Her dog was with her too, and, says Bradley, “I carried more weight in dog food than my own food.”Īfter 115 days, she arrived at Springer Mountain, in Georgia, completely hooked on the outdoors. Among her chosen gear was a jar of peanut butter and a cotton sweat suit. She called in a leave of absence from school, quit her job at Texas Roadhouse and kept hiking. Along the way, she met several thru-hikers, and decided to hike the whole trail. In 2011, midway through her sophomore year at the University of California Santa Barbara, Bradley set off on an eight-day backpacking trip from Maine’s Mount Katahdin, the AT’s northern terminus. But her story begins much earlier, on the Appalachian Trail.

An unusual beginningīradley, 25, of Boulder, Colorado, is perhaps best known for unexpected win at the 2017 Western States 100. Her time, 7 hours 52 minutes 20 seconds, was a new fastest known time. Several hours later, Bradley arrived at the top of the south rim.

“Every time I crossed a switchback, they would start screaming again,” she says. As she started the climb up the south rim, they continued to cheer. One of Bradley’s friends had tipped them off to her record attempt, and as she passed above them, they vociferously channeled their support. “It’s just you, your pacer and the canyon,” she says.Īs she approached the suspension bridge spanning the Colorado River, a series of shouts broke the quiet.Ī large group of inebriated river rafters waved up at her from the water, cheering. She was roughly 35 miles into a rim-to-rim-to-rim (R2R2R) speed-record attempt-42-miles with 10,000 feet of ascent and descent, across the canyon and back again.įor five hours, she had run in silence. Midday on November 15, a tired, slightly nauseous Cat Bradley descended the north rim of the Grand Canyon. Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members!

Cat bradley runner