After a couple rough weeks off the bike thanks to wildfire smoke and a sprained elbow, I was looking for a challenge to get me out on my feet. Earlier in the year, Jakob (current supported FKT on this loop) mentioned FKTs as a fun alternative to racing. Jakob has inspired a lot of what I do on my feet over the last couple years, so here I was. I'd read about different styles and decided 'unsupported' would be fun to attempt for this loop.
I started around 7:45am at Cannon/Ferguson and set off toward the escarpment to hit the loop CCW and get most of the sustained elevation out of the way early on. I knew of three public fountains on the route, and starting from close to home meant the first was about 1km in, the second would be about halfway, and the third would be right before closing the loop out. Knowing I'd be running 2.5+ hours before getting a refill and with a warm day in the forecast, my bag was fully loaded with 2.5L of water, along with all kinds of carbs and a redbull for the halfway mark.
The first half went pretty smooth, with the heat holding off and my legs feeling strong enough over the first HM distance despite the slow and steady climb up the escarpment. The trails in Red Hill were an absolute treat around 15km in, offering some recovery on the descents and some really nice shade.
Coming out onto the beach strip, my right hip flexor started feeling tight but I welcomed the flat stretch. The sun started beating down, but smiles from some local bike pals who happened to be passing by and many strangers along the path kept me going. I took a nice break at the public fountain to refill and rinse off, and set back out. A couple minutes later I got stuck waiting for the lift bridge and took the opportunity to crush the redbull I had brought along.
I got into Burlington and my hip flexor started screaming more loudly, and the slight rolling hills on North Shore Blvd felt a little bigger and longer than they actually were. With roughly 20km left, I made the call to slow it down and start taking some walking breaks to make sure I could finish, and it turns out that was the right move. I kept slogging along, only to find Bayfront popping with karaoke and a (presumably) unsanctioned rave. One more public fountain rinse off and I was on my way to run/walk back to Cannon/Ferguson, where my partner Jeanne was waiting on the other side with another ice cold redbull and lots of smiles, stoked to hear about my suffering from the morning.
Overall, I had a great time. This may have been a little ambitious after taking a few weeks off of running regularly, but it was exactly what my brain needed after feeling a little cooped up recently.
Thank you to Jakob for seeing the potential for this to be a great FKT route - I look forward to you nabbing the unsupported time from me whenever you get back out.