Dan Rose ran the trail mostly self-supported (some pacing & support in the last ~15 miles) on November 7-8, 2009, in a time of 32h43m14s. Rose ran west-to-east, starting at the intersection with the AT, on Stony Mountain, which is a 3-mile hike from the nearest road. He figured it would be safer for a solo runner to do the most remote portion of the trail first. He carried a 20 lb pack, took water from streams and hoses, and resupplied at a couple of mini-marts and a restaurant along the way. A friend ran with Rose for the last 15 miles. His report details his experience, and is an entertaining read. Rose had some difficulty with route finding in a couple of spots, resulting in several extra miles. His quoted time is for the HST proper (not car-to-car).
While 95% of the trail is well-marked, the official maps are hand-drawn and wildly out-of-date in terms of re-routed sections and new road developments. They don't show any crossing trails (and trust me, there are many), and they list only a small percentage of cross streets. If you lose the trail at all, it can be tremendously difficult to find it again. You'll be OK if you carry a compass, the guide book (which has a trail update sheet included in it every year), and the creativity to invent hundreds of new curse words while you wander helplessly up and down the trails and country roads. That last part is very important for your sanity: If you just end up using the same swears over and over, you'll just bore yourself. Trust me, I speak from experience. -- Dan Rose