Decided on this route as a good "intro" to the FKT world as it's short, familiar, and very close to home. My wife (who at this time holds the female FKT for this route!) and I jogged the ~4 miles to the start of the loop from our house. I told her I'd see her at home, and took off down the trail and completed the loop in an unsupported fashion.
Decided to wear my Altra Timps as they are fast and relatively new, giving me decent lugs on the somewhat wet terrain. I carried some Gu Chews, but didn't eat any while running. The trail was in overall good shape, and the only challenging sections were the super-steep portions, and those that ran sideways along the hillside. Tried to stick to the side of the trail to get better grip.
Chose the clockwise route so that I could complete the gauntlet of stream crossings on fresh legs, then could open it up later in the loop while I was in a rhythm. Only took one slight mis-turn, but due to my familiarity with the trail, it was corrected within a few steps.
Think it will take an all-out effort to beat this time, and would be a great feat to dip below 30 minutes.