Route: Catoctin National Scenic Trail (MD)

Location
Maryland, US
Distance
27.5 mi
Vertical Gain
4,750 ft
Description

The Catoctin National Scenic Trail trail traverses about 25 miles mostly through the hardwood forest, profuse with mountain laurel on Catoctin Mountain and passes through Gambrills State Park, the Frederick Municipal Watershed, Cunningham Falls State Park, and Catoctin Mountain Park. 

Comments

If there is no FKT on this trail, I will go out and hike it this Friday, 12/14 and set the FKT. More details to come and will link my strava app

On Friday 12/14- I will be attempting the self supported FKT of this trail. Early weather forecast is shit rain. I will post my strava upon completion.

If you haven’t attempted it. I have a proposal for you. Let’s do it together on this weeekend. One of us start from church and other from park. Whoever finishes it faster will claim FKT. If interested then let me know. 

I'm planning on running it unsupported this Friday, 12/21. If service is good enough, I'll start a Garmin LiveTrack that will put a link on my twitter @DarrelDorseyJr and then I'll post to Strava here https://www.strava.com/athletes/darrel_dorseyjr when done.

I'll be heading South to North.

This is to declare my intention to run unsupported FKT on Sunday, December 23, 2018. I will start Garmin Live Tracking and I will put a link on my twitter account @LokeshMeenaUSA and I will also upload my activity on my Strava profile at https://www.strava.com/athletes/16146771.  A live Garmin Tracking link will also try to add on Instagram bio @lokesh_meena_ultrarunner. Thank you.

I finished new FKT in 05hr:30min:50sec. I have submitted my FKT to the FKT Team. Thank you so much.

I will be attempting this unsupported FKT on 4/26/2019, I will carry everything I need as well as water purification tablets to treat water if needed. I scouted out the trail on 4/21/2019 and believe there is enough stream crossings if there is a need. I will post a trip report on my strava:  https://www.strava.com/athletes/39232133

I will post a start time the night before, current plan is to start at 7:00am but depending on weather this may change.

It looks like there are some women who have posted times for this segment on Strava that do not show up on this site, so they probably just haven't reported it. Regardless, a friend and I intend to go out and attempt the FKT for the women on this trail this Sunday (6/9/19). The Strava CR is about 7:20, so we are shooting for faster than that :)

I intend to pursue the FKT (South to North) within the next 15 days. Ideally, I will do so on April 4th or 5th, if travel is still permitted. However, I might opt to run it next weekend if the weather is favorable and a lockdown in Maryland seems imminent for the following week. I also will postpone my attempt if the public health community revises it's guidance and begins discouraging recreation along trails - this seems unlikely but the situation is fluid. I will provide an update by Friday, March 27. Take care and stay well, friends. 

Update: I'm postponing my attempt indefinitely. I don't believe that I can run this trail for speed while maintaining a safe distance from other users. The AT Conservancy's president has asked people to stay off the AT. Parks Projects has called for the closure of all state and national parks. Outside Magazine has advised that people avoid popular destinations and only run with household members. I've resolved to adhere to this more restrictive guidance, and I hope others do too. I'll likely spend the rest of this crisis logging miles on paved roads or wide fireroads to ensure I can safely pass others. 

Lindsey Weaver and I will attempt to set the FKT for women (South to North) tomorrow (06/07/2020).  We are hoping to finish in under 7 hours, and see zero rattlesnakes.  You can follow my STRAVA beacon throughout the day.  Update to follow.

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I will attempt to set the female unsupported time on Saturday, June 27.  I will post my Strava when completed.  

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I'll be attempting to lower the unsupported men's FKT of 4:35:57 on Thursday August 20. I will travel south-north and post the run on Strava. ✌️

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Pat Stem and I will be attempting the Unsupported Men's FKT tomorrow morning.  We will be starting in the south.  We plan to run together in an unsupported fashion, however we understand that if one of us poops out that the other one will continue on and get bumped into the supported category.

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Dan Frank and I will be attempting the Unsupported Men's FKT tomorrow morning ;)

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Pat Stem, Dan Frank, and I will be attempting the Catoctin FKT Out & Back variation on Thursday.  We plan to start together, finish together, and be unsupported.

Gonna take a stab at the unsupported time on the standard route today

In reply to by Patrick_Blair

Oops, forgot to post here. I was 15ish minutes under pace at the bottom of Bob's Hill and then my stomach blew up by the time I got up Bob's Hill, so I called it there (18.5ish miles in). I might give it another go this winter, we'll see...

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We aren't planning to push the pace, but just in case - Shannon Pyles and I are going out unsupported on Saturday, south to north.

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I am tempted to explore Catoctin tomorrow on a training run (🤔😸) and I am curious if anyone has experienced the trail from North to South? Count this as my announcement if for some reason I wake up feeling spicy. 🌶️

Awesome trail! Rolled an already angry ankle 15 minutes in and took that as my sign to adhere the 3.5 hour run on my training plan 😖🙄. The leaves covering the rocks were a good challenge in focus and patience. Completed the first 15 miles going southbound. Would love to come back and push it one day!