By Davy Crockett 

Part 5 of the Rim-to-Rim History Series. See also Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4

Believe it or not, races across the Grand Canyon used to be conducted for hikers and runners. Early on, they occurred with the approval of the National Park, but in later years they were held contrary to rules set forth by the park. Eventually underground races or large commercial rim-to-rim hikes became a point of controversy and outsiders commented that rim-to-rim hikers and runners were turning the Grand Canyon into their own private sports arena for a day.

But within all these various events appeared some incredible athletic accomplishments and unforgettable experiences. There are many ways to enjoy the Canyon whether fast or slow, in a day or within a week. There were some key individuals who helped others open their minds to understand what adventures were possible that decades earlier were thought to be impossible. Most were careful to respect the Canyon and the others enjoying it, but others were not.

Jerry Jobski

Jerry Jobski

Jerry Jobski, born in 1944, never ran track in high school, was co-captain of his basketball team, but sat on the bench. He went into military service during the Vietnam War, and when he returned, he thought he might try baseball at Arizona State University at Tempe. But when he saw a notice seeking cross-country runners, he applied. The coach asked him about his running history, and he said he had none.

Jobski said, “I had no idea what cross-country runners wore, so I went down and bought me a pair of track shoes.” When he showed up with those shoes, one team member laughed, “Man, you don’t need those where we’re going to run in the desert.” Jobski quickly became one of the team’s premier distance runners. He broke the university’s 3-mile record in 1969 with 13:30.  He and teammate Chuck LaBenz would run 150-mile weeks at times. LaBenz had broken a four-minute mile with 3:58.4

1970 Race, North to South

In October 1970, perhaps the earliest race across the Canyon was held. It was a three-man race, north to south. The participants were former Arizona State University (ASU) elite distance runners, Jerry Jobski, Chuck LaBenz, and George Young. Their goal was to break the three-hour barrier. The current fastest-known time was 3:56 set in 1963 by Allyn Cureton of Williams Arizona.

About the Grand Canyon race, Jobski said, “It was George’s idea and Chuck thought it was great. I said they were both nuts. The night before the run, I had no intention of participating. But “Baldy” (Senon “Baldy” Castillo (1919-2009), ASU track coach) called me up and I said I’d go, on the spur of the moment." Jobski won the rim-to-rim race with a time of 3:08, lowering the fastest known time. For his win, he received a Coke and a hand-made ribbon from Young’s wife.

A few months later, in 1971 Jobski ran his first marathon winning the Admission’s Day Marathon with 2:36:42, breaking that marathon’s record by 14 minutes. Jobski said, “I didn’t know you were supposed to take sustenance during the race, so I ran all the way without a drink.” In 2020, Jobski was 75 years old and living in Page, Arizona. For a time in the early 70s, LaBenz was America's greatest miler, known for a blazing kick, beating famed runners such as Dave Wottle, Marty Liquori, and others. In 2020 LaBenz was 71 and living in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Bill Emerton’s Double Crossing attempt

In 1974 Bill Emmerton (1920-2010), a self-promoting ultrarunner legend from Australia, living in Ohio, went to the Canyon to run a double crossing. Previously Emmerton had run 800 kilometers from Melbourne to Adelaide in 1965. He also ran two long-distance runs through Death Valley is soaring temperatures in the 1960s.

For his Grand Canyon run, Emmerton, at age 53, spent a day of training at Flagstaff’s Northern Arizona University to prepare for his run. He received significant newspaper attention for his rather foolish hot Augus...