Cave Dog's 2000 record was unchallenged for a dozen years. Then, starting August 23, 2012, John "Homie" Prater set out after the record. Prater was not successful (due to injury), but a compelling story, written by Dan England, about his journey is here: www.sbnation.com. There was a very long thread on 14ers.com during and after the attempt.
Really not sure how this will shake out, but I get going tomorrow morning around 5:15 am. -- John Prater, 22 August 2012
In June 2014 Andrew Hamilton (who had set the 14ers record way back in 1999), now father of 4 young kids, went after the 14ers record. Hamilton set some very fast times, and was well ahead of record pace until he was stopped in his tracks late on Day 6 on a huge traverse of the Elk Range by injury. After a break of many hours, apparently including a forced bivy high on South Maroon Peak, Hamilton restarted and was still on or near record pace until the injury -- Compartment Syndrome -- finally took him out on Day 9. His trip was followed and documented in detail in a long thread on 14ers.com, which even includes some words of encouragement from Cave Dog himself. Hamilton put up a detailed trip report on his website. Buzz Burrell had this to say about Hamilton and the evolution of the 14ers record:
Andrew is amazing. I was briefly with him on his two previous FKT's, and with Rick and Rickey on both theirs. Each person/team has their own strength and weaknesses: Rick and Rickey were way fast, basically setting FKT's on every summit. Then they'd go to town, have lunch at a mexican restaurant, then go back out - not an optimum style. Andrew was slower on the peaks, but his AR [adventure racing] background changed the game to one of more continuous movement - he's a master of sleep deprivation. Cave Dog took logistics to a whole new level, combining fitness, planning, and crew strength to set a very high bar. Now Andrew is back. He's fit, experienced, with a good plan and crew. But if he get's the record, it will not be because of any of those things - it will be because he is way tougher than anyone else. He throws down. -- Buzz Burrell
My goal was not to break the record by hiking faster, but by being faster than everyone else while I wasn’t hiking. -- Andrew Hamilton
Brett Maune went after Cave Dog's record later that same summer, starting August 19, 2014. Maune put in some very fast hike times, and completed the San Juans in just 40 hours, but succommed to food poisoning from a chicken sandwich that he purchased at the Pikes Peak summit restaurant! There was a lengthy thread during his attempt on 14ers.com.
Good luck, much speed, and go get that record. -- Cave Dog Ted Keizer to Brett Maune
Finally, starting June 29 and ending in the early morning hours of July 9, 2015, Andrew Hamilton succeeded in besting Cave Dog's time by nearly a day, climbing 58 peaks in 9d21h51m. There was, of course, another massive thread on 14ers.com detailing nearly every aspect of the attempt. Hamilton was met at the finish, 3000' below the summit of Longs Peak, in the early hours of July 9 by a group of about 50 well-wishers, including Cave Dog himself, who had flown out to Colorado that evening specifically for the event. Hamilton was interviewed about the record on 9NEWS. irunfar.com has a detailed interview with Hamilton on his 2014 Colorado 14ers and Nolan's 14 FKTs.
What really set my attempt apart this time was I had the best crew ever. -- Andrew Hamilton
Andrew Hamilton, you are one of the reasons Colorado is cool. -- Kyle Clark, 9NEWS
Maune came back in 2015 and tried again, taking the train into Needleton for the Chicago Basin start later in the same day (July 9) that Hamilton finished his successful record on Longs. Maune was ultimately unsuccessful, succumbing to exercise induced asthma after a few days. Maune was again supported by his wife, Hareem, and some friends, but also called apon the Colorado 14ers community for help along the way, creating what must be the first "crowd sourced" record attempt! There was another long thread on 14ers.com.