FKT Podcast (Fastest Known)

In today’s episode host Heather Anderson is joined by our 2024 Men’s FKT of the Year winner, Kilian Jornet. Kilian shares the story of his massive human powered 82 4,000-meter peaks link up in the European Alps which took him just over 19 days. Tune in and hear about his flow state moments, how he modified his fueling to maximize recovery, and what led him to take on such a huge endeavor. He also shares his thoughts and reflections on this incredible FKT.

Though Georgia Porter grew up in a family of runners, she didn’t start running until age 25. Her journey from roads to trails then ultras led her to reclaiming her joy in running and to setting a stout time on the Arizona Trail as her first FKT. Drop in to today’s episode, hosted by Heather Anderson, to hear about how Georgia’s supported run of the 800-mile-long Arizona Trail unfolded…and how it was nothing like she envisioned.

Recently, Fastest Known Time has approved new guidelines for para-athletes. Athletes who have any “Eligible Impairment” listed by the International Paralympic Committee may submit an FKT by checking the “Para athlete” checkbox on the FKT submission form. Our first para athlete is Shawn Cheshire, a fully blind athlete. Join host Heather Anderson as she talks with her about Shawn’s fully unsupported, unguided crossing of Arizona’s Grand Canyon. Shawn talks about the challenges of navigation as well as her encounters with trail users. She also shares how losing her sight at age 36 forced her to redefine herself and how she did so as an athlete—cycling for Team USA, cycling across the US, attempting Everest, and now setting an FKT. Drop into today’s episode to be inspired by Shawn.

There’s only one FKT that is over 7,000 miles long and takes seven and a half months to complete and in 2023 Billy Meredith crushed the self-supported record on it. The Triple Crown of Thru-Hiking consists of the Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. Each of these is over 2,000 miles long. Attempting to complete them in one year is a rare feat known as the Calendar Year Triple Crown, or CYTC. Billy took the CYTC to the next level by setting out to establish an FKT in the process. Not only did he decide to tackle a gargantuan goal, but he chose a year with record breaking snowpack throughout the High Sierra of California and early winter storms on the Appalachian Trail.  Tune in to hear Billy and host Heather Anderson, who was the first woman to complete the CYTC, talk shop about long distance hiking, the Triple Crown, how to stay focused on the goal (Billy’s mantra: Remember Tomorrow) and the power of walking home. Billy’s story of determination, tenacity, and resilience on a mind-bogglingly huge route will inspire you to aim higher and go farther.

In today’s episode we’re traveling to remote Nevada to travel the crest of the Toiyabe National Forest with Jessica Johnson and Cryptic. This non-binary team established a stout unsupported time on this roughly 65-mile long trail through classic basin and range terrain.  Built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930’s, this National Recreation Trail had fallen into disuse. Its revitalization is being brought about by new popularity among mountain bikers and bipedal adventurers alike.  Hear how Jessica’s mission to set an initial FKT on the only National Recreation Trail not yet attempted for speed, and serendipity on the PCT, led to them teaming up with Cryptic to tackle a route known for its difficult route finding as their first adventure together. We talk about their concerns about whether they’d be able to work together well, how they managed the difficulties of the trail, and navigation. You’ll be amazed by the variety of conditions they encountered in 52 hours from altitude, water scarcity (and the complete opposite with 30-plus water fords), frozen shoes, sunny days, and bushwhacking–not to mention a flat tire on their ride. So sit back, tune in, and get ready to add a trip to Nevada to your bucket list!

One hundred and ninety-eight episodes later, Alyssa Godesky returns to discuss her most recent mind-bending beat: setting the overall supported FKT on the New Hampshire 4,000 Footers.  That sneaky northern New England state boasts 48 peaks above 4,000 feet, and speed trips for tagging them all in one push go back to at least the 1970s. With the Adirondack 46 and the Long Trail supported FKTs under her belt, Godesky realized the NH 48 was the last big northern east coast challenge left for her to tackle.  Three days, eight hours, and 56 minutes of driving and running around the Whites later, Godesky met her goal. And she smashed the women’s and men’s records in the process. Godesky attributes her success to playing to her strengths. And for these big, logistically and geographically complicated projects, you’re strengths have to extend well beyond foot speed.  “I really like maps,” Godesky explains. “I look at a lot of the maps. So when I'm starting to dive into a project like this, I get all the maps that I can and start laying them out and just start to make a lot of options. I have at any time a million different routes for the same peaks going on Gaia [GPS]...I'm kind of just always throwing spaghetti at the wall for lack of like a better way to say it, and just kind of brainstorming different routes, and then I will go out and try different ones when I'm scouting certain things.” Tune into the episode to get a behind-the-scenes look into the strategizing Godesky and her team put into this attempt. Learn about the differences between Adirondack and White Mountain trail culture, including which set of mountains requires an earlier start to get a parking spot. Hear about the worst thing to go wrong during those four days on the trail. And find out Godesky’s dream event that really inspired her to go after this FKT. Follow along with Godesky’s exploits on Instagram, and check out her FKT report on fastestknowntime.com. 

For our 200th (!) episode, we’re jumping across the pond to catch up with Finlay Wild, Scottish resident and recent Paddy Buckley record-setter. A doctor with a passion for painting, Finlay shares his vast insight and skill on all things fell running, UK rounds, and the UK at large. With nine FKTs to his name, Finlay’s most iconic feats include the Cuillin Ridge Traverse on the Isle of Sky, the Tranter variant of the Ramsay Round, and his most recent feat: setting the unsupported record on the Paddy Buckley, Wale’s premiere round. After completing the other two rounds in the “Big Three,” Finlay chose to finish with a fast attempt on the Buckely—the longest and perhaps gnarliest of them all. He clocked the 47 summits, 100 plus kilometers, and 28,000 feet of elevation gain in 15 hours, 14 minutes and 45 seconds to record-setting fanfare. While Finlay completed his attempt in an unsupported style, carrying all his nutrition and gear on his back and only collecting water from streams along the way, he also smashed the supported record by over an hour. Unlike many (if not most) other FKT routes, the Buckley—whose route is a true circle—lets you choose your start point. Tune in to the FKT Podcast to learn why Finlay started at a nondescript bus stop in Llanberis. You’ll also get the inside scoop on just how grassy, rolling, boggy, and pathless much of this round can be, along with some of the storied history behind the iconic route.  Get to know Finlay beyond his running, including how a setback led to him finding a passion for art. And learn how Finlay captures the soul of UK landscapes in his paintings.  Read up on all of Finlay’s FKTs on fastestknowntime.com, and check out his artwork and blog on his website gomountaingoats.com. 

In this week’s episode, host Heather Anderson is joined by ultrarunner and body positivity activist Callie Vinson to discuss her supported Maricopa Loop FKT. The Maricopa Loop is an urban trail system connecting all the major and municipal parks that ring the city of Phoenix, Arizona. Despite its accessibility, it is chock full of wild and remote trails and hits many incredible viewpoints along the way. Vinson shares her journey from someone who struggled to walk a mile a decade ago to losing 200 pounds and becoming the person who ran this 240 mile route in just over 4 days. Callie and Heather chat about a wide range of topics ranging from sleep-deprivation induced hallucinations to awkward conversations that happen when you’re jogging without a baby in your jogging stroller. Callie also talks about the importance of the trail running community to her and how her “open-call” method of arranging for crew and pacers led to a fantastic experience and new friendships. Drop in and be inspired!

There are not a lot of firsts left to be done in the world of trail running, but recently Jasmin Paris accomplished just that by becoming the first woman to finish the Barkley Marathons. Tune in to hear about her training for this infamously difficult race as well as what she did differently on this, her third time there. She also shares her passion for protecting the places we run and the actionable steps she’s taken from co-founding the Green Runners to limiting her airborne travel to races. We also take a dive into the mental aspects of training and recovery as well as what it’s like to be an icon for women in sports. Tune in and prepare to be inspired! Big thanks to Janji for supporting the podcast as we head into a new year. We’re proud to partner with this trail running apparel powerhouse, whose super durable apparel comes with a five-year run everywhere guarantee. (Not to mention, two percent of sales are donated to clean water programs in the places we run.) Head to janji.com and take 10 percent off with the code FKT.

When you hear sandy pine forest trails do you think of Florida? I bet you don’t think of New Jersey. Yet, on this week's episode, host Heather Anderson chats with Rachel Bambrick about her unsupported FKT in the sand laden Pine Barrens of New Jersey. Her 12 hour 35 minute record set a stout bar for the women’s unsupported category. Tune in and discover the details of the Batona Trail–a 53-mile hidden gem in southern New Jersey–a short drive from metro Philadelphia. Rachel shares her learning curve attempting a long unsupported record hike including how to handle brown water and her insatiable desire for Smuckers Uncrustables. Rachel also shares her philosophy on First Known Times–rather than fastest–and her goal of inspiring more women to explore their edges in athletic endeavors. Tune in and be inspired to get out there and try!

Tune into today’s episode to hear Bob Stewart chat with host Heather Anderson about his experiences on Pennsylvania’s numerous state trails where he has set many FKTs. They dive into the particulars of his unsupported FKT on the notoriously difficult and remote Tuscarora Trail as well as why Bob enjoys the modality of unsupported more than other categories. Dive in and hear all about rocks, reroutes, and testing out homemade gear on a long FKT attempt. Bob also shares his tips for balancing work, family life, and FKTs.

Washington has the Bulgers. Colorado has the Centennials. California has the Sierra Peaks Section List—and it has a new FKT. Established in 1955, the Sierra Peaks Section List may not have the snazziest name but it may be one of the oldest, largest, and most compelling peak bagging objectives in the lower-48. Spanning 247 mountains across California and Nevada, the SPS is not for the faint of heart. It requires the motivation needed to speed-hike a long trail combined with deep backcountry and rock climbing skills. No one had completed the SPS in a calendar year, until July 9, 2022, when Nathan Longhurst tagged his last peak on the 139th day. A month later, his friend and adventure partner Travis Soares shaved 21 days off his record. While Soares technically holds the record now, the two worked together to achieve this monumental feat. “I do have the fastest time, but this would not have been completed without Nathan and I totally consider it our journey and our effort,” Soares says. “We weren't really racing, like pushing each other down, trying to get to the top of the stuff first. It was just a magnificent journey the two of us embarked on. And I’m grateful to be able to share it with this guy.” Soares and Longhurst say their styles in the mountains lifted each other up. But that doesn’t mean they didn’t encounter many challenges along the way. Both Soares and Longhurst joined host Heather Anderson on the FKT Podcast to dish out exactly how they succeeded, and all the juicy details of what happened along the way. Tune in to get the story. Get their full trip reports on fastestknowntime.com, and follow along with Longhurst’s and Soares’ adventures on Instagram. 

The Pacific Crest Trail was on fire this year, and not in the usual way. Records fell left and right on this iconic 2,592.6-mile long trail. And etching her name on the illustrious FKT holder list is Jessica Pekari, who set the women’s south-bound supported record in 63 days, seven hours, and 31 minutes. This record was a long-time coming for the veteran mother of three with Blackfeet and Mexican heritage. After completing the Triple Crown of 200-mile ultras in 2018, the former U.S. military medic turned her eyes to the west coast’s most iconic trail. She set out on an FKT attempt in 2020, but Mother Nature thwarted her plans.  Finally, on September 19, 2023, she touched the sign at the U.S.-Mexico border and her dream became a reality. Jessica joins fellow self-supported PCT FKT record holder and FKT Podcast host Heather Anderson on the podcast today to delve into her experience. The two provide unprecedented detail into what it takes to move light and fast on this long trail, and also what it’s like to write about their experiences. Jessica discloses how she problem solved on the fly, and how she copes with PTSD on the trail. Check out Jessica’s FKT on fastestknowntime.com. Read all about her 2020 FKT attempt in her book, Bombs to Trails: Interweaving Heritage, Life, and PTSD on the Pacific Crest Trail, and follow her adventures on Instagram. 

Fresh off their Presidential Picnic FKT, highly accomplished hiker, backpacker, and ultra runner Aubri Drake joins the FKT podcast today. While Aubri, who uses they/them pronouns, says they’re not the fastest athlete, they’re certainly one of the toughest. Aubri has 20 FKTs to their name—none over easy terrain. Hailing from the east coast, Aubri gravitates towards grueling routes in the Whites and various mountain ranges in New York. As part of their ongoing New Hampshire 48 Grid project, they recently set the non-binary FKT on the Presidential Picnic—in which one completes the Presi Traverse and then bikes back to the start—on a cloudy, snowy day in April. The Grid requires you to hike all 48 4,000-foot plus peaks in the Whites, every month of the year. Their progress with that project along with completing projects like hiking the Northeast 110 4,000 footers in both winter and summer means Aubri is chock full of problem-solving strategies—many of which they share today. Tune in to learn about what inspires Aubri to tackle certain routes in certain styles. Aubri, who identifies as queer and non-binary, also shares wisdom about the power of representation and putting yourself out there. “I try not to let perfect be the enemy of good sometimes,” Aubri says on the podcast. “I've been inspired by Women Who FKT and the projects that they've been putting together to support and encourage women and non-binary people to get out there and go after FKTs just to get something on the board. And that's often what I'm doing. I know I can complete it. It's just a matter of how much time is it going to take me.” Follow along with Aubri’s adventures on Instagram and their incredible blog Transcending Mountains. And check out their two dozen FKTs on fastestknowntime.com. If you’re looking for a new shoe in which to test yourself on the trails, check out the MTL Skyfire 2, the ultra-lightweight, award-winning trail shoe from our friends at Merrell Test Lab. Thank you so much, Merrell, for supporting the show and fastestknowntime.com! See what all the buzz is about at www.merrell.com.  

Jenny Hoffman has dreamed about running across the United States since she was a child. Spacing out in the car, she’d stare at the open road and think about how she could be running down it instead. The goal loomed over her life as she earned a bachelor’s degree in Physics from Harvard University in 1991, a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of California, Berkeley in 2003, and back in Boston as a professor of Physics and Applied Physics at Harvard, where the mom of three and three-time 24-hour national champion still works.  Jenny finally acted on that dream in 2019, when she set off from San Francisco with aspirations of running all the way to New York City. At mile 2,560, 42 days into her journey and six days under record pace, a debilitating knee injury devastatingly cut her trip short in Cleveland, Ohio. Despite surgery, rehab, a global pandemic, and the pandemonium of work and family life, Jenny dreamed of finishing what she had started every single day. That day finally came on November 2, 2023, when Jenny reached the Atlantic Ocean lapping against Manhattan. She completed the 3,000-mile trek in just 47 days, 12 hours, and 35 minutes—besting Sandra Villines record of 54:16:24 by over a week. Go behind the scenes with Jenny on her astonishing run this week on the FKT Podcast. Discover why she ended up retracing her footsteps from 2019 instead of taking a different trans-continental route as she originally intended. Learn about life in a day while running 60-plus miles a day across the U.S. during corn harvest season. Jenny talks about the food that fueled her record, how she managed to journal every night, the critical roles her crew played, as well as the logistics of running point-to-point across mostly very rural stretches of the country. And discover Jenny’s takeaways about America after experiencing all facets of life across the vast, diverse country on the open road. Get all the data and daily write-ups from Jenny’s FKT on fastestknowntime.com. And follow her adventures (and academic work!) on her blog and on Instagram. 

Just a year after setting a stout unsupported time on Vermont’s iconic Long Trail, Will Peterson came back and achieved a stunning supported FKT. Over Labor Day Weekend 2024, Will, accompanied by 30 crew people broke John Kelly’s previous time and shattered the 4 day barrier. Drop in to today’s episode where Will shares his strategy, motivation, fueling and more with host Heather Anderson. He shares the highs and lows of the experience from injury to success as well as how he balances his busy life as a med student with training and executing multi-day FKTs.

This week we’re thrilled to be joined by our two FKT athletes of 2023: Jenny Hoffman and Karel Sabbe. From not one but three Pacific Crest Trail records, to new FKTs on classics like Nolan’s 14 and the Paddy Buckley Round, to new mountaineering benchmarks on Mount Denali and Mount Blanc, 2023 was one for the history books. (Or more specifically, the record boards at fastestknowntime.com.) Our has jury voted, and this year Karel and Jenny were named FKT athletes of the year for their astonishing records on the Pacific Crest Trail and the Trans America run, respectively.  A physics professor at Harvard University, Jenny ran the 3,000 miles from San Fransico to New York City in 47 days, 12 hours, and 35 minutes–shattering Sanda Villines’s previous record by eight days. Equally busy as a dentist in Belgium, Karel returned to the PCT after setting the supported record there in 2016 to reclaim his FKT. And he succeeded, smashing Tim Olson’s record set in 2021 by over five days. Several months out from their record-breaking performances, Jenny and Karel join host (and fellow FKT of the Year nominee Heather Anderson) on the FKT Podcast to discuss their records, how recovery has been going, and of course—what’s next.  They discuss the similarities and differences on multi-week trail versus road efforts. All three lend insight into the importance of listening to the body after incredibly strenuous efforts. And they talk about the lessons they learned along the way. This episode is not to be missed! You can follow along with Jenny and Karel’s adventures on Instagram, check out their indepth interviews from these records on episodes 215 and 213, and read more about their FKTs on fastestknowntime.com. Congratulations to Jenny, Karel, all of our FKT of the Year nominees, and to everyone in the FKT community for another year of getting after it. Cheers to new adventures in 2024! And last but not least, big thanks to Janji for supporting the podcast as we head into a new year. We’re proud to partner with this trail running apparel powerhouse, whose super durable apparel comes with a five-year run everywhere guarantee. (Not to mention, two percent of sales are donated to clean water programs in the places we run.) Head to janji.com and take 10 percent off with the code FKT.

Longer routes tend to get most of the love, but shorter FKTs can require just as much planning, practice, and persistence. In fact, dare we say shorter FKTs can be just as notable?  Mountain athlete Kyle Richardson certainly won’t weigh in on that debate, but his records throughout the Boulder, Colorado area speak for themselves. Loyal listeners may remember Kyle from episode six of this podcast, when we discussed his FKT on the LA Freeway, a 16-hour off-trail epic along the Indian Peaks skyline above Boulder. The LA Freeway is short compared to a long trail like the AT. But Kyle holds even shorter records. The fastest “scrambler” in Boulder, Kyle set FKTs on the most iconic routes in Boulder’s fabled flatiron rock formations, including the First Flatiron and the “Quinfecta,” a scrambling link-up of Flatirons One through Five. Both of these records require precision maneuvering the fifth-class terrain of the flatirons themselves, as well as endurance running up the steep hills and nimbleness descending the technical terrain and buffed-out trails. In August 2020, Kyle set the record on Longs Peak, the 14,255-foot behemoth that towers above the front range. The fastest way requires a mixture of on and off-trail running and fifth-class scrambling up the Cables Route, a 5.4 granite rock face that, as its name implies, once held cables to assist climbers up the peak. On July 22, 2021, Kyle set the FKT on Green Mountain, the home hill he runs nearly every day – 711 times to date. All of these records may create the illusion that these FKTs came easily. Kyle argues that is not at all the case. Each required years of practice, meticulously learning every handhold on the rock and repeating the routes over and over to learn the quickest lines. In fact, Kyle at his ripe old age of 26 has gone up the First Flatiron 356 times. He summited Longs 50 times before his record-setting run – including 13 times just that summer.  Tune in to this episode of the FKT Podcast to hear host Heather Anderson’s take on FKTs that could not be more different than the ones for which she’s known. Kyle shares his philosophy around the daily practice of running up his home hill and learning a landscape intimately. Plus, learn how Kyle, a professional musician, uses his movement in the mountains to inform his music. Fun fact, Kyle created the music for this podcast!  Read the trip reports for all of Kyle’s FKTs over at fastestknowntime.com. Keep up with his adventures on Instagram, and check out his film, Tempo, which explores his relationship between movement and music. 

Join host Heather Anderson on the FKT Podcast as she dives into the standout fastest known times of 2024 with special guest Joe "Stringbean" McConaughy. Joe, a renowned runner and FKTer with record-setting achievements on trails like the Appalachian Trail, Long Trail, and Arizona Trail, brings his unique perspective to this year’s incredible accomplishments. In this episode, Heather and Joe recap the most awe-inspiring FKTs of 2024, sharing stories of endurance, grit, and groundbreaking trail runs. Along the way, they offer a glimpse into their own FKT experiences and distinctive approaches to setting records. Tune in for an exciting discussion celebrating the best of 2024’s trail running feats!

This week we’re traveling to a park where the trees have a name. The Joshua Tree National Park Traverse is a 37 mile long route in southern California. The park, eponymously named for the large yucca plants that grow there, is more well known as a rock climbing mecca than ultra-running scene. Yet within a few days of one another Darren Thomas and Jake Jackson both set records on this desert route. Darren recounts what went into setting a wicked fast self-supported time including his prep time (spoiler alert: it wasn’t as much as you’d think) and using a pending plane departure as motivation to keep moving. Jake takes things to a whole other level by completing the route out and back, besting every other unsupported effort for the double. He shares his water strategy and the lessons learned about how all bushes look alike when caching. Drop in to hear these guys chat all things trail with host Heather Anderson and find out more about the best desert trail you’ve never heard of.

Just before 9 pm on Sunday, August 7, a 27-year-old British hiker with no fixed home arrived at his destination. The destination was the Canadian border, a stone pillar he walked 2,600 miles in 55 days, 16 hours, and 54 minutes to reach. His name was Josh Perry, and he had just smashed the male self-supported PCT.  Perry shaved by nearly 10 days off of Scott Williamson’s FKT set in 2009. Even more impressively, Perry cut five days off the overall self-supported record set by the legendary Heather “Anish” Anderson in 2013—a record countless numbers have tried and failed to crack over the past decade. In a conversation for the ages, Perry joins Anderson to discuss how he managed this iconic feat. Perry encountered the hurdles that inevitably come with the PCT these days: wildfires, closures, and reroutes. He contended with heatstroke. But Perry faced an even greater challenge: his own mind. Despite following the rules of a self-supported effort—mailing himself supplies in advance, withholding from car rides or help of any kind—Perry came within four days of Timothy Olson’s high-profile and highly supported FKT. It’s an unbelievable accomplishment that Perry may consider a failure.  Tune in to learn why Perry is so dissatisfied with his achievement, and for a philosophical discussion about whether any of us ever are actually satisfied. Plus read Perry’s FKT writeup on fastestknowntime.com, and follow his adventures on Instagram. 

“If you have a strong why, you can do the impossible.” Today’s episode dives deep into the mental side of long distance running as host Heather Anderson talks with Sophie Power about her supported FKT on the Head to Head Route Across Ireland. Sophie shares her highs and lows of running a hundred miles a day for three and a half days on only 2 hours and 17 minutes sleep.  Tune in to hear her philosophy on why mental strength is more important than physical and how her run became something bigger when the Irish running community, school children and residents along the route joined in. Sophie also shares her passion for removing barriers for women in sport and why she founded SheRaces. 

Jeff Garmire dreamed about going after the unsupported John Muir Trail FKT for three years. In fact, he got three permits for the trail just this summer. Each time, self doubt led him to cancel the next day. But then Joe “Stringbean” McConaughy shaved three hours off of four-year-old record in the beginning of August. “[Stringbean] setting the record was really the push I needed to go give it a shot,” Garmire says. “[The record] just seemed untouchable since it hadn't been broken since 2018. And Joe breaking it was like, all right, I'll just go out there and give it my best shot. And so [Stringbean breaking the record] just made it feel more attainable even he made the time more difficult to attack.”  Armed with his newfound confidence, Garmire set out from Yosemite Valley three weeks after Stringbean. And three days and 223 miles later he proved himself right—with a whopping 13 minutes to spare.  Both Garmire and Stringbean traveled southbound along the JMT, also called the Nüümü Poyo, or “the People’s trail” in homage to a centuries-old Indigenous trade route through the Sierra. Ending with summiting 14,505 feet tall Mount Whitney, traveling north to south is generally considered the “harder” direction. Yet both Garmire and Stringbean broke not only the southbound record but the overall record as well. They didn’t pick the “harder” as part of their speed strategy. Tune into the FKT Podcast to find out why, along with the rest of Garmire’s insight into his award-winning outing. Get the full story on all the things that went wrong, including why he only ate about half of his food. And last but not least, get the answer the one question host Heather Anderson–and us all–are dying for him to answer.  Read Garmire’s full JMT report—along with those for his 18 other FKTs—on fastestknowntime.com. And follow along with his adventures on Instagram.

Escape the summer swelter for half an hour with Chris Fisher, who set the fastest known time on the Colorado Fourterneers—winter edition.  Completing Colorado’s 58 14,000-foot peaks in one push is a massive feat in itself. Taking on this challenge in winter adds a whole new level of daunting difficulty and complexity. Weather, avalanche risk, frostbite—the list of hurdles is endless. That’s probably why no one had even completed the feat in one winter until 2018, when Andrew Hamilton established a benchmark of 84 and a half days. Last winter, Fisher shaved 12 days off of Andrew Hamilton’s FKT, summiting all 58 peaks in 72 days, 12 hours, and 10 minutes. In doing so he become just the second person to complete this linkup during winter. Fisher joins host Heather Anderson on the FKT Podcast to disclose the logistical, physical, and psychological challenges associated with this effort, as well as how he overcame them. After you tune in, check out Fisher’s 17 FKTs on fastestknowntime.com, and follow along with his adventures on Instagram.  Thank you so much, Merrell, for supporting the show and fastestknowntime.com! If you’re looking for a new shoe in which to test yourself on the trails, check out the MTL Skyfire 2, the ultra-lightweight, award-winning trail shoe from our friends at Merrell Test Lab. See what all the buzz is about at www.merrell.com.  

While the trail running world fixated on the Hardrock Hundred Mile Endurance Run in southwestern Colorado, David Hedges put down a performance for the ages a few hundred miles to the northwest in Colorado’s Sawatch Range. At only age 25, David completed the largely off-trail open route across the 14 14,000-foot peaks in 39 hours, six minutes, and 40 seconds. It’s the fastest time ever recorded on this strenuous 100-ish mile route with about 40,000 feet of climbing. David joins host Heather Anderson on the FKT Podcast to break down his prodigious effort. Discover how a kid growing up in Chicago grew fixated on mountain running and the Nolan’s 14 line specifically. Learn about his unconveniontal training regimine, how he assembled a crew at the last minute, and the pivotal experience on the route in 2018 that put Nolan’s on his horizon.  David chose to do Nolan’s in a supported style largely because Joey Campanelli’s unsupported FKT of 41 hours and 33 seconds is mindblowingly impressive and daunting. While Joey’s time stands as the unsupported FKT, David officially bested Alex Nichols’ 2018 supported FKT of 46:41:00. Check out David’s full Nolan’s recap on fastestknowntime.com. And follow along with his adventures on Instagram.  Thank you so much, Merrell, for supporting the show and fastestknowntime.com! If you’re looking for a new shoe in which to test yourself on the trails, check out the MTL Skyfire 2, the ultra-lightweight, award-winning trail shoe from our friends at Merrell Test Lab. See what all the buzz is about at www.merrell.com. 

This week we’re traveling to the thin air and high alpine peaks of Colorado for a very special episode of the FKT Podcast. Last summer, not one, not two, not three, but four FKTs went down on the Colorado Trail within weeks of each other. All four women—Claire Bannwarth, Tara Dower, Nina Bridges, and Melinda McCaw—join host Heather Anderson to break down their incredible efforts.  The Colorado Trail snakes 500 miles from Denver to Durango, traveling through some of the most spectacular scenery in the state, including six wilderness areas and eight mountain ranges. Runners and thru-hikers can elect to go east to west or vice versa. And with the option to stay low in the shadow of the Collegiate Peaks (Collegiate East) or traverse high across the backside (Collegiate West), there’s a total of four options. Add on top of that traveling in a supported, self-supported, or unsupported style, and FKTs abound on this iconic trail. Today’s guests ran the gamut, from Tara and Nina’s highly contested supported FKTs for the overall women’s record, to Melinda setting a new mark going supported in the same direction (east to west) but with the Collegiate West variant, to Claire’s mind-blowing self-supported mark going west to east. They break it all down on the podcast, divulging why they chose to go in these directions and styles, the logistics behind their attempts, the sleep deprivation, injuries, and gear malfunctions they overcame along the way, and why for at least some of them it’s the hardest thing they’ve ever done. Don’t miss this masterclass on this classic trail! Follow Claire’s, Tara’s, Nina’s, and Melinda’si adventures on Instagram, and check out their performances on fastestknowntime.com.  And last but not least, big thanks to Janji for supporting the podcast as we head into a new year. We’re proud to partner with this trail running apparel powerhouse, whose super durable apparel comes with a five-year run everywhere guarantee. (Not to mention, two percent of sales are donated to clean water programs in the places we run.) Head to janji.com and take 10 percent off with the code FKT.

Join host Heather Anderson on the latest FKT Podcast as she sits down with Ivey Smith. Despite battling injuries, Smith tackled the rugged 300 mile Benton MacKaye Trail, setting an unsupported Fastest Known Time. Along the way, she encountered unexpected wildlife and resisted the allure of trail angels, relying solely on her own determination. In this captivating interview, Smith shares her insights into overcoming challenges, staying focused, and embracing the solitude of this Appalachian Mountains trail. Read all about Ivey's adventures hereon the FKT site.  Big thanks to Janji for supporting the podcast as we head into a new year. We’re proud to partner with this trail running apparel powerhouse, whose super durable apparel comes with a five-year run everywhere guarantee. (Not to mention, two percent of sales are donated to clean water programs in the places we run.) Head to janji.com and take 10 percent off with the code FKT.

There may be no better way to celebrate 2022 than through the eyes of Andrea Sansone. Smashing records on Nolan’s 14, 24 hours of Colorado 14ers, and the Manitou Incline—on paper, Sansone’s year could not have gone better. But the year did not start auspiciously. Tune in to learn how Sansone went from dealing with a broken foot to breaking records. Read Sansone's FKT write-ups on fastestknowntime.com, and follow her and her partner Andrew Hamilton’s adventures on their joint Instagram account.

What route has tea houses, prayer flags, yak jams and is all above 3,000 meters? Join host Heather Anderson on today's episode to travel Nepal's Namche Bazaar to Everest Basecamp route with Rachel Boim. This direct route is well-traveled and only has a few technical sections, but plenty of other obstacles...including the four-legged kind.  Hear all about how Rachel completed the 72K roundtrip in just over 17 hours, spurred on by the reward of pizza and beer if she made it back in time! In addition to her supported adventure to and from EBC, Rachel shares her training, how altitude affects her, and what prompted her to begin setting mountain FKTs.  Big thanks to Janji for supporting the podcast as we head into a new year. We’re proud to partner with this trail running apparel powerhouse, whose super durable apparel comes with a five-year run everywhere guarantee. (Not to mention, two percent of sales are donated to clean water programs in the places we run.) Head to janji.com and take 10 percent off with the code FKT.

We’ve got a juicy episode for you today. Host Heather Anderson catches up with Witt Wisebram, who’s going after the self-supported FKT on the PCT…a record currently held by Heather herself. Will Heather dish out all of her secrets? Tune in to find out! Witt, a triple crowner who’s also raced iconic ultra events like the Cocadona 250, dives into how he straddles the line between thru-hiking and ultrarunning. Does that mean he trained for the PCT? No. But he’s got an arguably good reason as to why not. And finally, Witt explains what on earth the moniker in his Instagram bio – “ridgerunner” – means. Thank goodness. Turns out, “ridgerunning” refers to Witt’s job with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, a nonprofit organization that preserves and manages the AT. For months on end, Witt patrols a section of the AT from Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia, to the northern boundary of Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. Spending months walking back and forth along the trail in all types of elements, maintaining the trail, and serving as a wilderness first responder, Witt provides unique insight into trail use, conservation, and gratitude for his upcoming journey. Cheer Witt on during his attempt over at @yung.chattahoochee on Instagram and track his progress over at fastestknowntime.com.

The Moab 240 starts today! As intrepid athletes embark on their multi-day journeys across the desert, catch up with the race director herself Candice Burt. Candice not only founded the Moab 240, she helped popularize the 200+ mile foot race distance. On this episode of the FKT Podcast, Candice and host Heather Anderson chat about all things ultra-ultra distance racing. They get into the vast disparities between the 100-mile and 200-mile race distances, and how each requires specific strategies and skillsets. Candice also dishes the scoop on her new 200-mile race in Arizona and why she’s so attracted to its particular desert scape. With four Arizona Trail FKT attempts under her belt, Candice opens up about how her last attempt led to a revelation: striving for a time goal on that particular trail was not serving her. “Once I got out there, I realized that the pressure of having a certain time goal took away from the experience,” Candice says. “The time wasn't as important to me as having the experience on the trail. So it was kind of a cool shift that I made. It made me less competitive, but it increased my joy of the whole experience.” Candice replays the dramatic ending to her last AZT record attempt, which involved saving someone from a burning car. Read up on Candice’s FKTs on fastestknowntime.com, keep up with her adventures on Instagram, and check out her iconic 200+ mile races on Destination Trail.

The desert is a unique environment full of extremes. These can lead to high stakes during long adventures. Throw in some canyons and waterfalls and you’ve got the makings and an epic adventure. Tune into today’s show and hear how Nadja Heine set an FKT in Capitol Reef National Park on the 26 mile-long Four Canyon Loop while she was on vacation. Her stout time was set despite not knowing much about the route and admonitions from the park that it couldn’t be done in a day. Nadja and host Heather Anderson, also discuss the rise of Fastest Known Times in Nadja’s home country of Germany, the importance of preparation on unsupported efforts and the appeal of desert routes.

Southern California’s Mount San Jacinto rises steeply above the Palm Desert–towering 10,400 feet above Palm Springs. This week, we’re grinding up the incredibly varied, sometimes technical, and always relentless Cactus to Clouds route with Helen Mino Faukner.  Helen shares her experience running not just up the mountain, but all the way back down in just under 8 hours. Along the way she encountered bighorn sheep, icy snow, navigational challenges, and a skeptical ranger.  Join host Heather Anderson in today’s episode to find out more!

This week we're traveling to the Midwest for an excursion along Lake Superior. Minnesota’s Superior Hiking Trail is a popular route for FKTs and today Andrea Larson and Alan Chapman will be joining host Heather Anderson to talk about their independent, unsupported FKTs. Find out how Andrea made the last-minute decision to go unsupported and how that resulted in her struggling to keep her pants pulled up on day one. Alan shares how the Japanese philosophy of misoji influenced his decision to run as well as the wild hallucinations he had along the way. Drop in to laugh with and be amazed by these two athletes as they dive into the deep end of difficulty for their first FKT attempts.

This week we’re taking a trip to the land of mud, moose, and rocks in northern New Hampshire where Phoebe Seltzer set the supported FKT on the 170-mile Cohos Trail in 3 days, 10 hours. The southern terminus of the Cohos Trail is located at Crawford Notch in the heart of the uber-popular White Mountains. From there it quickly leaves the busier backcountry trails behind and wends northward through the wilderness landscapes of the Great North Woods before reaching its northern terminus at the Canadian border. Phoebe is no stranger to the Cohos–nor to attempting an FKT on it. In fact, this was her fourth attempt to set a record on this seldom-traveled route. Tune in to find out what she did differently to finally achieve success and how she sleep and nutrition throughout this challenging effort.  Mountain athlete and former guide, Phoebe shares details on how she prepares and adapts to challenges en route and the importance of having a stellar crew.

A fever forced Alyssa Clark to forgo her early April race, so a few weeks later she put her fitness to use and set an FKT on Mount Whitney instead. Alyssa didn’t just set any FKT, she went after the self-supported record on the mountaineer’s route from the town of Lone Pine. The 33-mile out-and-back involves a 12-mile road climb, a couloir filled with snow, and fourth-class scrambling before tagging the 14,505-foot summit, turning around, and repeating it all again in reverse.  What inspired Alyssa to supplant a running race with such a mixed terrain FKT? Alyssa and host Heather Anderson get into it on this episode of the FKT Podcast. Alyssa also shares the gear she used for the route, and where she cached various items and resupplies. A teacher, Alyssa talks about the inspiration she derives from her students, and how one simple trick — turning off her headlamp — helped her find motivation on that long road climb well before the sun came up. And last but not least, Alyssa sends out a rallying cry: women, submit your FKTs! Representation matters. Alyssa may or may not have even convinced Heather to submit a few more, tune in to find out. Get Alyssa’s full FKT write-up, and check out her supported FKT on the Pinhoti Trail over at fastestknowntime.com. And keep up with Alyssa’s adventures on Instagram. 

Toxic water, wind storms, poisonous gas – Death Valley lives up to its name. Or at least that’s what Cameron Hummels learned while attempting the 160-mile Death Valley North to South Crossing in February.  And yet, Cameron smashed the FKT. Cameron traversed the national park in this FKT’s characteristic unsupported, entirely off-trail style in three days, 23 hours, and 54 minutes – four minutes ahead of his arbitrary goal, and three days faster than the previous mark set by Roland Banas. But those four days were over two years in the making. Cameron, an astrophysicist postdoctoral fellow who spends most of his days using computer simulations to model how galaxies form and evolve, applied that scientific rigor to the FKT research process. To blow the previous FKT out of the water, Cameron knew he would have to treat water differently than his predecessors. Namely, Cameron would have to rely on water sources along the way rather than carry all his hydration needs on his back from the start. Research led Cameron a century into the past, where he unearthed a U.S. Geological Survey report from 1909, “Some desert watering places in southeastern California and southwestern Nevada.” On his many recon trips, Cameron hiked to potential watering holes described in the book. Sometimes he’d find a muddy puddle less than an inch deep. Sometimes he’d find just dry ground. Cameron collected water samples from these far from pristine sources and sent them away for testing. The results were not encouraging. But Cameron decided to try the uranium and arsenic-laced water from the safety of his home anyway, reasoning that drinking a small amount of water with five-times the FDA-approved arsenic limit wouldn’t kill him. He felt sick for months. Tune in to this episode of the FKT Podcast to learn Cameron’s solution to making these water sources at least somewhat potable. Discover what it’s like to get trapped in a haboob – an airborne wall of wind storm – as well as to traverse a salt swamp and suffer from visual, auditory, and olfactory hallucinations. Plus, find out whether Cameron manages to convince host Heather Anderson to go after his record. Get the full-low down on Cameron’s FKT, along with his stunning desert imagery, over on fastestknowntime.com. And follow Cameron on Instagram. 

April 28, 2022, 5:55 pm: Ella Bredthauer reached Springer Mountain, the terminus of the Benton MacKaye trail. Ella’s shuttle, which she had scheduled before setting off on the trail eight days before, arrived five minutes later – right on time. Ella’s uncanny punctuality belies the ordeals she faced in setting the fastest known self-supported time on the 288-mile trail. First, Ella had to get over her fear of hiking solo in the dark. (Nightlife encounters with feral pigs and big shiny eyes didn’t help.) Then there was loneliness from only seeing three people over the final six or so days. And finally, Ella succumbed to crippling nausea from powering her way up and down the Appalachian's steep and rocky, hot and muggy slopes.  Learn how Ella overcame these obstacles on the latest episode of the FKT Podcast. Ella and host Heather Anderson, who has completed the Benton MacKaye trail herself, dig into night hiking strategies. They discuss the challenges of charging all of your electronic devices while trying to set a multi-day record. And they shed light on just how remote and empty the Benton MacKaye feels compared to the overlapping Appalachian Trail.  To run or not to run? Ella and Heather get into that, too. Plus, Ella divulges the backpacking gear she can’t hike without, as well as the one critical gear error she made on this record-setting journey. Read Ella’s full write-up and check out her photos on fastestknowntime.com. And keep up with her adventures on Instagram.

Ah Iceland, that magical polar island covered in glaciers, hot springs, lava fields, and…mosquitos. Christof Teuscher learned that the hard way this August when he traversed the island north to south on foot, without any aid, covering the 375-mile route in eight days, 11 hours, and four minutes. That was good enough for a new unsupported fastest known time, as Teuscher shaved an astonishing four and a half days off the benchmark set by Eli Burakian the year before.  Born in the alps of Switzerland and posted up in Oregon for the past 20 years as a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Portland State University, Teuscher possesses both a quick and strong mind. He’s no stranger to epic endurance feats—last year, he completed the 1,000-mile Iditarod on foot—but the North-South Iceland Traverse tested him in unprecedented ways. While immersed in the ethereal beauty of the country, Teuscher contended with periods of 80-degree temps and stagnant air that brought out the fiercest bloodsuckers he’d ever encountered. Those stretches were followed by bone-chilling wet and cold that sent him into hypothermia. On top of that, by choosing to go unsupported, Teuscher had to carry all his supplies from start to finish on his back—including a wide array of layers for the ever-changing climate. The heavy pack wreaked havoc on his body in ways you may not have guessed. Go inside Teuscher’s epic feat this week on the FKT Podcast. Teuscher breaks down how meticulous planning allowed him to move as lightly and efficiently as possible. He covers the highest highs—yes, including covering Iceland’s remote interior highlands—and the lowest lows which extend far beyond the mosquitoes. (Hint: the lows involve roads.) Read more about Teuscher’s journey on fastestknowntime.com and on his website. And follow his adventures on Instagram. 

What’s it like to set an FKT on the heels of a six month thru-hike? Cal Swartzentruber joins the FKT Podcast to dish it out. Fresh off completing the Pacific Crest Trail—Cal’s first of thru-hike of a Triple Crown trail—Cal returned to his local trails of the south last October. That thru-hiking fitness paid off. Completing the Sheltowee Trace in an unsupported style, Cal broke not only the unsupported record, but also the supported record (by 32 minutes!) on the 319-mile trail.   Climbing between deep hemlock gorges and piney, craggy summits, the Sheltowee Trace is National Recreation Trail spanning the Daniel Boone National Forest and Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area in Kentucky and Tennessee. The name “Sheltowee” refers to Daniel Boone, who was captured by Shawnee Indians while making salt in an area close to the present-day trail. Chief Blackfish, his adopted Shawnee father, renamed him Sheltowee, which means “Big Turtle.” Cal, who considers himself more of a hiker than a runner, is a testament to the fact that you can succeed at FKTs from all types of backgrounds. He wisely chose both a trail he’s familiar with, having thru-hiked it in 2019, and terrain he’s called him for his whole life. Tune into Cal’s conversation with host Heather Anderson to learn how Cal channeled his fitness from the PCT into this seven-day FKT. Learn about the challenges of hiking on the east coast during the fall, how Cal contended with an unusual animal obstacle on the trail, and the evolving nature of the Sheltowee Trace and what that could mean for future FKT attempts.  Keep up with Cal on Instagram, and read his full trip report on fastestknowntime.com.

In this week’s episode, we’re traveling across 4 state borders with Meg Landymore. She recently set the women’s unsupported FKT for the AT Four State Challenge. This 43 mile stretch of the Appalachian Trail touches 4 states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia. Meg’s familiarity with the local-to-her route brought her within minutes of beating the women’s supported time despite a stressful week and lackluster start. While no stranger to FKTs this was the first time Meg broke a standing record. She and host Heather Anderson chat rocks, nutrition, navigation, and more.  Tune in to hear about this classic route as well as glean tips on how this busy career woman and mother makes time to hit the trail. You can follow Meg on Instagram @ mostxtremegirl_adventures for more. Big thanks to Janji for supporting the podcast as we head into a new year. We’re proud to partner with this trail running apparel powerhouse, whose super durable apparel comes with a five-year run everywhere guarantee. (Not to mention, two percent of sales are donated to clean water programs in the places we run.) Head to janji.com and take 10 percent off with the code FKT.

In July, Jack Kuenzle flew to the UK and bought a camper van. The 27-year-old didn’t want to squander the mandatory three months of car insurance. It’s safe to say he did not. In case you lived under a rock (or simply in a camper van) all summer, Jack set FKTs on a variant of the Ramsay Round and the Bob Graham Round—two of the most iconic routes not only in the UK, but on the planet. Etching his name on the Bob Graham required Jack besting the GOAT of ultra and trail running Kilian Jornet. In the meticulous scouting, spreadsheet-scouring fashion of a former Navy SEAL, Jack blew Kilian’s time off the hilltops by over 28 minutes. Tune in to the latest episode of the FKT Podcast to get the play-by-play of the “dramatic rollercoaster” those 12 hours, 23 minutes, and 48 seconds held—as well as the aftermath. “My whole life, I’ve compared myself to Kilian,” Jack says on the podcast. “It was honestly very strange to beat his time. This doesn’t really count. If you want to try and compare yourself to Kilian, you have to go race Kilian on the same terms.”  Jack and Kilian approached the Bob Graham quite differently, and they contended with dramatically different conditions during their attempts. But those nuances are what make FKTs so intriguing. Recording your best effort on a route requires so many more variables than a race, where everyone copes with the same conditions on the same day. FKTs layer in unique levels of scouting, strategy, and soul-searching that expand the skillset required to excel.  In addition to that internal skillset, going after records like the Bob Graham requires a tremendous amount of community building. Jack sheds light on just how essential support from local runners proves in these supported round attempts. He also opens up about managing anxiety-induced insomnia. And Jack explains why he eschewed the traditional Ramsay Round—commonly considered Scotland’s premier route—for the lesser-known Tranter variant.  Back across the Atlantic in June, Jack set the FKT on the White Mountains 100, a 104-mile stretch of the Appalachian Trail through some of New Hampshire’s rockiest, rootiest, gnarliest terrain. Classified as “probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” at the time, Jack reevaluates that assessment after his summer in the UK.  If you missed it, scroll back through the archives to episode 165, Jack’s first interview on the FKT Podcast. And keep up with Jack’s relentless adventures on Instagram, his sporadic uploads to Strava, and his ever-growing list of FKTs on fastestknowntime.com. 

In this episode of the FKT Podcast, host Heather Anderson sits down with trail runner Suzanne "Sunny" Stroeer to dive into her remarkable achievement of setting the Fastest Known Time (FKT) for the Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim alt route. Sunny shares her journey, detailing the physical and mental challenges she faced along the way, and the strategies she employed to conquer one of America's most iconic trails which included swimming across the Colorado River. Listeners will be inspired by Sunny's perseverance, determination, and love for the outdoors as she recounts her unforgettable experience in the Grand Canyon. Tune in for an exhilarating discussion on pushing boundaries and chasing dreams in the world of trail running. And last but not least, big thanks to Janji for supporting the podcast as we head into a new year. We’re proud to partner with this trail running apparel powerhouse, whose super durable apparel comes with a five-year run everywhere guarantee. (Not to mention, two percent of sales are donated to clean water programs in the places we run.) Head to janji.com and take 10 percent off with the code FKT.

Our podcast takes us to the Ouachita region of Arkansas today where Christine Reed joins host Heather Anderson and shares the story of setting her first FKTs despite several years of attempts. Learn what it’s like to train and compete with dysautonomia (POTS) and how that has impacted Christine’s journey. She also talks about her experiences with orb weaver spiders, a wildfire, dehydration and more on her way to her first FKT.

On August 26, Karel Sabbe reached the U.S.-Canadian border, officially smashing the supported record on the Pacific Crest Trail. The 33-year-old dentist from Belgium covered the 2,600-mile-plus trail in just 46 days, 12 hours, and 50 minutes—which was five days and four hours ahead of Timothy Olson’s mark of 51 days, 16 hours, and 55 minutes.  His secret to success? Not thinking about the old record.  “If you go into an FKT attempt with the current FKT in mind, you’re limiting yourself,” Sabbe said. “My goal was to get the best out of myself every day.” By shifting his mindset from what had been done before to what he believed he could do, Sabbe managed to average 58.1 miles and 9,000 feet of climbing a day, for 47 days straight—despite a record-breaking snowpack and cumbersome wildfire detour. Today, Sabbe joins the FKT Podcast to break down his FKT with previous self-supported record holder and podcast host Heather Anderson. Get the inside scoop on why he returned to the trail after setting an FKT here in 2016, the strategy with his minimal four-person crew, how he contended with the elements, and what fueled him on the trail. Plus, learn about his unconventional training style of running on average just eight hours a week in the lead-up to this massive effort, which entailed running many hours more than that each day. Read up on Sabbe’s seven FKTs on fastestknowntime.com, and follow his adventures on Instagram.  Thank you so much, Merrell, for supporting the show and fastestknowntime.com! If you’re looking for a new shoe in which to test yourself on the trails, check out the MTL Skyfire 2, the ultra-lightweight, award-winning trail shoe from our friends at Merrell Test Lab. See what all the buzz is about at www.merrell.com. 

When you think about the Netherlands, you probably call to mind canals, windmills, and shoes. But in the east the nearly 500 kilometer Pieterpad Trail traverses a wide variety of landscapes as it travels from the sea in the north to the hilly terrain of the south. Sometimes referred to as the Dutch Camino, this trail offers a little bit of everything. FKTs are not popular on this route, but that didn’t stop Monica Dekker from rounding up several friends and pushing to finish the whole trail in less than 100 hours. Her 4 day run involved very little sleep, a few hallucinations, and multiple ferry crossings that she had to time just right. Drop into today’s episode where she shares her experiences with host Heather Anderson.

The Colorado 14ers are a prominent mountain list in the United States with a long history of FKTs on them. This week’s guests have been a huge part of that history, with each of them having established multiple FKTs in these mountains over the years. In this episode, we learn how Andrew Hamilton and Andrea Sansone decided to contribute to the 14ers legacy as a team. Despite injuries and personal losses, Andrea and Andrew set out to establish the first supported mixed gender FKT for the 14ers with an aggressive schedule that nearly forced them to quit early on. Tune in to this week’s episode to hear how they rallied behind the mantra “one more mountain” even as they experienced breathing difficulties and what they describe as ‘being in hell for two weeks.” You can’t help being inspired by their humble spirit, dedication to one another, and willingness to keep going, even when it looked bleakest. Drop in and be immersed in 12 days of hard mountain adventure.

Welcome to the brand new iteration of the FKT Podcast, hosted by the one and only Heather “Anish” Anderson! As a record-setter on the Pacific Crest Trail, Appalachian Trail, and Triple Crown of Thru-Hiking, Heather brings a trove of insight to share with you about what goes into pushing ourselves to the limit. And she harnesses her gift as an author and speaker to guide us on a journey into the heart and soul of this sport. In this episode, get to know the human behind the records and books. Heather also talks with Regional Editor Alex Bond to go over Outside’s new ownership of fastestknowntime.com. They answer your most pressing questions about how the website works and what this change in ownership means for the present and future of all things FKT. Plus, enjoy the pod's new beats created by FKT-holder and musician Kyle Richardson! Follow Heather on Instagram at @_wordsfromthewild_, Alex at @alexjaybond, and Kyle at @kylerichardson. FKT season is heating up. Follow along with the action over at fastestknowntime.com.

The 130-kilometer Cape to Cape Track in Western Australia is a popular route for backpackers and trail runners alike. Today’s guest, Mike Lori, took on his longest ultra distance challenge by running it solo and unsupported in just 14 and a half hours.  Join host Heather Anderson as they talk trail, chronic fatigue, snakes, quicksand and more. Mike also shares how trail running and FKTs are a family hobby that he shares with two of his sisters, including Erika Lori who’s Bibbulmun track FKT was the subject of a Gutsy Girl documentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0u8XeiJKlsw&t=411s

It was a busy season on the Colorado Trail as records were broken in nearly every category beginning with Kyle Curtin’s smashing success in June–bringing the record under 7 days for the first time. Today’s episode brings together record setters Brent Herring, DJ Fox, Jeff Browning, and Kyle Curtin. They discuss their route choices as well as modalities–all were supported except for Brent. Hear about fueling, GI issues, escapades with Colorado weather, and each of their biggest takeaways and memorable moments from each of their records.

It’s no secret that the FKT craze has skyrocketed over the past few years. What started as a niche concept relegated to the most quirky of already quirky mountaineers and thru-hikers has spread to every corner of the earth, garnering mainstream attention and sponsor support along the way. Here to talk about the challenges and opportunities that arise with this change is someone who’s lived that transformation himself. AT and PCT record-setter Joe “Stringbean” McConaughy joins host and fellow AT and PCT record-setter Heather “Anish” Anderson to discuss the growing pains that come with FKTs going “mainstream"...among other things. Follow Joe (@thestring.bean) and Heather (@_wordsfromthewild_) on Instagram. Want to hire Joe as your coach? Check out his website: https://thestringbean.co.

In 2019, Nick Fowler started touring national parks. He tricked himself into going on a 32-mile hike—his longest by far—when he wanted to touch a glacier with his hand in Glacier National Park. “The next day I couldn’t walk I was so sore,” Fowler says. “The day after that I thought, ‘That was awesome!” Just four years later Fowler set the self-supported record on the Pacific Crest Trail. Fowler joins FKT Podcast host Heather Anderson to connect the dots and explore what it took for Fowler to break none other than the record Anderson held for nine years. After learning about fastest known times in January of 2021, Fowler went all in. Perhaps too all-in. After discovering that supported PCT record holder Karel Sabbe runs for training, Fowler figured he’d run, too, and he’d run more. So Fowler started running, jacked up his mileage, and broke his foot. Things turned up after Fowler hired FKT legend Joe McConaughy to coach him, and he set the self-supported FKT Pacific Northwest Trail that fall.  Anderson’s self-supported PCT record astonishingly stood for nearly a decade. Some of the best thru-hikers and endurance athletes tried to crack it and failed, until last summer Josh Perry set a new self-supported PCT FKT by five days. Just one year later–and just three years after his foray into endurance sports began–Fowler once again lowered the mark. Unlike Anderson and Perry, Fowler started at the U.S.-Canada border and traveled south until he hit Mexico, covering the 2,592 miles in 52 days, nine hours, and 18 minutes to break Perry’s record by over three days. Get the full low down on the FKT Podcast—including the surprising (if also not entirely helpful) superpower Fowler brings with him on FKT attempts, his five whys, and why you have to love type II fun if you want to go after FKTs. Check out Fowler’s FKTs on fastestknowntime.com. And follow along with his adventures on Instagram.  Thank you so much, Merrell, for supporting the show and fastestknowntime.com! If you’re looking for a new shoe in which to test yourself on the trails, check out the MTL Skyfire 2, the ultra-lightweight, award-winning trail shoe from our friends at Merrell Test Lab. See what all the buzz is about at www.merrell.com.  

Colorado’s LA Freeway isn’t a misnomer. It’s a 34 mile link-up between Longs Peak and Arapahoe Peak along the Continental Divide. Join host Heather Anderson as she chats with Anton Krupicka about his unsupported FKT on this remote, technical, and exposed route. He shares his motivations and training for his 13 hour and 20 minute push that included over 18,000 feet of gain and 24 summits as well as his encounter with SAR in a crux section.

Running legend Mike Wardian joins the FKT Podcast to give the inside scoop on his recent FKT across Panama—and much more. Clocking in at nine hours even, Wardian’s record across Panama doubles as the fastest run across any continent! From getting chased by dogs to running neck-in-neck with buses, Wardian chronicles the glory and the gory of traversing this route highly trafficked…by vehicles.  As evidenced by his Run Across Panama FKT, Wardian does not shy away from a physically, mentally, and logistically grueling challenge. Last summer, he ran across the US in just 62 days. He relives highlights from that trip on the podcast, including his celebratory 5K which he completed in just 18:42 the day after completing the 3,234-mile route. Wardian’s efforts raised over $100,000 for World Vision, a non-profit that helps families gain access to clean drinking water. An accomplished road and ultra runner who’s won marathons on all seven continents and numerous US championships, Wardian also has 25 FKTs to his name. In this episode, he shares what draws him to FKT culture and certain routes around the world. Wardian’s stories are as epic as his accomplishments; this episode is not to be missed!  Follow along with Wardian’s adventures on Instagram at @mikewardian and on his website www.mikewardian.com. Check out his numerous FKTs at www.fastestknowntime.com. And if you’re looking for a new shoe in which to test yourself on the trails, check out the MTL Skyfire 2, the ultra-lightweight, award-winning trail shoe from our friends at Merrell Test Lab. Thank you so much, Merrell, for supporting the show and fastestknowntime.com! See what all the buzz is about at www.merrell.com. 

For the first time ever, we put FKT of the Year nominations in your hands. You, the community, decided which athletes put down efforts on routes of all lengths and with all degrees of support that deserve to be in contention for FKT of the Year. Our panel voted from that list, and host Heather Anderson is here to announce the top 10 winners. While we awarded honors to five men and five women, we took efforts from athletes of all genders into consideration, as well as efforts by teams. Needless to say, the competition was exceedingly steep this year. Perhaps the stiffest ever? Comparing efforts on routes spanning from under an hour to several months, across the globe, and in all styles is inherently a near-impossible task. We are blown away by you all! Tune in to hear Heather count down the winners, and to get insight, analysis, and stories from some of the athletes honored. Congratulations to all of our winners, nominees, athletes who set FKTs, and athletes who attempted FKTs. And thank you all for being part of and supporting our vibrant, tenacious community. You all inspire us! Cheers to an incredible year.

Let's try this again. Buckle up, fan favorite and FKT legend Jack Kuenzle returns to the pod to bring you behind the scenes on his recent Denali FKT. Kuenzle went on a skiing record tear this year, taking down FKTs on the volcanic 14ers Mount Shasta and Mount Rainier in America’s lower 48 before making the trek out to Alaska. And he’s here to dish about it all in his characteristically humorous fashion.  On June 5, 2023, Kuenzle skied up and down 20,310-foot Denali in 10 hours, 14 minutes, and 57 seconds, shaving 90 minutes off of Karl Egloff’s overall record from 2019, and 94 minutes off of Kilian Jornet’s ski record from 2014. While the progression looks nearly inevitable on paper, Kuenzle dedicated his life this year to giving his best effort on North America’s highest peak. He refused to sleep under 10,000 feet of elevation, sleeping in his truck on frigid mountain passes in California and Colorado all winter and spring. He skied laps in the trees to avoid California’s dangerous snowpack, and put in monster workouts on the Stairmaster in the gym.   Things didn’t get any easier once Kuenzle touched down in Alaska. Tune into this episode of the FKT Podcast to find out what happened to Kuenzle’s partner Zach McCarthy (don’t worry, he’s fine!), and how the most epic portion of the expedition arguably occurred after Kuenzle set the record. (And of course, he gives the blow-by-blow of the actual record, too.) Read all about Kuenzle’s Denali FKT (as well as his 22 other FKTs) on fastestknowntime.com. After setting the record on Denali, Kuenzle also worked hard to clean up the Denali page on the site, it is worth checking out. Follow along with Kuenzle’s adventures on Instagram. And if you missed our first two interviews with Kuenzle, you’re going to want to go back to episodes 165 and 193. Thank you so much, Merrell, for supporting the show and fastestknowntime.com! If you’re looking for a new shoe in which to test yourself on the trails, check out the MTL Skyfire 2, the ultra-lightweight, award-winning trail shoe from our friends at Merrell Test Lab. See what all the buzz is about at www.merrell.com.  

The Wainwrights 214 represents the 214 fells chronicalled in Alfred Wainwright’s seven-volume Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells. Many British walkers aim to summit all 214 peaks in their lifetimes. The less sane attempt to summit them all in one continuous round. On May 7, 2022, John Kelly solidified his place in the later category by completing a continuous round of the Wainwrights – setting the record in the process. His time of five days, 12 hours bested Sabrina Verjee’s record by 11 hours. Yes, we’re using “record” strategically here. Fell runners, the colloquial term for trail runners in the Lake District of the UK where the Wainwrights 214 takes place, have their reasons. Tune into the latest episode of the FKT Podcast to find out why. Kelly and host Heather Anderson unpack the logistical quagmire of linking together the summits and viewpoints that make up the Wainwrights 214 in the most efficient line while factoring in the weather and ground conditions. Haunted by sleep deprivation issues on big efforts in the past, Kelly discloses how he overcame that challenge this time. Kelly, an American who lived in the UK for the past two years, explains the unique beauty of the fell running community, and the collaborative effort required in these round record attempts.  A data scientist and father of four, Kelly also opens up about how he balances his various athletic goals with each other, along with the rest of his life. Kelly also makes the case for why everyone should attempt these iconic routes, whether they are going for the record or not. Get Kelly’s full trip report from the Wainwrights and his other records on fastestknowntime.com. And keep up with him on Instagram. 

West of Toronto, Canada’s 550 mile long Bruce Trail travels along the Niagara Escarpment, from the famous falls northward onto a peninsula that juts into the Great Lakes. This ribbon of wilderness is a well-maintained gem of predominantly hardwood forest. In 2016 a team of 18 women completed the trail relay style in what they called the Wild Bruce Chase. In 2023, one of those women went back for more.  Drop in to today’s episode and hear how Chantal Demers tackled the Bruce Trail in a completely different way via her Project 9. Despite injury set-backs, you’ll hear how this busy mom set 9 separate unsupported FKTs on the Bruce Trail. She faced weather challenges, nail-biting finishes, and the unknowns of how her body would handle the distances she was asking of it. 

Living “wilderness running” legend Doug McKeever joins the podcast this week to reflect on his nearly four decades in the sport. A geology professor and mountain guide in addition to a storied ultrarunner, McKeever’s tackled nearly every iconic 100-mile race in the world and recorded three FKTs in the ‘80s and ‘90s, including a speed record on Washington’s Glacier Peak. But he’s best known for serving as a groundbreaking persona and immutable fixture in the Washington trail running scene. He co-founded the iconic Chuckanut 50K race in 1993 as a way to share some of his favorite local training trails with friends. And after a decade away from the sport, he made a comeback to racing in 2017 when he realized he had more to give.  Find out what happened when he ran an ultra off of no training, and soak up some of his wisdom and reflections about the sport we all love so much this week on the FKT Podcast. And check out fastestknowntime.com to get McKeever’s “speed record” reports from 30-plus years ago. And a huge thank you to Merrell Test Lab for supporting the show and the site. Check out the MTL Skyfire 2—Merrell’s newest, lightest, and fastest trail running shoe—over at merrelltestlab.com.

Last fall, Art Brody set the unsupported record on the Arizona Trail. Yes, the unsupported record. This means he traversed over 800 miles of desert, mountains, and canyons with absolutely no outside help. No trail magic beer. No water from caches. No food resupplies, or the reassurance of picking up new gear if something breaks. He even had to pack out all of his trash. The hurdles associated with this unsupported attempt began before Art even started. Just to step foot on the trail, Art had to shoulder his 87-pound pack.  Given the logistical, physical, and psychological challenges associated with unsupported FKTs on long trails, it is perhaps not surprising that Art’s AZT record might also be a record for the longest unsupported thru-hike ever. How did Art accomplish this feat? And, perhaps more importantly, why? On this episode of the FKT Podcast, Art hashes it all out with host Heather Anderson – a former AZT self-supported record holder herself. They trade notes on their record-setting styles, tales of questionable water sources, and wildlife encounters along the way.  Art explains how a hiccup before he even started led to a cascading chain of events on the trail…including essentially running out of food. Tune in to get the full inside scoop, including why Art found it worthwhile to carry a second pair of trail running shoes in his already back-breakingly heavy pack.  Follow Art’s adventures on Instagram, and get his full trip report over on fastestknowntime.com.

For the first time ever, the Appalachian Trail Fastest Known Time has gone under 41 days–taken there by Tara Dower. On today’s episode, Tara and her crew chief Rascal join host and previous AT FKT record holder Heather Anderson to talk trail. Tara opens up about the difficulties of the rainy conditions she had in Maine and New Hampshire including how she handled numerous falls and what it did to her feet. Rascal provides insights into what a day in the life of the crew is like and how she and Tara’s mom Debbie kept things going. They share the importance of the support from hundreds of people along the way, dirt naps, and so much more all while raising funds for Girls on the Run. Donations to Tara’s fundraiser can be made at https://support.girlsontherun.org/fundraiser/5607331 Drop in and be inspired by Tara’s relentless effort–including how she overcame a 100-plus mile deficit–to claim the overall record.

For some FKTs, the beauty lies in the solitary nature of human and landscape. Other FKTs derive meaning from the collective effort needed for safe and successful passage. Hillary Geradi married the two on June 6, 2023, when she set the FKT on Mont Blanc, the 4,805-meter (15,766-foot) glaciated massif that looms above Western Europe. Gerardi, an American living just downvalley from Chamonix, France, and the fabled peak, dreamed of going fast on this mountain for years. The snowpack and weather finally aligned in early June, and Gerardi, supported by her hyper-coordinated team, traversed the 20-mile route with nearly 13,000 feet of climbing in 7:27:39, shaving 26 minutes off of Emelie Forsberg’s time from 2018. Today, Gerardi joins the FKT Podcast to break down this epic effort, including how safety considerations led her to take the alternative “Killian” route on the way up; the instrumental roles gear and a coordinated team played; and how she overcame a fundamental error in this record-breaking event.  Get more insight into Gerardi’s FKT on fastestknowntime.com, and follow her adventures on Instagram. Thank you so much, Merrell, for supporting the show and fastestknowntime.com! If you’re looking for a new shoe in which to test yourself on the trails, check out the MTL Skyfire 2, the ultra-lightweight, award-winning trail shoe from our friends at Merrell Test Lab. See what all the buzz is about at www.merrell.com.  

You’re in for a treat this week with not one but two AT record holders! Fresh off her Pinhoti Trail self-supported record, Liz “Mercury” Derstine sits down with host Heather “Anish” Anderson to talk all things record-breaking on the east coast. Liz delves into why she was more intimidated by the 348-mile Pinhoti Trail through Alabama and Georgia than by embarking on the entire Appalachian Trail. She dishes out the challenges she faced on the Pinhoti Trail, and how she managed to surmount them to break Katherine Baird’s self-supported record by three days. And of course, these two AT queens trade notes from Liz’s supported AT record and Heather’s self-supported one.  Get Liz’s full trip report for the Pinhoti Trail over at fastestknowntime.com. And keep up with Liz (@pinkfeathers) and Heather (@_wordsfromthewild_) on Instagram.

America’s oldest long trail has been a hotbed for FKT action this summer, and record setters John Kelly and Will Peterson are here to dish all about it. On July 3, 2032, John Kelly established a new supported mark on the trail that traces the 249-mile length of Vermont. Just 24 days later, Will “Sisyphus” Peterson smashed the unsupported FKT. His time of four days, 11 hours and 34 minutes was only seven hours shy of Kelly’s incredibly stout supported mark. Today they join host and thru-hiking legend Heather Anderson to give their best beta on the trail, talk through the logistical challenges of pushing themselves on this notoriously rocky, rooty, and remote trail that nearly always gets barraged with storms during summer. The summer of 2023 was no exception. John started his attempt shortly after catastrophic flooding decimated much of northern Vermont. In fact, it had rained 24 days that month already. The weather during this effort was better—but not by much. Ever optimistic and resilient, John managed to turn that challenge into an opportunity.  Will completed his first year of Dartmouth Medical school in the spring, and what better way to celebrate than to go all-out by yourself on the trail?! While John had a crew with him the entire time, Will went solo, carrying a pack that weighed 33 pounds at the start. Tune in to learn about Will and John’s sleeping strategies on the trail, why they chose their respective FKT styles, and what they agreed to be the most surprisingly hardest part. Follow their adventures on Instagram over at @randomforestrunner and @_will.peterson. And get their full trip reports on fastestknowntime.com.  Thank you so much, Merrell, for supporting the show and fastestknowntime.com! If you’re looking for a new shoe in which to test yourself on the trails, check out the MTL Skyfire 2, the ultra-lightweight, award-winning trail shoe from our friends at Merrell Test Lab. See what all the buzz is about at www.merrell.com.  

Host Heather Anderson delves into Kristian Morgan's epic Appalachian Trail FKT, an endeavor filled with grit, determination, and unexpected challenges. Join us as we uncover the remarkable story of Kristian, who embarked on this daunting journey supported by an unlikely ally – his own mother, serving as his dedicated crew. Through numerous setbacks and restarts, listeners will be captivated by Kristian's unwavering resolve amidst one of the wettest years in the Northeast. Tune in as we explore the triumphs and tribulations of an extraordinary athlete's quest to conquer the legendary Appalachian Trail. Read more about Kristian's FKT here. Big thanks to Janji for supporting the podcast as we head into a new year. We’re proud to partner with this trail running apparel powerhouse, whose super durable apparel comes with a five-year run everywhere guarantee. (Not to mention, two percent of sales are donated to clean water programs in the places we run.) Head to janji.com and take 10 percent off with the code FKT.

This week we’re traveling to Alabama to retrace Martin Luther King Junior’s march from Selma to Montgomery with Sika Henry. 59 years ago nonviolent activists marched between these two cities to protest segregation. Earlier this month Sika, the first Black female professional triathlete, ran this 51-mile historic route in 7 hours 6 minutes.  The granddaughter of a footballer denied admittance to the professional leagues due to race, Sika shares her remarkable and inspiring journey to Montgomery–as well as to professional athletics–despite a major accident. Her drive to return to triathlon after a horrific bike crash in order to bring attention to the lingering impacts of segregation in triathlon–and the full-circle moments of her Fastest Known Time–are empowering.  You can follow her on Instagram @ sikahenry Big thanks to Janji for supporting the podcast. We’re proud to partner with this trail running apparel powerhouse, whose super durable apparel comes with a five-year run everywhere guarantee. (Not to mention, two percent of sales are donated to clean water programs in the places we run.) Head to and take 10 percent off with the code FKT.

The 2023 Hardrock Hundred Mile Endurance Run starts today. While three-time winner Darcy Piceu attempts her 10th loop around the San Juans, what better time than to listen to her and Trail Sisters founder and Hardrock board member Gina Lucrezi talk about the gender issues this sport faces. Thanks to the work of these two and other rockstars in the sport, this is the second running of this iconic 100-mile event in which the percentage of women’s entrants will be no less than the percentage of women’s lottery applicants.  Hardrock instituted this policy to combat the lottery’s gender bias, which favors veteran runners. Given the low percentage of women participants in those early days, this means the old lottery system favored male applicants. So sit back and join us as we revisit episode 36 (originally published May 31, 2019) where Darcy and Gina spoke about the challenges and opportunities to make the sport of ultrarunning more inclusive and equitable for women. Thank you so much, Merrell, for supporting the show and fastestknowntime.com! If you’re looking for a new shoe in which to test yourself on the trails, check out the MTL Skyfire 2, the ultra-lightweight, award-winning trail shoe from our friends at Merrell Test Lab. See what all the buzz is about at www.merrell.com.   Original Show Notes Darcy Piceu and Gina Lucrezi share thoughts on this important topic. "We're in a real interesting time right now. If I do nothing else in the sport, it would be to raise awareness." This is a different conversation for Fastest Known Time, and quite worthwhile. Trail Sisters has established 5 recommended practices for races: Equal podium spots Equal prize money and awards Women's-specific swag (not just unisex) Menstrual products at aid stations (events over a Half Marathon) Opportunity for Women at the front of the Starting Line Citations from topics discussed in this episode www.trailsisters.net www.outsideonline.com/2312071/ultrar…gender-problem www.nytimes.com/2019/05/12/opinio…ernity-leave.html time.com/5594356/alex-morgan-world-cup/

Fresh off her course record at Bandera, Courtney Dauwalter returns to shed insight into yet another of her outstanding performances of late: setting the overall FKT on the Collegiate Peak Loop.  Many have tried to throw down on this 160-mile link up of the Colorado Trail’s east and west alts through the Sawatch mountains. And many have failed. Armed with the power of familiarity—she can essentially access the Collegiate Peak loop from her front door in Leadville—a stellar crew, and a spirit of curiosity, Dauwalter blazed around the loop in one day, 16 hours, and 14 minutes, shaving over 31 hours off of Annie Hugh’s female supported FKT and over six hours off of Nick Pedatella’s overall supported FKT. “Our mindset going into it was very excited to try it and to give it our best. But also we knew that no matter how it shook out or what it would take to come back from any problems, we were going to finish it,” Dauwalter says. “I wasn't just thinking of the FKT or the time. I was enjoying being out there, enjoying moving with my feet and just seeing what happened.” On this episode of the FKT Podcast, Dauwalter explains the appeal of this mountainous, remote FKT—her first official record in the books. She gets into her problem-solving strategies for when things got tough, both mentally and phsically. (Hint: they involve mantras and lots of snacks.) And Dauwalter shares what it means to her to join the ranks of FKT holders. The queen of not only speed and endurance but also consistency, Dauwalter dishes out tips on recovering from big efforts like a 160-mile run at high altitude. “Oftentimes after a hundred mile race or some big project, my legs will feel pretty good fairly quickly. But I'll notice a general mental fatigue,” Dauwalter explains. “My brain is tired because there's so much brain effort put into these physical feats. So I'll pay attention to that. I’ll really assess every day how I'm feeling, like where am I at mentally with coming back to feeling normal and excited again. And I use that to gauge when I might be ready to go after another big thing.” While Dauwalter’s accomplishments speak for themselves, she attributes her success to those around her. Members of the Leadville community, the ultrarunning community at large, her husband Kevin, and men’s record holder Pedatella supported Dauwalter on this effort. She explains why this collaborative spirit is required to excel at these types of outings—and why camaraderie makes them so meaningful.  “It’s less about the record,” Dauwalter says. “And more about people just being psyched to elevate each other and do cool routes.” Check out Dauwalter’s FKT on fastestknowntime.com. And keep up with her adventures and snacking strategies on Instagram.

What better way to explore a new place than by foot? After moving from Oregon to Asheville, North Carolina, at the beginning of the year, Julie Wallace started learning about her new home by scouring fastestknowntime.com. Her objective was simple – find local FKTs that don’t have a woman’s time. And then get after it and put a time down! This strategy led Julie to setting the first woman’s known time on the Shining Rock Wilderness Ridge, a 17-mile out-and-back that traverses a spine of the Blue Ridge Mountains. That seven-hour endeavor taught Julie quite a bit about her new home, including just how steep, technical, and slow-going the Appalachians can be. On this episode of the FKT Podcast, Julie and host Heather Anderson get into the dramatic differences between West and East Coast trail running. Julie, who’s nearing 50, also opens up about how she’s not letting regret from getting into the FKT scene earlier hold her back from tearing it up now. With her first solo FKT freshly under her belt, Julie shares what it took to make that leap into the unknown. She and Heather also shine a light on the surge of women entering the FKT scene, in part thanks to Women Who FKT.  Get the full lowdown on Julie’s Shining Rock Wilderness FKT on fastestknowntime.com. And keep up with her adventures on Instagram.

Today we’re diving deep into the oak and hickory lined ridges of eastern Oklahoma and central Arkansas as we catch up with Isaac Robinson to hear about his unsupported FKT on the 223 mile Ouachita Trail. Join host Heather Anderson to learn how this resident of North Texas handled the rocks, roots, and ruggedness of this lesser known route. After a previous attempt, Isaac was back for more with a trim base weight and drive to lower the existing time. He shares how his dirt nap strategy went awry on the second night leaving him uncertain of what was hallucination and what was real as well as the highlights of this experience. Tune in and be prepared to add the Ouachita to your must-travel list!

Last spring, Katie Brown notched her first FKT—the self-supported record on the Arizona Trail. She broke the long-standing record of Heather Anderson, who Katie joins today on the FKT Podcast to break down all things AZT.  The emergency room nurse from Utah first attempted the notoriously challenging trail in 2019. Storms scared her away. She returned for redemption in May 2022. Graced with good weather, some well-timed trail magic, and most importantly an indomitable spirit, Katie hiked the 800+ miles over Arizona in 17 days, 19 hours, and 52 minutes—nearly two days faster than Heather’s record from 2016. While new to FKTs, Katie has been thru-hiking since 2012. The miles under feet clearly paid off, even if she’s had to adjust her strategy. On her first thru-hike, Katie’s pack weighed 40 pounds. She returned to the AZT with just seven pounds on her back. Tune in to learn how Katie whittled her pack down to the absolute bare minimum, and the risks she took in the process. The two past and present AZT record holders also talk about training, and how consistency, durability, and rest supersede speed and volume when preparing for these long trail attempts. They trade strategies for staving off boredom and self-doubt. And Katie shares how a little luck married with a pinch of problem-solving allowed her to forge ahead after rodents shredded her pack straps to bits.  Get Katie’s full FKT report on fastestknowntime.com. And keep up with her adventures on Instagram.  

"Super fast" describes Brittany - she ran a 2:33 at the Olympic Trials Marathon for 13th place - but she had never set foot on a trail. Since then she won the Pikes Peak Marathon and last month set the Course Record at Moab Red Hot. "I had this stigma about trail runners in my head, like they all were burly with beards. And there were wild animals out there." "But then Covid hit, so no races. And someone said, 'Why not try an FKT'? I had never heard of an FKT." Now she has set three, making a VERY quick transition! "My coach said I needed to learn to power-hike. I said, 'Why would I do that? I'm just going to run everything.' Then going up Shadow Canyon the boulders were as tall as your face ... now I listen to what my coach says!" "Trails have been everything I needed. You're part of a way bigger picture. Trail runners are my people." This podcast was recorded on International Women's Day, with Hillary Allen as the Host.

Joe McConaughy and Coree Woltering independently decided to try for an FKT on the Arizona Trail. Our Social Media Coordinator Allison Mercer heard about this, contacted them, with the result being Joe and Coree decided to start at the same place at the same time ... and see who makes it from the Mexican border to Utah first! "I think we'll have different FKT strategies ... I'm not sure how much he is going to divulge, and not sure how much I'll divulge ..." Coree was Nominated for the Fastest Known Time Of the Year last year for his Ice Age Trail FKT, and Joe was #2 FKTOY for his Long Trail FKT, so both have endurance cred. And both are fast - Coree has a 2:26 Marathon under his belt, and Joe has done a 50 miler in 5:22. "I've always started slow and built up ... and will do that this time especially ... " NOTE: Very unfortunately, Coree experienced technical difficulties for both our two recording attempts and so was unable to be on this podcast. NOTE #2: Even more unfortunately, Coree later became injured, and on 3/15 decided not to attempt the AZT at this time. JOE Update: "I'm still on! The snow is a bit concerning, but I feel good that the majority of it will melt off, assuming no more snow. I'm also guiding with Andrew Skurka Adventures after, so it is either 3/23 or bust!"

Co-host Hillary Allen asks, "You set an FKT just two days ago - what FKT did you crush this weekend?" Tyler quickly answers, "It crushed me! I've been wanting to do the Lost Coast Trail for years, and finally did it." The Lost Coast is called that for a reason - located in a state with a population of 40 million, one runs along a deserted beach (be sure to first check the tide tables), then over and over steep hills with the Pacific Ocean on one side and a Redwood forest stretching out on the other - and for 57 miles, you might not see another person. "FKTs are these incredible adventures - races can't be held on this fantastic routes."

There are a million newsletters out there, and Semi-rad.com is the only one I subscribe to. Why? Because Brendan illustrates (literally) how runners actually feel and think - and laugh! "Pizza is a better invention than the Internet." He wrote and produced an excellent video, which has received over 5 millions views because it was real, called "How To Run A Hundred Miles." He even once interviewed me (Buzz) on the Off The Couch podcast. "Whenever I'm having a bad day, I remember that at least I did not invent Facebook." His new book, published March 16, is, "I HATE RUNNING and you can too. How to Get Started, Keep Going, and Make Sense of an Irrational Passion." It's worth it especially for the illustrations. I recommend it. Here is our very brief Book Review. Listen to this podcast, as Brendan makes sense of our "irrational passion".

Ryan Ignatz is an expert on electrolyte replacement and hydration, and can perform a Sweat Test to determine the exact amount of Sodium YOU lose when exercising. Everyone is very different so this is important! He tested me - what was the result?? "You lose 1,453mg of Sodium per liter of sweat. You are a very salty sweater." I rarely supplement my fluid intake with electrolytes. Does that mean I've been doing it wrong for 50 years? Probably yes! Aack! The current wisdom is "Drink to thirst". Is that good advice? "No. Your body always will protect its Sodium concentration, so will reduce your thirst sensation to avoid diluting its Sodium." Don't you continue to make the same mistakes I have. Listen to Ryan on this podcast, and consider being tested yourself. This episode was proceeded by Andy Blow of Precision Hydration, Episode 122 - listen to both to learn more. Ryan is offering a discount to our listeners - here is a link to schedule a sweat test - https://squareup.com/appointments/book/jkoqb7oy11lbfh/LRJPMGSX4AVF4/services - put "FKPODCAST" in the notes section when you book to receive 20% OFF this one time test. The test must be done in-person.

The FKT scene in New England has always been very competitive - rather than inventing obscure new route they go faster on the existing lines. The Presidential Traverse is the marquee route - new fastest times often are better than the previous by less than 2 minutes! "People now will train specifically for a route, then do a full taper; the FKT is their race, not an extra thing they do on the side." So why did Ben try the Presi in winter conditions? "I think some future Presi Traverse FKT action will happen in the winter. I'll go out on a limb and predict that March and April will become Presi race season." Did Ben just totally redefine how to do a fast FKT in the mountains? Is it actually faster to run rough terrain when it's covered with firm snow? "I disassembled strap-on spikes and screwed the spike plates directly into my shoes. This weighed only 35 grams per shoe." On March 23, Ben ran the Presi much faster than anyone. And that effort was Flagged so it will not count. And Ben was fine with that. "To me it's all fun and games, and if it's not fun, I shouldn't be doing it."

Co-Host Hillary Allen discusses bike-packing with two of the best, as they explain the style of these races, which is informative to hikers and runners. The ethos for all bike-packing races is Self-Supported. "Generally the consensus is you are carrying your own food and water, you are not caching; the point is you can buy or obtain anything along the route as long as it is available to everyone else. Trail Magic is OK, but you can't ask for it or plan for it." "You are pushing your boundaries, and you are ready and able to take care of yourself." "And drafting and pacing is not allowed. It would be interesting to see how much faster we could go on the Arizona Trail for example, if we did that." - Kait The rules have evolved over the years, and are constantly being discussed. And the White Rim FKTs have become a thing in the past year. (Editor Note: Buzz was the first person to ride this route in Canyonlands National Park in one day). "The question has come up, 'Is it OK to have film crews?' The answer has evolved that No, it is not. Knowing someone is up there may give you confidence to push harder." "There are no tiers in bike-packing like there are in hiking and running, such as Supported - everything is Self-supported or Unsupported". The Tour Divide rules are here, and are worth reading: "Tour Divide strives for equal opportunity within the GC. TD requires that every challenger—from those living along the route to those living on other continents—have an equal playing field. Therefore, outside assistance with navigation, lodging or resupply is prohibited." The Colorado Trail Race ethos is similar: "The rules are simple and brief - if you can't do this ride without outside or pre-arranged support, don't enter the race." And the Arizona Trail Race is the same: "Guiding principles are self-support and equal opportunity." 1. Complete the entire route, under your own power. 2. No support crews, no pacers 3. No caches 4. No motorized transport or hitch-hiking, EXCEPT for travel to hospital/medical care 5. Gear - Nothing required, nothing prohibited

GOOD TIMING! This podcast was recorded on April 26; when asked "What is next", Dylan divulges he's going for an (undisclosed) FKT "This coming weekend" ... But first, Co-Host Hillary Allen asks D-Bo about his FKT on the Wonderland Trail last year. "I fell into a pandemic funk, too many IPA's, so needed a goal.  We had just moved to Portland Oregon, a couple hours from the Wonderland Trail. I was inspired by Kyle Skaggs, and knew I wanted to do this." He did it - a new FKT by a hour and half!  But it only lasted 5 days - Tyler Green snatched it by a scant 18 minutes - that's after almost 17 hours of running!  There were7 successful FKTs on the Wonderland in 2020 alone. "I had 5 days of glory, then some sadness, and now I feel good about it.  I learned a lot from Tyler, and how to actually prepare for FKTs specifically, as opposed to racing, which is different.  And Tyler is a class act and a good friend." So what about that FKT attempt he didn't want to disclose? The Backbone Trail!  An increasingly popular and competitive route right above the Los Angeles basin.  And he did it - new FKT of 9 hrs 49 min 14 sec. "Wow, what an incredible trail!  Pure SoCal bliss."

Hillary is a podcast host (this one and two others), North Face athlete, gravel bike racer, scientist, and now a book author - this is a good conversation! "I don't recommend falling off a 150' cliff, but everyone has a place where they can grow." Hillary almost died while running the Tromsø Skyrace in Norway in 2017.  It was a hard road back.  She learned a lot and describes this process with total honesty and authenticity. "I had to accept the darkness. And not let it hold me back from the PT work. For months, months on end." PURCHASE the BOOK HERE! https://amzn.to/3t6dpZ6 May 7th:  Live Chat, Women’s Running Magazine Book Club – Virtual Event, 6pm MST "There are a few rules in life, and 'Never huck anything' is one I'm following now!"

The PCT is one of our 10 Premier Routes for good reasons! It is 2,597 miles long, with 420,880' of vert, passes through 25 national forests and 7 national parks ... and is competitive.   And Timothy has been a top ultrarunner, with two wins at the Western States 100 including a Course Record.  Game on! "When you have an opportunity like this, you take it. You go all in." His byline is "Mindful mountain ultra runner".  On a massive effort that will likely take 52 days, which includes the heat of the Mohave Desert and going over 13,153' Forester Pass all in the first two weeks, and then the likelihood of Fire Closures and re-routes, how will his meditative practice help him cope? "Meditation plays a huge part of my life.  On the PCT, I can go into a place where, 'An FKT would be cool, but that's not why I'm out here'." The Sierra snowpack was at 15% of normal when this podcast was recorded (May 4) - there will be minimal snowpack to contend with, but potentially many fires. Timothy will be using shoes and apparel from the Adidas Parley line - this is important as they are made with intercepted plastic waste. Plastic waste is found everywhere from the deepest seas to the highest mountain ranges; this technology turns plastic into high-performance fabrics.  He will use the Agravic Boa shoe and the Terrex Two Ultra Parley "I like the BOA system. You can be going down a scree field, get some gravel in your shoe, and pop it off and empty it out without tying and re-tying your shoe." Adidas is the 2nd largest sporting good company in the world, and with major cred - Jesse Owens used their shoes in the 1936 Olympics!

Hillary Allen speaks with Kelly Newlon of Real Athlete Diets: "Delicious, performance orientated food for active people"!  On June 1 Timothy Olson will start his attempt on Pacific Crest Trail, and Kelly will be there as part of his crew. For 52 days.  What will that be like?  How can diet support a huge effort like this? “I reach out to a Registered Dietician in order to fill in the holes of my knowledge. And I put in protein powder in almost everything, plus coconut milk for fat, and greens whenever possible, even dried greens like Spirulina which also has protein." “The goal is to run 50 miles a day as many days as possible.” "Flavor fatigue" can be a big part of long efforts - what you want and don't want can change quickly and unexpectedly. "We also have Snickers Bars on the list." (the 'traditional' food of the old-school thru-hiker! :-) Kelly is very prepared, and will arrive at the southern terminus a few days in advance. “The more organized and prepared I am, the more enthusiastic I become.  So we already have a spare bedroom filled with great food, all labeled and organized.” And do not think trail diet is not important:  "Two researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Department of Integrative Physiology published a study suggesting that a thru-hiking lifestyle may lead to troubling changes in vascular health." Any attempt on the PCT is a huge project. Adidas is a major supporter and is playing an important role - thank you Adidas! "We’ve done our best for the best." Started in 1924, the company as we know it with the 3 stripes was founded in 1949.

Many climbers and hikers visit Indian Creek and the Needles District of Canyonlands NP each year; they run a trail for 10 miles, or climb a couple of 200 foot routes, then leave, feeling pretty good about their accomplishment. Heidi has been everywhere on 350,000 acres for 56 years, winter and summer. She knows every spring, every route, and countless Anasazi petroglyphs you never knew existed. Dugout Ranch is an icon of the American West located in the heart of the Colorado Plateau, at the entrance to Canyonlands National Park. It is so iconic, Heidi supplemented the ranching income by leasing it as a location for movies and TV commercial; countless short documentaries have also been made, such as this one. In 1997 it was purchased from Heidi and her ex-husband by the Nature Conservancy, fulfilling her goal of preserving the landscape.

“The animals never forget who we are because they see us every day in their world,” added Angelo. “The best way to remind ourselves who we are and where we belong is to go out into the world and have relationships with our relatives.” Angelo Baca is a Navajo and Hopi filmmaker, and a PhD candidate in sociocultural anthropology at NYU. A graduate of the Native Voices Program at the University of Washington, he has created numerous documentaries and collaborative works around such subjects as indigenous food sovereignty, Native youth development and indigenous international repatriation. He’s also taught Native American literature and media courses at Brown University. In 2016, he directed the ethnographic documentary Shash Jaa': Bears Ears, in an effort to illuminate the Utah landscape’s significance to indigenous peoples of the region. Support Bears Ears - donate to Utah Diné Bikéyah here! Shásh Jaa’ (Bears Ears) is a proposed 1.9 million acres of Utah wilderness considered sacred lands to the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition (Navajo, Ute, Ute Mountain Ute, Hopi, Zuni) coming together to protect this pristine area from natural resource extraction and make this area a designated National Monument in collaborative management partnership with tribes. Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland submitted her first report. https://www.moabsunnews.com/news/article_c27c346e-c999-11eb-9150-67ce4083279b.html Special thanks to onX Backcountry for supporting Fastest Known Time. onX Backcountry is “All in for Outdoors” during the month of June, finally you can plan that next FKT and navigate offline with a year-long subscription to the onX Backcountry mapping app for only $10 in June with all net proceeds are going to support Leave No Trace. Learn more at onxmaps.com/greatoutdoors

Co-Host Hillary Allen asks Jason the obvious question, "Why go for 100 FKTs?" "It's been a wild journey; in the works for two, going on three years. I had a wild 2020; I did 60 FKTs last year." "The game gets harder the more you play it. I had to learn new skills, get more creative, become better." How do you find the time to do all this? "If you know Ironman training, you know I was used a lifestyle of constant movement." "I was the kid who struggled to fall in line. Now I'm a poor employee but a great teacher - I'm not good at compliance but great connecting with the kids. The same with FKTs - I can see the possibilities, and dedicate myself to doing it." Besides being extremely bold and energetic, Jason is very intelligent and insightful - you'll appreciate this conversation! Special thanks to onX Backcountry for supporting Fastest Known Time. onX Backcountry is “All in for Outdoors” during the month of June, finally you can plan that next FKT and navigate offline with a year-long subscription to the onX Backcountry mapping app for only $10 in June with all net proceeds are going to support Leave No Trace. Learn more at onxmaps.com/greatoutdoors

Dave is old school: extremely nice and will never talk about himself ... but don't enter a race that he is in, because you will probably get beat by a guy with one leg. How would you feel about that? (He feels fine.) On May 22, 2015, during a casual run above Boulder, Dave stepped on a large boulder which rolled 30' downhill, landing on top of his leg. He lay pinned there for hours, calmly directing his rescuers. A year later, after multiple surgeries, he decided it would be best to amputate it. "It took a year and a half to come back." Understated? That's Dave. This was a epic comeback for anyone, that Dave makes sound almost casual. He recently did the Grand Canyon R2R2R, 15 years after his 2007 FKT (when he was the first person to go sub-7 hours). "Proprioception is different. You have to register each step, pay attention where you're putting your foot. It's just another form of ultrarunning ... maybe little more advanced." With that in mind, has Dave ever considered running roads or easy trails, where technical footwork is not required? "No. Not at all. Too boring." Dave is supported by Altra Footwear, the original zero-drop shoe with the wide toe box ultra-runners (and thru-hikers) love. 24% of WS100 runners use Altra's. Their motto "Zero Limits" fits Dave. Thank you Altra! Special thanks to onX Backcountry for supporting Fastest Known Time. onX Backcountry is “All in for Outdoors” during the month of June, finally you can plan that next FKT and navigate offline with a year-long subscription to the onX Backcountry mapping app for only $10 in June with all net proceeds are going to support Leave No Trace. Learn more at onxmaps.com/greatoutdoors

The Boundary Waters is 1.1 million acres of incredible glaciated terrain way up in northern Minnesota on the Canada border, and yet is the most-visited Wilderness Area in the United States. Because it is so good. Even if YOU have never been there! "Boundary Waters is as remote as it gets. Alex had everything dialed - those people are hard-core canoists - they paddled over two hours to get to the support locations!" - Clare "This is an incredible idea Alex had - he combined his ultra running passion with his passion to protect this place." - Clare "This is one of the most pristine places on planet Earth - you just dip your bottle into the lake or stream and drink without any filtration". - Alex "It was next level! I've never seen anything like it - it's the most wet I've ever been on land - it was so hard-core Minnesota!" - Clare Please listen to Clare, and support Alex and this fabulous wilderness The Boundary Waters is under threat from a proposed massive sulfide-ore copper mine that, if built, would generate acid mine drainage in the form of sulfuric acid and flow straight through the heart of the Wilderness and also into Canada’s Quetico Provincial Park and Voyageurs National Park. The mine site and waste rock tailings would perpetually pollute turning this world class wilderness and pristine watershed into a polluted chain of lakes, rivers, streams and marshes forever. Website with full information Sign this petition! (Corrections from the audio:) Joni Mitchell's 'advice" to Clare: "Wild things run fast" Isle Royale is the least-visited National Park, with 18,216 annual visitors Special thanks to onX Backcountry for supporting Fastest Known Time. onX Backcountry is “All in for Outdoors” during the month of June; you can plan that next FKT and navigate offline with a year-long subscription to the onX Backcountry mapping app for only $10 in June with all net proceeds going to support Leave No Trace. Learn more at onxmaps.com/greatoutdoors

Coree rose to prominence after his 21 day FKT on the Ice Age Trail, exactly one year ago. Before that he was seen rockin' a Speedo on the 10-part "World's Toughest Race" show on Amazon Prime (a great series). Coree has fun, and he has style. This is a very fun conversation with an intelligent and unique person - don't miss his captivating thoughts! "We intended to start everyday at 5:30am - the first day I woke up and said, 'Screw this; I'm going back to sleep.' Now we've changed the plan for FKTs: Start whenever I wake up - 10am or Noon - I'm totally fine with that. I prefer to run at night." Would it be safe to say you're not a methodical planner? "Absolutely. I don't like the logistics or planning - too much time to think. I want to be in top shape, and then just do it." In April Coree set the FKT on the 335 mile Pinhoti Trail in Alabama and Georgia. In this part of the country, there is no shortage of confederate flags flying. As a black man, out there sometimes alone at night, did he feel safe? "I didn't think about it. At mile 13, there was a giant confederate flag - I mean, giant. If anything, it made me more motivated. We want the outdoors experience to be available to everyone, and this demonstrates that. I never felt unsafe." "It was amazing. The people along that trail were awesome people. Pacers came out of the woodwork - they were working 8-5 jobs, showed up at night and ran with me until past Midnight, then were back at work at 8:00 the next morning." "People were dropping off hand-made food. One night I was freezing - I was so cold, all I wanted was warm soup. So a woman heard that, cooked home-made soup, and ran it out to me in the middle of the night on the trail." "Rural people are the best. So many people invited us into their homes. My crew is 3, 4, sometimes 5 people, and there was always room for us. I wanted everyone to know I felt safe. And: the Midwest is a friendly place!"

You need to hear this inspiring story! Jim Mann, a top ultrarunner from Scotland, had this brilliant idea: ask race directors to give runners the option of having a tree planted in their name instead of being given still another t-shirt that won't get used. "The reason for starting this was 2 fold - I had loads of race t-shirts and kept getting more (I couldn't wear them all and they don't wear out). We wanted to plant more trees and it seemed like a great way to solve a bad problem whilst creating something good." The amount of water it takes to produce a single cotton t-shirt is the same water as a person drinks in 2 1/2 years. Polyester is worse. Why pollute our environment when we can plant a tree instead? "We've planted hundreds of thousands of trees this year alone - our goal is 50 million trees in the ground in the next few years." This is for real. They purchase the land the trees are planted on so they will not get cut down. Each runner receives a Certificate for what they've done, which lists the race name and sponsors (so no one gets left out). And it's all optional. There are 30,000 races in the US alone, and this program is now coming to America. There are 621 million runners in world - we can make a big difference. YOU make this happen: please reach out to all the races you enter, and tell the director this is what you want. That's how this works - you request it. Suggested by Mick Jones, co-Regional Editor for the United Kingdom.

The 2021 Hardrock Hundred Mile Endurance Run starts today. Two days before the run an important meeting took place where the event announced a new policy to increase women’s participation. Starting in 2022, the percent of women’s entrants will be no less than the percent of women’s lottery applicants. Darcy Piceu who won the the race three times (2012-2014) is now a Hardrock 100 board member and she's returning to the race this year as a participant. What better time to revisit episode 36 (originally published May 31, 2019) where Darcy and Trailsisters.net founder Gina Lucrezi spoke about the challenges and opportunities to make the sport of ultrarunning more inclusive and equitable for women. Original Show Notes Darcy Piceu and Gina Lucrezi share thoughts on this important topic. "We're in a real interesting time right now. If I do nothing else in the sport, it would be to raise awareness." This is a different conversation for Fastest Known Time, and quite worthwhile. Trail Sisters has established 5 recommended practices for races: 1. Equal podium spots 2. Equal prize money and awards 3. Women's-specific swag (not just unisex) 4. Menstrual products at aid stations (events over a Half Marathon) 5. Opportunity for Women at the front of the Starting Line Citations from topics discussed in this episode www.trailsisters.net www.outsideonline.com/2312071/ultrar…gender-problem www.nytimes.com/2019/05/12/opinio…ernity-leave.html time.com/5594356/alex-morgan-world-cup/

There are 490 FKT Routes in the UK - get the insider scoop on them - Our two Regional Editors from the UK tell us what is new and cool, and then walk us through some classic FKT routes. "1,051 FKTs have been reviewed and Approved in the UK in the last 12 months - that's 3 per day - it's been really busy!" These are all really long, super hard efforts - many of these are multi-day, and some have over 100,000' of Elevation Gain. Why is that? "Really good runners are looking for good adventures!" "Because on the other hand, we have hundreds of fell races that people do all the time. Many take place mid-week: you show up on a Thursday at 7pm, pay 2 Pounds, run up the local fell and back, have a beer, and socialize with your friends. It's great!" "And these Classic FKT Routes are all very competitive, in spite of their length and difficulty. Many of the best runners have a go every year. But the Grand Round (all 3 of the Big Rounds, back-back, self-powered) is not a classic because it's not competitive - only John Kelly has done it!"

He's done it again! After 5 YEARS of planning, Andrew climbed the hundred highest summits in Colorado in a huge non-stop effort of 22 days. And established two new Routes and FKTs within that effort along the way. And he claims he's not that fit ... "I don't know what it is about me; I can just suffer and keep going." No argument there! He tells great stories of being alone at night in the high mountains, and also discuss the history of the Colorado 14ers, from "Rick and Ricky" to "Cavedog". This is a wonderful, lively, edifying conversation you will enjoy. "Someone analyzed all these attempts - Rick and Ricky were 1 full day faster than me running, but I was 4 days faster than them on the logistics! Cavedog and I were the same, so I beat his time only by taking a more efficient line (a longer and bolder linkup) in the Elks." "Cavedog redefined the game, and we all follow that. He realized it wasn't about speed (note: Rick Trujillo won the Pikes Peak Marathon 6 times and the HR100 once!) - the defining factor became efficiency during the entire effort." What about technical proficiency? Rick and Ricky were great runners, but not mountaineers. "It's a style thing. You have to do the Blanca - Little Bear Traverse. These are the things that excite me." Listen and find out the two new routes Andrew considers to be on par with the famous Nolan's 14, the Weminuche Wipeout and the Centennial Elks Traverse ("Sorry, I couldn't think of a cool name for that one"). And his closing advise? "The battle plan never lasts longer than the first contact with the enemy." His Trip Report is a very thorough and thoughtful read. This is the summit-to-summit thread on 14ers.com, with over 400 Comments. "Great story, great writing. I still cannot wrap my head around how this is even possible." - susanjoypaul

Wow - a new running shoe company! That's gotta be hard - why are these two men doing it? "We've been designing shoes for 25 years for other company's. There was always a compromise. We wanted to build a shoe that was the absolute best - no compromise." "We're always told what the price has to be, and then worked backward from there - we wanted to start with the best product and go forward." Can a new shoe company succeed? "If you work hard, and create a product that means something, you will succeed." "And if we took the same approach as everyone else, you're going to get the same result." Is this a version of the now iconic Nike Zoom technology? "Our SL:PDX is very trail-specific. Effort has gone into new road shoe design, and to some degree track shoes, but trail running requires a very different set of features which has been largely ignored. People have been running incredible FKTs and mountain races, while the technology has not kept up with what they're doing. Until now." This episode is sponsored by Speedland Speedland is a brand new shoe company, founded by two longtime designers from Puma, Nike, and Under Armour. Their debut shoe is the SL:PDX, likened more to a piece of equipment than to a shoe. It is trail footwear made from the most premium components available today. Listen to this trail-runner-wish-list: It’s the first shoe ever to feature BOA’s Li2 Fit System, dual dials with multi-directional incremental dialing for a perfect fit. The midsole uses a new formulation of Pebax foam for ultimate energy return. Then there’s a Carbitex carbon-fiber plate with asymmetrical flex – stiff in one direction, flexible in the other. Finishing it off, the SL:PDX uses a Michelin wrap outsole with a customizable lug pattern that can be adjusted for any terrain. When we say it’s all there, it’s all there. Plus, Speedland gives back 10% of all profits to outdoor organizations chosen by their athletes, and once the shoe reaches the end of its lifecycle, you can send it back where it will be disassembled and recycled. Check out the Speedland SL:PDX over at www.runspeedland.com and follow them on Instagram at @runspeedland. Drop them a note if you have any questions.

89 FKTs is a lot!  And 51 of them have been in 2021, including sometimes 2 in one day.  I presume this is intentional? "I used to race more, but the pandemic caused me to focus on where I live.  And we have a huge history here - some of these routes go back hundreds of years." "It's always about the journey, not the goal.  But FKTs are great - this has provided the structure for me to learn and explore in my own surroundings." We discuss how new Routes are Approved (it's subjective).  And we discover that I once (or twice?) dis-allowed a new Route David had Submitted - dang - I'm called out on my own podcast! David has interesting stories and a great perspective on discovering FKTs in the United Kingdom: "It's like "brutalism" - on one hand it looks ugly and un-loved, but there is so much there." "This one route was an absolutely wonderful find - there as a huge amount of crazy graffiti and old architecture in an industrial section of old London, including a boat being used as a sauna - you wouldn't find this if you didn't know about it." "You don't need to "win" - there's great richness in the stories people are sharing, the logistics and the techniques of FKTs." "More people need to find out about these things." This episode is sponsored by Speedland Speedland is a brand new shoe company, founded by two longtime designers from Puma, Nike, and Under Armour. Their debut shoe is the SL:PDX, likened more to a piece of equipment than to a shoe. It is trail footwear made from the most premium components available today. Listen to this trail-runner-wish-list: 1. It’s the first shoe ever to feature BOA’s Li2 Fit System, dual dials with multi-directional incremental dialing for a perfect fit. 2. The midsole uses a new formulation of Pebax foam for ultimate energy return. 3. Then there’s a Carbitex carbon-fiber plate with asymmetrical flex – stiff in one direction, flexible in the other. 4. Finishing it off, the SL:PDX uses a Michelin wrap outsole with a customizable lug pattern that can be adjusted for any terrain. When we say it’s all there, it’s all there. Plus, Speedland gives back 10% of all profits to outdoor organizations chosen by their athletes, and once the shoe reaches the end of its lifecycle, you can send it back where it will be disassembled and recycled. Check out the Speedland SL:PDX over at runspeedland.com and follow them on Instagram at @runspeedland. Drop them a note if you have any questions.

Riding and Running on trails is more connected than you know!  The Western States 100 originally was a horse race, not a running race.  And this year Susie Kramer did both, with one of the fastest combined times ever.  With a broken toe, after her horse stepped on it. "I guess some scar tissue had formed, so the pain wasn't too bad." Yeah, endurance horse riders are tough. Ride and Tie is a very tactical and exciting race, always on trails at least 20 miles long, with two runners alternating riding one horse ... got that?  Courtney will explain it! "My 14 year old daughter said, 'Dad, if you will learn to ride a horse, I will start running and we can be a team.' When your daughter says that, there is only one answer!" This is NOT like riding a bicycle - these are dynamic teamwork events with a human and horse, both of whom have minds of their own.  As Courtney describes Coda: "He can't stand to be behind another horse. It's like, 'You decide how fast you want to go; trot, canter, gallop, doesn't matter, because I'm going to pass you." "It's like he trained the other horses - they would move to the side when we came up, whether their rider reigned them over or not." Courtney goes first in this Episode, describing the strategic intricacies of Ride and Tie, and we note many of the top ultra runners of the era who also were Ride and Tie competitors. Susie is next, who describes why she thinks riding the Tevis Cup is harder than the running the WS100. This episode is sponsored by Speedland Speedland is a brand new shoe company, founded by two longtime designers from Puma, Nike, and Under Armour. Their debut shoe is the SL:PDX, likened more to a piece of equipment than to a shoe. It is trail footwear made from the most premium components available today. Listen to this trail-runner-wish-list: It’s the first shoe ever to feature BOA’s Li2 Fit System, dual dials with multi-directional incremental dialing for a perfect fit. The midsole uses a new formulation of Pebax foam for ultimate energy return. Then there’s a Carbitex carbon-fiber plate with asymmetrical flex – stiff in one direction, flexible in the other. Finishing it off, the SL:PDX uses a Michelin wrap outsole with a customizable lug pattern that can be adjusted for any terrain. When we say it’s all there, it’s all there. Plus, Speedland gives back 10% of all profits to outdoor organizations chosen by their athletes, and once the shoe reaches the end of its lifecycle, you can send it back where it will be disassembled and recycled. Check out the Speedland SL:PDX over at runspeedland.com and follow them on Instagram at @runspeedland. Drop them a note if you have any questions.

"Mediocre"?  I don't think so! Zack has done 7 ultra races and won all of them.  And he's from Kentucky, proud of it, and why maybe you haven't heard of him. "I like the east. It's green. I'd like to try some things out west, but I'm happy here." Zack graduated in 2017 with a double degree, went to work ... and quit 3 days later. "Running is what I love.  Yes, I took a pay cut, but this is what I want to do." Find out why. This episode is sponsored by Speedland Speedland is a brand new shoe company, founded by two longtime designers from Puma, Nike, and Under Armour. Their debut shoe is the SL:PDX, likened more to a piece of equipment than to a shoe. It is trail footwear made from the most premium components available today. Listen to this trail-runner-wish-list: 1. It’s the first shoe ever to feature BOA’s Li2 Fit System, dual dials with multi-directional incremental dialing for a perfect fit. 2. The midsole uses a new formulation of Pebax foam for ultimate energy return. 3. Then there’s a Carbitex carbon-fiber plate with asymmetrical flex – stiff in one direction, flexible in the other. 4. Finishing it off, the SL:PDX uses a Michelin wrap outsole with a customizable lug pattern that can be adjusted for any terrain. When we say it’s all there, it’s all there. Plus, Speedland gives back 10% of all profits to outdoor organizations chosen by their athletes, and once the shoe reaches the end of its lifecycle, you can send it back where it will be disassembled and recycled. Check out the Speedland SL:PDX over at runspeedland.com and follow them on Instagram at @runspeedland. Drop them a note if you have any questions.

It's a great time to re-air our 2020 interview with Courtney Dauwalter who - only 1 week ago - won her second consecutive Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc title, setting a new women's course record in the process. On top of all that she was the 7th finisher overall. During 2020 when UTMB was canceled, Courtney turned her attention to setting an FKT on the Colorado Trail, going from Durango to Denver. In this interview she discusses why the attempt was eventually stopped and much more. This is our most popular episode of all time and for good reason! ORIGINAL SHOW NOTES Courtney once ran 279 miles ... and received a "DNF"!  Huh?  How did that happen?   "They ring a bell when it's time to start, and if you don't go right then, you're out.  That's it." "It takes two to tango, two to keep the game going, to see what's possible." From choices of candy, to Bronchitis on the Colorado Trail, and the amazing world of Big's Backyard Ultra, Courtney offers wonderful, simple, and helpful insights. "Running is so cool … it’s such a cool way to explore, and to spend time with people, and with ourselves.” "Running is a choice ...to live our lives however we want, to make choice to do or not do things.  I'm choosing every day to run and explore these long distances because I love it.  To keep this perspective every day is helpful, and I feel very lucky for that."

This year, hundreds of square miles in the western US has been on fire, resulting in terrible air quality which often has exceeded EPA guidelines.  Dr Kevin Shilling is a long time ultrarunner, was 10th at the HR100 this year, and is a pulmonary physician based in Salt Lake City.  So we ask him an important question: When does air pollution get so bad it's better not to exercise? "That depends on how badly you want to go for a run." He really did say that!  Kevin provides intelligent, balanced, nuanced, and personal answers.  Four factors are: How healthy are you, are you experiencing any problems, how does it feel? What is your level of effort? An easy hour is different than a hard workout. When was the last time you ran?  If yesterday, maybe take a day off and wait for better conditions; if you've already taken 3 days off, well ... What is the AQI?  Over 100 might be unhealthy for some people while over 150 can still be tolerated by most; an AQI over 200? "I wouldn't do it." Check the Air Quality Index where you live right now.  If you live in some parts of the west, checking the AQI may become as common as checking the weather report.

Bethany wrote to us: "One year ago, Katlin Rhodes and I came together and became the first women to complete the 46 unsupported thru-hike. That summer was my first with Strava and a GPS watch. She and I have learned a lot in one year and have combined for 23 FKTS, going after some big and small. From the thru-hike, I began ambassador work with SheJumps, a national non-profit that promotes more women and girls to get outside. I think we'd make a cool podcast." AGREED! Join Bethany as she speaks confidently on the importance of mental health, how until 2 years ago she lived "off-the grid" and didn't even have a cell phone, and her work as a wilderness therapy instructor: "Katie found me on the FKT website. We did the Adirondack 46 Unsupported. We've learned a lot since then ... FKTs have become the perfect niche!" "It's important to keep public lands open to the public. This has saved people." (Note: Katie was also scheduled as a guest, but experienced technical difficulties). This podcast releases on September 17, the one year anniversary of their A46 thru-hike. Success stories like this are wonderful to hear. And what's next? "I've done 19 FKTs; I'd like to get to 50 by 2023!" "The A46 FKT can go lower ..."

Scott is the best US Male Ultra Runner ever.  That may change, but for now, no one can match 7 consecutive wins at the WS100 plus wins at other marquee events. He set the S-N FKT on the fabled Appalachian Trail in 2015, with a desperate effort at the end, eclipsing Jennifer Pharr Davis' time by 3hrs 13mins.  The next year Scott's friend Karl Meltzer lowered it by 9hrs 29mins, then "the Belgian Dentist" Karel Sabbe demolished the overall AT FKT by doing it 41days 7hrs 39mins.   Scott and his wife Jenny co-authored, "North: Finding My Way On The Appalachian Trail" and were the 3rd ever guests on the Fastest Known Podcast.  Karel was actually our 2nd guest ever (take a look and listen - three years ago and these episodes are worth it). Time to catch up! On August 4, Scott went back for another go.  This time with plenty of preparation and knowledge, unlike the first time when he and Jenny "On-sighted it".  How did that go? "I started to feel my left quad on the 4th day. I shifted weight to the right, then that tightened up badly. I tried to slow down and walk it off, but that is not possible on the northern section of the AT." Very disappointing.  Listen as Scott describes his specific training for this effort, as well as nutrition specifics.  He feels that starting in the north, where the terrain is more difficult than in Georgia may have been a factor. "You don't get warm by sticking your head in a furnace." It's still too early to think about this, but we have to ask .... will he go back? "I still have so much to learn, and I still have more to give.” "You had to go and wake the dragon". - Jenny to Scott