FKT News!
New FKTs added recently:
Tahoe Rim Trail, CA, Kilian Jornet, 38h32m, 9/28-29/09.
Blue Hills Skyline Trail, MA, Ben Nephew, 2h45m3s, 9/27/09.
Adirondack Great Range Traverse, NY, Jan Wellford, 6h40m44s, 9/21/09.
Tetons Circumnavigation, WY, Evan Honeyfield, 9/17/09.
Long Trail, VT, Jonathan Basham, 4d12h46m, 9/11/09.
John Muir Trail, CA, Brett Maune, 3d14h13m, 9/6/09.
Wonderland Trail, WA (unsupported), Jeff List, 33h45m, 9/5-6/09.
Presidential Traverse, NH, Ryan Welts, 5h07m44s, 9/5/09.
Pemigewasset Loop, NH, Ben Nephew & Kevin Tilton, 7h04m47s, 9/4/09.
Pacific Crest Trail, CA, OR, WA, Scott Williamson & Adam Bradley, 65d9h58m, 6/8 - 8/12/09.
Pemigewasset Loop, NH, Ryan Welts, 7h05m32s, 8/9/09.
Gannett Peak, WY, Peter Bakwin, 12h39m, 8/1/09.
Ptarmigan Traverse, WA, Leor Pantilat & Colin Abercrombie, 14h36m, 7/28/09.
Maroon Bells Four Passes Loop, CO, Anton Krupicka, 4h47m, 7/17/09.
Mt. Olympus, WA, Leor Pantilat, 11h06m, 7/16/09.
Smokies Challenge Adventure Run, Bob Adams (5/16/09) & Will Harlan (6/25/09), both 16h53m.
South Beyond 6000, women's FKT by Rebekah Trittipoe, Anne Lunblad & Jenny Anderson, 6d13h31m, 6/09.
Jonathan Basham breaks Long Trail record! (updated 12 September 2009)
JB, who previously held the fastest supported time on
the Colorado Trail,
has broken Cave Dog Ted Keizer's record on the Long Trail in Vermont by 29 minutes,
completing the trail in 4d12h46m.
JB's trip plan is detailed on the Team Inov-8 blog.
He finished on Sept. 11. Stay tuned for more details.
Kilian Jornet smashes Tahoe Rim Trail record! (updated 30 September 2009)
Spanish ultra/mountain running phenom Kilian Jornet has
smashed the speed record on the Tahoe Rim Trail.
Jornet ran the 165-mile loop in 38h32m, taking over 6 hours off Tim Twietmeyer's already outstanding time
of 45h58m, set in 2005. Jornet had previously indicated that he would go
after the John Muir Trail record, but had
problems with getting permits for that route.
Jornet, who is sponsored by Salomon, exploded onto the European mountain running scene in 2007, at age 19, winning
every race he entered and the World Series. In 2008 he again won every race he ran,
including the 165 km Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB)
in course record time (he repeated the UTMB win in 2009).
Ryan Welts sets Presidential Traverse record! (updated 8 September 2009)
Welts, who recently set the FKT for the Pemigewasset Loop,
has also crushed the FKT on the Presidential Traverse,
previously held by Ian Torrence & Steve Smith, set way back in 1998. Welts run was on September 5, 2009.
JMT Mania! (updated 7 September 2009)
This summer has seen a crazy amount of speed record activity on California's John Muir Trail.
The bottom line is that Brett Maune has destroyed both the unsupported and overall records for this classic trail.
Maune travelled unsupported from Whitney Portal to Yosemite in 3d14h13m (3d9h58m from Whitney Summit), beating
the Sue Johnston's overall (supported) record by 5h47m, and beating Michael Popov's unsupported record by over 19 hours!
It was Maune's second attempt at the JMT this year. His first attempt was a month earlier (the previous full moon), but
he made some rookie mistakes and bonked hard on the first day. Prior to Maune's successful trip, there were several other
unsuccessful supported and unsupported record attempts on the JMT this year:
Michael Popov tried for the supported record in early Aug. 2009, but was unable to complete the trail due to lack of sleep.
He stopped at Tuolumne Meadows, a site of many horror stories for JMT speed record aspirants.
"Reds [Meadow] to Tuo[lumne Meadows] was the worst night of my life when I really did not care
whether I'd live or die. I was not moving b/c of fatigue, and it was impossible to sleep b/c of
freezing temps. Throat was extremely parched from the air of Evolution Valley and even gels were
getting stuck midway through. I was falling backwards while trying to go, and have seen amazing
things including "the tunnel" itself.... The whole night was the blur," said Popov.
In August, Mark Davis made a failed attempt on the unsupported JMT record.
Jeff Kozak also made an attempt at the supported JMT record, starting
at Happy Isles (Yosemite) at 3:10 a.m. on August 26, but had to bail out over Kearsarge Pass, after 180 miles, apparently
due primarily to sleep deprivation.
Starting 1 hour behind Brett Maune,
Ian Alloway successfully completed the JMT unsupported
in 4d5h5m, 20 minutes under Popov's old unsupported record, but unfortunately for Alloway, Maune had crushed this time
the previous day.
These attempts are discussed at
www.backpackinglight.com,
including detailed reports from Maune, Popov & Alloway, with many photos.
Wonderland Trail attempts! (updated 7 September 2009) The Wonderland Trail around Mt. Rainier also attracted
some late summer attention. Stuart Stopoulos has announced his intention to go after
Kyle Skagg's overall record of 20h53m, set in 2006. Stopoulos' attempt
was unsupported, beginning at Mowich Lake early on August 22. But, he was unable to
complete the route, and stopped after 70 miles at White River CG.
Jeff List followed this up with his own unsupported attempt, completing the Wonderland
in 33h45m on Sept. 5-6, 2009 (counterclockwise from Mowich Lake). As far as I know, this
is the fastest unsupported time on the Wonderland.
Scott Williamson & Adam Bradley set Pacific Crest Trail record, 65d9h58m! (added 18 August 2009)
Williamson and Bradley hiked in typical self-supported thru-hiker style, with the added
difficulty of not riding in a vehicle at any time during the hike (i.e., no rides to town
to resupply). They beat David Horton's previous record, which was done fully supported in ultrarunner style, by less than 22 hours.
Williamson is now the undisputed king
of the Pacific Crest Trail, having completed the 2650-mile trail a whopping 12 times. He held the
previous thru-hiker style speed record for the trail at 71d2h41m, set
in 2008 with Joe Kisner, and holds the record for the PCT yo-yo (Mexico to Canada and back),
191d1h20m in 2006. Williamson & Bradley started in Southern California at 12PM on 8 June, and finished at the
Canadian border at 9:58PM on 12 August, 2009. They hiked 51 miles on the last day to finish the hike.
Williamson attributed their faster time relative to Horton to the relative lack of snow in 2009 vs. 2006.
"This was NOT and easy hike, we had to stay focused and hiking nearly every minute of all 65 days", said
Williamson in an email to Horton. Stay tuned for more!
A YouTube video of Williamson and Bradley taken on 6/19/09 is
posted here.
David Horton fails to nab the Colorado Trail record! (added July 12, 2009)
Starting July 4, 2009, David Horton attempted
to break Paul Pomeroy's
supported record for the Colorado Trail of 8d12h14m, set in July 2008. Pomeroy
ran west-to-east, while Horton started at the east end of the trail. Horton was supported
by former CT record holder, Jonathan Basham. As indicated on
this website,
Horton had metabolic problems and had to stop after completing 330 miles in 6 days.
Matt Kirk sets FKT on Benton MacKaye Trail! (updated June 5, 2009)
At 8:00 a.m. on May 22, 2009, 5 hiker/runners set off on independent speed thru-hikes
of the Benton MacKay Trail,
which runs 288 miles through GA, TN and NC. The participants agreed to travel self-supported,
meaning without crew or caches, but resupply in stores or use publicly available
resupply specified by the Benton MacKaye Trail Association was allowed. Only Matt Kirk
completed the hike, thereby setting the FKT at 5d23h16m. More info on the
Benton MacKay Trail page,
and at this website.
Superior Hiking Trail action! (updated June 5, 2009)
Travis Wildeboer, of Winter Park Colorado,
established a new, unsupported record on Minnesota's
Superior Hiking Trail.
Wildeboer's time was 4d15h20m, May 9-13, 2009.
A few days later (May 23-27, 2009), Alicia Hudelson set the female FKT for the SHT, 4d17h26m.
Full reports from these trips are on the
Superior Hiking Trail page.
Trans-Zion run FKT broken! (added May 16, 2009)
Andy Skurka has established a new mark for
the Trans-Zion (run across
Zion National Park in Utah). Skurka ran the 48-mile route from east-to-west in 9h27m
on May 2, 2009. Previously, Jared Campbell and Karl Meltzer
did it in the opposite direction in 10h24m. Click here
for details.
Paul Pomeroy fails to achieve Long Trail record! (updated August 3, 2009)
Paul Pomeroy announced his intention to attack the FKT for the
Long Trail in Vermont.
His plan to do the trip unsupported, but with the goal of breaking the overall LT
record of 4d13h15m, set by "Cave Dog" Ted Keizer in 2004. Here's Pomeroy's announcement:
"The idea is to challenge Ted Keizer's overall speed record, but attempt this in the
strictest possible style. Specifically this means using nothing other than water that is
not carried from the start by me. No foraging, no begging from passersby, no resupply of
any kind. Solo from start (Canadian border) to finish (Mass. border). I will not be
observing a vow of silence as I did on the Colorado-Trail-no-resupply effort, mostly
because this felt rude at times with regard to my fellow trail users, and also because
it seemed pointless. My time goal is 4d12h or less based on my understanding that the
current record is 4d13h15m. If anyone is aware of a faster time I would greatly appreciate
the information prior to my departure on July 19. I have a great respect for the record
and the history of attempts on this trail - I do not undertake this lightly and recognize
that the likelihood of success may be slim. I firmly believe, however, that I am capable
of pulling it off under the right circumstances and I trust that those who may be familiar
with my background will agree. It is my intention to finish the trail regardless of my
time if at all possible. This will be my second attempt on the Long Trail, I backpacked
the length of the trail with two friends 34 years ago at the tender age of fourteen." -- Paul Pomeroy.
However, Pomeroy misjudged (mis-remembered) the difficulty of the trail, and was unable
to achieve his goal. His post-mortem is on adventurerun.wordpress.com.
Mason-Dixon Trail speed record! (added October 20, 2008)
Paul Melzer has established a new speed record of 3d12h40m on the 193-mile Mason-Dixon Trail
in PA, MD and DE. Click here for details.
Mount Rainier record frenzy! (added October 20, 2008) The speed record on Washington's Mount
Rainier was cracked 3 times this summer, and is now held by mountain guide Willie Benegas, 4h40m59s
round-trip from the Paradise parking lot. See this page.
Basham goes for unsupported Long Trail record! (updated October 20, 2008)
Former Colorado Trail record holder
Jonathan Basham failed to break the unsupported Long Trail
speed record, held by Demetri Coupounas (12d19h53m). Basham started on September 21, 2008,
at the northern terminus, but had to stop after 3 days due to an ankle injury.
We tend to fail more than we succeed. That approach seems to make the best records. -- Andrew Thompson
Allegheny Agony!
Bradley Mongold, from West Virginia, broke Rebecca Trittipoe's
speed record on the Allegheny Trail over Labor Day weekend (August 28-September 1).
Mongold's time was 4d13h33m.
Adam Casseday started with Mongold, but had to stop on the morning of the third day
due to injury.
Their blog reports on the trip.
Rebekah Trittipoe set the
former fastest time last year, 7d6h.
New Tetons Circumnavigation! (updated Sept. 14, 2008)
Matt Hart established a new route circumnavigating the Teton Range of Wyoming, that looks to be an instant classic.
It is 33.7 miles with 8,165 feet of gain (according to the topo). Matt did a scouting run with friends, and then two days
later (July 29, 2008) ran it for speed in 6h29m. Map and link to Matt's reports is here.
Less than 2 months later, Luke Nelson and Evan Honeyfield beat Hart's time, running the loop in 6h10m11s on September 13, 2008.
Their report is here.
Tahoe Rim Trail heats up!
Peter Lubbers announced his
intention to go after
Tim Twietmeyer's record on August 15-17, 2008. Lubbers completed
the route in 57h54m, significantly short of Twietmeyer's 45h58m, but still the 2nd fastest time so far.
Jason Ostrom of Fort Collins, CO, has also said that he plans to go for the TRT record in September 2008.
In addition, Aaron Sorensen says that he is planning to attempt the unsupported mark in September.
Klas Eklof already attempted an unsupported record earlier this summer, but failed due to bad weather.
Eklof hopes to give it another shot next year.
Colorado Trail mania!
Paul Pomeroy, who holds the unsupported speed record on the Colorado Trail (14d9h30m),
recently also broke the supported record, running 8d12h14m, 1h14m faster than
Jonathan Basham ran in 2006.
Paul started in Durango and was supported by his wife, Suzanne, and son, Ethan. He finished late on July 27, 2008.
In a rare twist, Paul actually crossed paths with another CT record aspirant,
Sam Thompson. Sam
began his attempt on July 25 at Waterton Canyon, with the very amitious goal of going under 8 days.
Sam's attempt ended on the 8th day, with 70 miles to go, due to crewing issues and fatigue, as described on his
blog.
New women's record on the AT!
Jennifer Pharr-Davis recently smashed
the women's speed record on the AT. Jennifer completed the route in 57d8h38m, supported by her husband Brew Davis.
The previous women's record was 87 days, set by Jenny Jardine in thru-hiker style with her husband Ray.
Also on the AT: Karl Meltzer failed in his attempt to break
Andrew Thompson's AT record of 47d13h31m, set in 2005.
Karl began running north to south on August 5, 2008, but had to stop after 14 days due to an injury.
The La Sportiva mountain running blog
has more information and interviews with Karl, David Horton, Andrew Thompson and Brian Robinson.
Popov on the JMT! (updated Sept. 14, 2008)
Unsupported JMT record
holder, Michael Popov, made an attempt on the supported record, set by Sue Johnston in 2007, 3d20h0m.
Popov started from Whitney Portal around 6:00 a.m. on August 30, 2008, but had to abandon the attempt
at Tuolumne Meadows (206 miles, 86 hours) due to blisters.