Location
Tennessee,
US
Kentucky,
US
Distance
59.1 mi
Description
GPS Track
N S Trail.gpx3.7 MB
FKTs
Male
Female
| Peter Hubbard | 10h 36m 1s |
| Zachary Lever | 13h 39m 22s | |||
| Lofton Rowley | 1d 2h 52m 30s |
| Danna Baxley, Shelly Morris | 20h 26m 23s |
Female
| Lindsey Roberts | 11h 59m 33s |
This route on the old FKT site
Comments
Hello, on Saturday, February 15th I plan to attempt a Self Supported run of the North/South Trail (KY/TN). Starting at the North Welcome Center and heading South. I want to start a little before sunrise to hopefully finish by sunset.
Brandon,
Did you attempt this?
I have run the south portion a few times about half way up to the north. Thinking about attempting a self-supported or unsupported attempt at FKT in late September/ early October. I don’t see any attempts or time established for either self supported or unsupported. The supported time set by Peter is a solid one no doubt.
Howdy, I'm planning an unsupported or self-supported men's FKT attempt on December 29. I had a great Zoom chat with Danna and Shelly to get some pro tips, and I'll be scoping out the (alleged) springs over the next few weeks to see if there's enough water flow for a truly unsupported attempt. The actual attempt date may fluctuate slightly based on weather, but I'm hoping for Dec 29.
Good luck! Look forward to hearing your report. At some point I will be attempting this FKT. I’ve ran most of the route now it’s just timing of what day to attempt.
Thanks! Unfortunately, during my long run/scouting mission last weekend I developed some foot pain that hasn't gone away with a week off. Pretty sure I'm dealing with a stress fracture, so I think the attempt is a no-go. After a long build for this, it's a bit of a bummer to have an injury right before tapering and to not be able to follow through the attempt, but hopefully I can come back at some point to give this a shot!
I have a question about this trail. FKT lists the length as 59ish miles, while All Trails lists the length as 55ish miles. Both seem to start/end at the same place. Where's the difference made up?
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/kentucky/north-south-trail
Megan,
Go with the 59ish miles. Peter Hubbard set supported FKT---see link above with a GPS recorded distance of 59.46. Danna and Shelly recorded 61 miles via Strava GPS you can see that under their FKT as well above (they did go off course a bit, but it wasn't a large amount) I have done the entire route in separate sections several times. At some point I will put all together and make attempt. When I piece them together I always come up near 60 miles.
This is last minute but I'm going to attempt an unsupported FKT for the north/south trail this weekend. 10-23-21. I plan on actually hiking the trail and even sleeping a few hours so it should be an easy one to beat for you runners out there. I'll have my Spot GPS on during the hike and I'm traveling south to north.
Awesome. Let us know how it goes. I have been doing portions of N/S for last few years. I will be making an unsupported attempt very soon as well. ?✔️
I finished in 26 hours and 52 minutes. I'll be submitting the info once I download my SPOT data. Good luck on yours you have a time to shoot for.
This is terrific! Well done my friend. You will always be the first one in known history to set the initial un-supported time!
Thank you. I live near LBL so if you need help when you attempt it let me know.
Tomorrow after several years of recons and running the entire trail in sections several times it all comes together. Early Sunday am on 31 October 2021 I will attempt to run the N/S LBL trail completely unsupported. I will bring all supplies (mainly liquid hydration) with me and pull my water from natural sources along the route and filter the water with my filter bottle. I’ll be starting from the south station and finishing at the north station.
Started at the south station and finished in the north. So thankful for the rain previously as i had ample fluids whenever i needed. Much more in run report i will submit tomorrow to fkt site. What a day. Very pleased.
Time 13 hours and 39 minutes.
Just noticed you done this man, HUGE congratulations!
Thanks Cass! Very pleased. At some point I think I’ll do again and shoot for the 12s. It was so fun. Loved the journey.
If one were to do this route self-supported, what would be a good spot to stash extra water/food for partway through? Is there a campsite near Route 68, around the halfway point? Is it okay to briefly detour from the trail to get stashed water/food, as long as one doesn't cut the trail?
Thanks in advance!
Golden Pond is roughly halfway. Probably best place to cache supplies. You can leave the trail to go get supplies but you have to return to the exact same spot you left the trail and then continue on. Do a good recon of the Golden Pond area before you stash your supplies. Do a few miles north and a few miles south of that. In fact if you have the time I suggest you run the trail in pieces before your full attempt. The route is not always easy to navigate. I’ve been on it over 30 times and I still get turned around sometimes.
I will be attempting the female supported FKT on Monday, February 6th, 2023 on the tornado damage reroute. Happy trails to all!
Awesome Lindsey!!! Look forward to hearing about your journey.
Thanks for letting me run on your trail!
SUCCESS! 11:59:33