Loarin/Stoneycreek FKT
Went out to set the bar for this FKT after scouting the route yesterday I knew this was going to be a pain and dangerous to run fast today. Legs were a little sore. Didn’t notice after a while but did notice my fitness level lacking. Was hoping to finish in under hour. That seemed like a tall task with how hard this route is and how much you really do have to slow down and walk at certain points.
Happy with my 58:15 finish time. Started off fast before hitting the lime green trail, where the hardness starts. From there my pace dropped till I reached the top where the trail goes from a 10 difficulty to a 3ish for that brief period. That was a nice break for my legs. There was not as much hesitation today. Felt way more comfortable navigating the trail. Its still hard to depict a lot of the trail where you actually suppose to run. The trail for over half of it isn’t worn. I say it makes a normal deer trail look like a 4 lane highway is the best I can describe it. That’s not a lie either. The only things that allows you to really follow the trail is the blazes on the trees. They are numerous, though you do have to look up and not watch your footing so that slows you down significantly.
Did chase the deer herd around the mountain again. There is about a dozen that go back and forth on the mountain as you run. Saw 6 other people while running today. They were just walking no runners which is pretty normal for the trail.
My feet did not seem to be as wet early on but towards the end I did step right in the middle if a spring that I thought was a lot more shallow. I also took my saucony periguines. The periguins made a uge difference in gripping the trail today compared to my saucony cohesions. So definitely take your best gripping trailshoes if you come attempt this fkt. Also wore fingerless gloves today. I never wear any type gloves except during winter running to keep hands warm. The gloves played a huge role today. It allowed me to brace myself up on the rocks and grab trees to swing around. So wear gloves as well.
Surprisingly did not fall. Came close a few times but never went down. Its hard to describe the route without typing a 100 page novel. I may have to video it to show people what to exactly expect. The billy goat type hills did suck as well skirting across the banks in spots. I was more worried about tripping then paying attention to what was going on today. If the ground is harder it may actually make it harder. Before I thought it be easier but now I think harder ground will not provide enough grip or allow your shoes to dig in as the softer ground does. Plus I definitely feel sketchy about some of the big rocky parts, they really look like good snake and bee stomping ground in warm weather. So I think I wont be runing this route in summertime.
Not sure what else to say except that it is a hard FKT and you should be an experienced trail runner to attempt it if your going for time. If your going for fun then it’s a nice training route.
The picture of the trail is form one of the easy readable climbs not the hard ones. I wasnt playing with my phone during those.