Fox River Trail FKT Race Report
I've had my eye on the Fox River Trail for many years. On New Year's Eve 2023, my friends Dave, Alex, and I ran the first 26 miles together before racing each other to the finish. Alex ended up breaking the record in 5:04-high, but he wasn’t really sure how to classify the effort since we'd run much of it together and received aid along the way.
For this attempt, I wanted to go solo and go after the unsupported (also the overall) record of 5:12 by Kyle Braund. He beat me at the Crown King Scramble 50k in 2025, so I knew it’d be a challenge. Even though he set the record in the dead of winter with very little prep.
I'd been sick the week prior, so I pushed the attempt back a week to give myself some extra recovery time. I'm currently in the middle of (hopefully) a 100-mile race training block, and I figured this would be a great opportunity to test my fitness, fueling, and gear over a sustained hard effort.
My nutrition plan was: 20 oz of fluid, 900 mg of sodium, and 80 g of carbs per hour. I managed to stick to that throughout the entire run. I refilled water twice at public fountains along the trail and carried everything else. Every planned carb went down, although I did end up donating a few back to the course thanks to some stomach issues around mile 32 which a plethora of ginger pills couldn’t resolve.
Conditions were pretty good, with temps in the mid-40s at the start and climbing into the upper 50s by the finish. I wore my 2022 Nike Alphaflys and started with a pack weighing around 6.5 pounds. Depending on how much water I was carrying, I estimate the pack averaged somewhere around 4.5 pounds throughout the run.
The original goal was to bring the FKT under five hours. But my legs just didn't have enough left over the final six miles or so to make that happen. Still, it was a great effort and an incredibly useful training day.
I have no doubt that sub-5 is very doable on this route. When somebody eventually takes it under that mark, I hope to come back and give it another shot.
One thing I'm still not sure about is the best strategy for unsupported fkt. Is it better to attempt it in late fall or spring, when the weather is decent and the public water fountains are still on? Or wait until winter for cooler temperatures, but have to carry all your fluids for the entire run? I suppose filtering water from the Fox River is technically another option!
Nonetheless.. this was a great adventure on a 10/10 Illinois trail. Some of my favorite sections are running through the town of East Dundee, crossing the long wooden bridge over the Fox River, and passing the giant windmill.
Can’t wait til thee next one.
More pics on Instagram @andrew.vs.running