Attempting the Impossible: Grand Junction Couple Seeks 485-Mile Colorado Trail Record

A Grand Junction couple is attempting to do the impossible - covering the 485-mile Colorado Trail on foot in less than eight days.

The Never-Ending Marathon

Imagine running the Boston Marathon every day for 18 straight days. That's essentially what Doug and Melinda McCaw did the last time they tackled the mountain trail that connects Denver with Durango. In 2020, the couple completed the 485-mile trek in just 18 days. That run was captured on video in the documentary Chasing the Sky. You can see the trailer for the film at the bottom of this post.

Doug and Melinda Go For A Daunting Record

Now the McCaws are back and hoping to complete the journey across the Rocky Mountains in less than half the time. To accomplish their goal, Doug and Melinda will need to cover about 70 miles every day. They began training for this run shortly after they completed their 2020 run over the Colorado Trail so they wouldn't lose the level of fitness they had achieved at that point. They are scheduled to return to the trail on July 29 to begin their record-breaking attempt, starting out at Durango.

70 Miles A Day On Foot For Seven Days

The record time for covering the Colorado Trail on foot is 7 days, 17 hours, and 52 minutes. Seventy miles a day will be a demanding pace as they traverse the ups and downs of 87,000 feet of elevation gain along with battling the elements that could bring anything from rain, hail, snow, and heat. On top of that is the constant presence of aches, pains, blisters, exhaustion, and the threat of injury.

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What  Motivates the McCaws To Go For the Record?

Most of us can't imagine undertaking anything close to what Doug and Melinda are doing on the Colorado Trail. It will be grueling and the run will be extremely difficult, but Melinda says they want to use this as a way to raise awareness of Elevate Kids, a non-profit the McCaws started to help kids. If you would like to support the cause, you can donate on the Elevate Kids website. You can also follow Doug and Melinda on their record-breaking attempt and get updates right from the trail.