This is a Premier Route. To claim an FKT on this route, you must meet a high standard of documentation and verification. See details here: https://fastestknowntime.com/premier-routes.
“The Long Trail: Where even the downhills are uphill.” - Alicia Hudelson
Description: The Long Trail in Vermont runs 272 miles from the MA/VT border to Canada, along the spine of the Green Mountains. It traverses most of the largest mountains in Vermont, directly summiting or coming within 0.2 miles of summiting all five of the 4,000 foot peaks in Vermont. Along with towering mountains, you’ll find quiet dirt roads, pristine remote lakes and ponds, and 70+ backcountry campsites and shelters.
The southernmost 105 miles of the Long Trail are concurrent with the Appalachian Trail. This section of the Long Trail has more infrastructure, you’re likely to see many more hikers, and it is generally considered easier terrain than the northern section of the trail. This part of the trail is still rugged, however, and summits multiple ski resorts including Bromley, Stratton, and Killington. At the Maine Junction, the Long Trail and the Appalachian Trail split: the Appalachian Trail continues eastward towards New Hampshire, and the Long Trail continues approximately 167 miles north to the Canadian border. This section of trail is generally considered to be more rugged and remote, summiting several notable mountains such as Mt. Abraham, Mt. Ellen, Mt. Mansfield, Camel’s Hump, and Jay Peak. The Long Trail is notoriously wet and muddy, earning the nickname “Ver-mud” from Appalachian Trail thru-hikers.
The Long Trail has a solid history in the Fastest Known Time Of the Year Awards:
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2018: Alyssa Godesky, #1 Female (supported)
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2019: Nika Meyers, #3 Female (unsupported)
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2019: Jeff Garmire, #4 Male (unsupported)
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2020: Joe McConaughy; #2 Male (self-supported)
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2021: Mikaela Osler, #2 Female (unsupported)
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2021: Ben Feinson, Top 10 Male (supported)
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2022: Liz Derstine, #5 Female (self-supported)
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2024: Will Peterson, #2 Male (supported)
Support Style: Supported, self-supported, and unsupported variations of the Long Trail all have significant history.
Route History: Conceived in 1909 by James P. Taylor, the Long Trail was built by the Green Mountain Club (GMC) from 1910-1930. In the beginning the GMC only had a couple dozen members who pain-stakingly cut out the path through the wilderness. Today, the GMC has over 10,000 members, and they work to maintain the Long Trail along with the Green Mountain National Forest, State of Vermont, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, and private landowners.
The Long Trail is the oldest continuous long-distance footpath in the United States, and as such it has a rich history of hikes of all lengths and speeds. According to the Green Mountain Club, hundreds of people set out to thru-hike the Long Trail each year, and tens of thousands more visit the trail in some capacity. The Long Trail also served as the inspiration for the Appalachian Trail; while helping with the construction of the Long Trail on Stratton Mountain in 1909, Benton MacKaye had his first ideas for what would ultimately become the Appalachian Trail, which would be completed in 1937, seven years after the completion of the Long Trail.
Speed efforts on the Long Trail date back to its very founding. Irving Appleby is the first known person to race the Long Trail all the way back in 1926 and 1927. He raced the Long Trail a few years before the trail was even completely finished; at the time the trail ended in North Troy but did not quite extend all the way to the Canadian border. It is safe to say that the Long Trail has one of the oldest history of speed attempts of any trail out there.
Media Coverage:
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John Kelly’s 2023 supported FKT in Trail Runner Magazine
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Will Peterson’s 2023 unsupported FKT in Outside Magazine
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Liz Derstine’s 2022 self-supported FKT with the Green Mountain Club
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Mikaela Osler’s 2021 unsupported FKT with the Green Mountain Club
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Ben Feinson’s 2021 supported FKT in Vermont Public
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Joe McConaughy’s 2020 self-supported FKT in Trail Runner Magazine
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Nika Meyers’ 2019 unsupported FKT in Vermont Sports
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Jeff Garmire’s 2019 unsupported FKT in Vermont Sports
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Alyssa Godesky’s 2018 supported FKT in ESPN
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Nikki Kimball’s 2012 supported FKT was documented in the film "Finding Traction"
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Travis Wildeboer’s 2010 unsupported FKT in Ski-Hi News
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Jonathan Basham’s 2009 supported FKT in Runner's World
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Ted Keizer’s 2004 supported FKT in the Rutland Herald
Route Variations: There are no directional route variations for the Long Trail. Although the majority of recent records have been run north to south, the Long Trail can be raced in either direction.
Duxbury Road - Lincoln Gap: We also have a variation for this challenging 30-mile section of the LT which includes the Monroe Skyline. This part of the LT includes three of Vermont's five 4,000 footers: Camel's Hump (4,081'), Mt. Ellen(4,081'), and Mt. Abraham (4,016'). The Green Mountain Club's Long Trail Guide calculates the mileage for this point to point section at 30.4 miles, and there is more than 11,500 feet of elevation gain.
Comments
Headed out 8/15 sobo, finally made time to take in this beautiful trail.
I plan to start an unsupported FKT attempt on the Long Trail starting 9/11/22 at around 6:00am going Southbound. My live tracker link is share.garmin.com/YW9A4
Heading out tomorrow 5/22 for the unsupported record trying to chase down Jeff Garmire. Planning to start around 1pm from MA/VT border running NOBO.
Here is my garmin tracking: share.garmin.com/Kwasnik
I will be attempting a southbound unsupported FKT starting tomorrow morning around 6am. Live tracking at https://share.garmin.com/oliverd and I'll post on Strava at
https://www.strava.com/athletes/oliver_dorazio.
Thank you to everyone who's efforts have inspired this attempt. I have no idea how this is going to go...
I'm planning to make an unsupported attempt at the Long Trail FKT later this week. Anticipated start time is early morning June 29, heading southbound.
Live tracking via my Garmin InReach: https://share.garmin.com/mattmruns
Might post a few updates to my instragram along the way: @matt.moschella
FKT or not, will definitely post to Stava afterwards: https://www.strava.com/athletes/18246568
Needless to say, I'm making live tracking publicly available, but to honor the guidelines of the unsupported category, please don't come find me out on the trail (until I reach MA).
I will be starting an unsupported FKT attempt on the Long Trail this Sunday 7/23 around 7am.
There are two short, flat sections of the Long Trail that are still closed due to the recent flooding in Vermont - along the Winooski and Lamoille Rivers. I spoke with the GMC, and they have no timeline as to when these segments will re-open. These segments total 1.9 miles. There are official reroutes around both segments that total 3.1 miles, therefore the reroutes add 1.2 miles. Having walked both of them, I am pretty confident that I will overall lose about 10-15 minutes due to the reroutes, which I am fine with. However, if I somehow come out ahead of record pace on these sections, I am happy to adjust my time accordingly.
Tracking:
https://maps.findmespot.com/s/KGH9
Here we go. On Thursday, 7/27, around 4 am, I will begin an unsupported FKT attempt on the Long Trail starting at the Northern Terminus.
I will follow the reroutes posted by the GMC due to flooding.
You can follow along on Instagram @the.spitfire
Or via live tracking: share.garmin.com/spitifire
I have been very loud about this FKT mission on social and the TIME HAS COME to send it! Tomorrow, July 30th I will be setting off from the Northern Terminus around 10am with the goal of setting a new female supported record. My husband will be taking over my Instagram account and you can track me here: https://share.garmin.com/shelbzzf It has been an epic, wet, 8 weeks of training specifically up and down the trail, and I couldn't be more stoked to link it all together over the next sub-5 days. 🐆⚡️💜🤘🏽🏴☠️🔥
I’ll be heading out to attempt to beat the wonderful Mikaela Osler’s unsupported time going SOBO in a few days. FKT will have my spot tracker link with the official start date/time, and I’ll also be posting intermittently on Instagram @kaytebrown. Wish me luck! ☺️
Planning a self-supported attempt in mid August 2024. Will check in later this year to confirm dates!
Helloooo!! I'll be on the trail as a self supported female, starting on june 1rst 2024! I'm excited to spend time in the mountains, feeling humble knowing how hard this challenge will be and how strong were the athletes who came before me. You can follow my journey on my strava profile (https://www.strava.com/athletes/57618767)! This will be a nice adventure even if there's no record broken :-)
A little heatstroke for me yesterday on the trail, so as many other attemps this one will have last only for a few days :-( but I had a wonderful time in the mountains, Vermont is amazing !!
Sorry to read, better luck next time.
Hi,
I will start tomorrow the 20th of June from the southern terminus of the long trail and go north. I will try to finish in about 5 days and will do it unsupported. I hope to have a lot of fun!
I will be starting a supported FKT attempt on the Long Trail tomorrow at around 10am with the help of dozens of friends, family, and locals.
To my knowledge there aren't any high water closures this time around. The only difference between my route and John Kelly's route from last year is that he had a very short (~0.3 mile) reroute around Prospect Rock because of a closure due to falcon nesting, which is now open. According to my calculations, this will lose me approximately 3-4 minutes.
Tracking:
https://share.garmin.com/willpeterson
Get it, Will!
I will be starting a self-supported FKT attempt starting on Saturday, 8/31, first thing in the morning. I have a tracker but won’t share it here bc I’ll be out there alone 😅. Will be going northbound. I’ll post afterwards regardless of whether I get the FKT!
i will be going unsupported on the long trail starting today. will do my best to make some updates along the way on my instagram @willybonez. happy trail!
Heading out for an unsupported attempt tomorrow, July 31, going SOBO. I’ve shared my tracking info with the FKT admins but won’t be sharing publicly on here. Daily tracks will upload to Strava and I probably won’t post much to Instagram but, who knows!
Strava: https://strava.app.link/LTyhXBNnqVb
Instagram: @tconstantine3
What’s up? I’m back! After a failed supported attempt in 2023, I’m returning to the Long Trail for an unsupported bid.
What makes this round even more special is that, after seven years exploring the West Coast, I’ve moved back to Vermont for good.
The journey begins at the Canadian border at 1:00 PM on August 10. A tracking link will be available on my Instagram account, @shelbzzf. 🐚🐝
Hello! I will be attempting to set the FKT on the Long Trail going southbound starting Aug 15 and hopefully finishing sometime on Aug 18. I am raising money for the Green Mountain Club in order to preserve and protect this beautiful trail for future generations. Please consider donating here - https://secure.qgiv.com/event/longtrailday2025/account/2081536/
Also you can track me here - https://share.garmin.com/LongtrailFKT
- Tara "Candy Mama" Dower <3
I’m heading out tomorrow, 8/15, to start a self-supported southbound FKT attempt. I plan to start between 430-5am. Here is my tracker info: share.garmin.com/gigglescm
I’m scared AF! Here we go!
New estimated start time for tomorrow is about 7am. Plus or minus.
Start is on pause. Will update once I’m actually headed out there. Could be tomorrow, could be Labor Day weekend.
Ok finally heading out tomorrow morning. So scared.
Hey gang! Headed out on 8/26 for a go at the unsupported FKT starting at 6AM SoBo from Journey's End. Heartbreak and hilarity sure to ensue!
Feel free to follow along at the link below:
live.garmin.com/justanothermoonlightmile
Proper link*:
share.garmin.com/justanothermoonlightmile
Actual link*:
Third time's a charm?
https://share.garmin.com/justanothermoonlightmile
No dice for me this time around. Made it to Roundtop (mile 45) on pace and fell off a bit the following morning otw up Whiteface. A heavy rain while traversing between Whiteface and Madonna being the ultimate nail in the coffin.
Bailed at the notch making for a short lived effort with the silver lining of some hard lessons learned and a lot of moving time to reflect. Happy I got to toe the line and give it what I could!
Heading out again tomorrow for another crack at the unsupported FKT starting SoBo from Journey's End. Very excited for clearer skies and further exploration whatever that entails this time around!
Here's the link to follow along:
https://share.garmin.com/justanothermoonlightmile
(Starting 6 AM EST, Wednesday September 10)
Swing & a miss for me yet again! Made it a bit further (mile 70) but behind pace considerably to Sterling Pond with a rapidly deteriorating knee slowing my pace even further.
In hindsight, I think it's safe to say it was just a bit to soon... A hail mary and an interception to boot!
Looking forward to reapproaching with more respect and maybe even a deeper bag one of these years :)
Here's to searching,
-Little Bear signing off