Europe has a huge history of FKTs - and they became very competitive in 2020! There were 1,308 FKTs established in Europe in 2020 - take a look - which do you think are the top FKTs? Give us your opinion in the Comment section below.
Routes are ordered chronologically. Click on the Route Name for full information, including stories and photos by the runner.
A panel of experienced European voters has cast their ballots for the Top 3 Female and Male. Results will be start being announced this Friday, and conclude on January 22!
Female
| Athlete(s) | Stats | Route | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pernilla Otto | 2d 18h 31m 36s; 210 miles; 8,035' | Lake Mälaren (Sweden) | She established the Route and the FKT |
| Beth Pascall | 14h 34m 26s; 63.65mi; 26,070' | Bob Graham Round (UK) | 5th fastest ever. 1hr 42m slower than Kilian, 49m faster than Jasmin Paris 2016. |
| Stephanie Kröll | 20h 18m; 56.97mi; 23,363' | Berliner Höhenweg (AUT) | Two weeks prior, Kristin Berglund (2nd UTMB 2019) ran it in 23h 50min |
| Jo Meek | 14h 39m 28s; 78mi; 13,123' | Dartmoor Round (UK) | Female time beat the Male time by 1hr 32min |
| Fernanda Maciel | 4h 3m; 11.09mi; 6,834' | Gran Paradiso (Italy) | Solo with no ropes or Support |
| Aoife Quigley | 4h 27m 23s; 19.51mi; 8,038' | Nagelfluhkette (GER/AUT) | 10 weeks earlier would have been the fastest Overall time |
Male
| Athlete(s) | Stats | Route | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Damian Hall | 21h 20m 30s; 67.70mi; 34,760' | Paddy Buckley Round (Wales, UK) | Winter. Previous record was 21:37. Solo/Unsupported style, and with snow on the ground |
| Anton Palzer | 2h 47m 09s; 13.92mi; 7,418' | Watzmann Traverse (GER) | 14m 44s faster than previous Unsupported time |
| Alexander Hutter, Christian Stern | 13h 39m 34s; 48.03mi; 20,778' | Stubaier Höhenweg (Austria) | Christian and Alex are not too much in racing and keep a low profile, but if they want to go for a FKT, they give everything. |
| Nadir Maguet | 2h 2m 32s; 11.09mi; 6,834' | Gran Paradiso (Italy) | Old record from Ettore Champretavy (2h21’36”) in 1995. Nadir also cut 14min on the ascent FKT, with 1h 29min to the summit. |
| Teun Geurts-Schoenmakers | 2d 6h 21m 0s; 204.2mi; 26,844' | Eifelsteig (GER) | Ran Self-supported 5h 15m slower than his Supported time from 2019 |
| Damian Hall | 2d 13h 35m 15s; 260.52mi; 38,835' | Pennine Way (UK) | 3h 11m under a FKT set only 8 days prior that had stood for 31 years |
| Dmitry Mityaev | 16h 7m 20s | Mount Elbrus Circumnavigation (Russia) | Record time of 13hr 19min for the Race, then added 30km to close the loop for record time of 16h 7m 20s |
| Donnie Campbell | 31d 23h 2m 0s; 1,850mi | Munros Round (UK) | Broke the previous record set by Stephen Pyke by over 7 days. |
| Daniel Jung | 11h 19m 11s; 45.95mi; 17,730' | Pfunderer Höhenweg (ITA) | 1h 25m faster than Unsupported team from 1 month prior |
| Dan Lawson | 9d 21h 14m 2s; 847mi; 30,148' | LEJOG (UK) | The first to go under 10 days |
| Daniel Jung | 15h 30m; 54.09mi; 22,769' | Berliner Höhenweg (Austria) | 55m faster than Florian Grasel's Unsupported |
| Diego Pazos | 3d 7h 36m; 242mi; 77,100' | Via Alpina (Switzerland) | 1day faster than Self-supported 10 days earlier |
| John Kelly | 5d 10h 43m; 590mi; 101,000' | Big 3 UK Rounds (UK) | Running 192mi, 84,000', 113 summits, 80h 30m; Cycling 398mi, 17,000', 31h 36m. A first. |
| Finlay Wild | 14h 42m 40s; 57.45m; 25,283' | Ramsay Round (UK) | Solo, Unsupported, and took :90 off the Supported time |
| Kristian Morgan | 10d 12h 6m 0s; 630mi; 111,000' | South West Coast Path (UK) | Bettered Damian Hall's time by 3 hrs |
| Jack Scott | 2d 7h 42m 42s; 214mi; 27,800' | Southern Upland Way (UK) | 13min under the previous record held by Fell running Legend Mike Hartley set in 1987, 33 years ago; 10hr faster than race on same course |
| Manuel Merillas | 5h 36m 28s; 33.75mi; 12,717' | Ruta 0-4-0, Pico de Teide (Canary Islands, Spain) | 37min faster than Pau Capel who was Supported; also beat the ascent FKT, 3h 28m 55s. |
Comments
I'm positively ecstatic to be nominated for the European 2020 FKYOY. I send out my respect to all the other nominees, Pernilla Otto, Beth Pascall, Stephanie Kröll, Jo Meek, Fernanda Maciel, Aoife Quigley, Damian Hall, Anton Palzer, Alexander Hutter, Christian Stern, Nadir Maguet, Teun Geurts-Schoenmakers, Dmitry Mityaev, Donnie Campbell, Daniel Jung, Dan Lawson, Diego Pazos, John Kelly, Finlay Wild, Jack Scott and Manuel Merillas. Well done to you all and your successful FKT's.
I have my sights set on the Appalachian trail in America summer this year, wish me luck. You can find out more about me and my history with the Appalachian trail on my Website... www.kristianultra.com.
As Emil Zátopek once said... An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head.
Kristian Morgan.
Nice Zåtopek quote! Congratulations on being one of the Nominees, and I wish you luck on the AT!