What You Need to Know After 12 years and three record attempts, Joe “Stringbean” McConaughy broke the supported record on the John Muir Trail—arguably the most competitive Fastest Known Time (FKT) in the world. He finished the 223-mile route through California’s Sierra Nevada in two days, 16 hours, and 15 seconds to shave nearly three and a half hours off of François D’Haene’s nine-year-old record. McConaughy attributes his 12 years of experience on the route along with a stellar crew willing to tackle complicated logistics and pace up to 40-mile sections to his success. He and one of his pacers, Caroline Himbert (who set her own FKT on the JMT this summer), spoke with author Emily Halnon for this story.