Route: Twin Valley Trail (OH)

On 8/7/2020 I attempted the FKT for single loop self supported.  The time to beat or at least I thought the time to beat was Ethan Lucas time of 4h 18min.  I parked at Kercher park and ran the North loop counter clockwise. When I got back to the car I was about 2min 30sec ahead of Ethan's time.  I started to really struggle with the southern loop in counterclockwise direction. I stared to loose my lead and at one point with maybe 5 miles left I was now over 3 minutes behind Ethan.  I rallied and was able to push it the remaining 5 miles. I was able to shed a lot of time on the road section back to the finish.  I gave it everything I had that day and came in under 2min ahead of Ethan's time. I was so elated and happy to know I pushed it so hard and had set the new FKT (or at least that's what I thought at that time). At the finish I immediately started to cramp up and had a very hard time moving. 2 disc golfers were walking by and they gave me a couple of concerned looks, I briefly explained I was okay. They were kind enough to grab my celebratory beer from my cooler and bring it to me in my hobbled condition.  Oh did I enjoy that beer or at least the first half. By the time I got about half way through my drink I started feeling a little better and for some reason got on the FKT website. That's when I saw that the FKT was beaten 5 days earlier by Chris Romie, ughhh.  I went from cloud 9 to straight disappointment. I spent the rest of the day trying to sort through my emotions. On one hand I beat the goal I had set and had to push so hard to get it. On the other hand though I did not get the FKT and really that was the goal.

I finished in 4h 14min 4 sec.

Link to my run, <iframe height='405' width='590' frameborder='0' allowtransparency='true' scrolling='no' src='https://www.strava.com/activities/3879151459/embed/3d4c78f1ae59a61932bb…;

I’ll be doing the TVT this Sunday weather permitting. This is my first time trying any trail FKT so I’m not thinking I’ll get anywhere near the top. My goal is 7 hrs. I’ve done the whole trail once (over two days) and each individual park a few times over so I’m excited to try it all together.