from the Grand Canyon, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, to the relatively unknown but equally geologically iconic Grand Staircase, that settled the location.

The Grand to Grand Ultra brings more than 50 years of event management, business building, logistics and ultramarathon experience to support this unique event. An extremely well-qualified

staff rounds out the Grand to Grand Ultra executive team, and a council of advisors consisting of some of the world’s most elite ultra-marathoners provide guidance to design and execute the world’s premier stage event.

About Kanab

Kanab is the gateway to three national parks, five national monuments, a renowned National Recreational Area, two state parks, two national forests and unlimited outdoor adventures. In every direction, there are breath-taking views; the unique vistas of The Grand Canyon to the South, Zion National Park to the West, Bryce Canyon National Park to the North and Lake Powell/Glen Canyon to the East. For more information on visiting Kanab and the surrounding areas, please visit www.visitsouthernutah.com

Colin Geddes
-or- Event Director, Grand to Grand Ultra

colin@g2gultra.com