I attempted this FKT of the Cincinnati Nature Center perimeter alone on a chilly and overcast day. Temps were in the mid 30s, and we had been receiving a wintery mix type of precipitation for a couple of days prior. This combined with the prior holiday foot track made the trails very chewed up, muddy, and slippery in numerous places. It was a bit windy, but the trees and hills provide good protection. I chose to run the loop in the counter clockwise direction starting with the Lookout trail section and following a 2.5 mile warmup. This put the bigger climbs in the first half of the run and let me finish on the more runnable sections. The mud tempered the pace a little in areas I was hoping to push, but I adjusted and relaxed in the mud and pushed when the conditions allowed. I had enough left in the tank and the conditions allowed me to open it up the last 3 miles and finish in 1:12:58. I started and finished on the asphalt sidewalk in front of the CNC visitor center. After the effort, I added another couple miles of cool down time.
I carried 1 gel but did not eat it and carried no fluids. I tracked the run with a Garmin Forerunner 55, and it was dead on with the FKT distance of 10.8 miles and 1,100ft of climb. I ran in Salomon Side Sense Ride 5 shoes and they were great all things considered.
Due to injury and family commitments over the last 2 years, I haven't been able to do any structured racing - trail or otherwise - so it was good to get out and test myself a little with this FKT effort.
Editor's note: It appears David took a different section of the Geology Trail on the west side of the main loop, pinching the "waist" of the loop more than the official route. However, as this only added distance to his effort and did not appear to give any advantage or substantial variation from the established route, I am approving this FKT.