Photos on Strava.
Originally had planned for Sat, 30 May but had to push one day because of the tropical storm and attempt to do it on Sun. Started the routed by Crabtree Valley Mall at the start of Crabtree Creek Trail. I stress that you do some homework and map studying as some sections have more they one trail name on them and if you are going unsupported, will throw you off when you are trying to remember a 100 other things.
Luckily, got to play patty - cake with city protesters over the recent current events countrywide while navigating the southern part of the loop. There was some concern on my part and since I was all along going for an unsupported FKT and there were many long tunnels where a person could get jacked pretty easy. Luckily, that didn't end up being the case.
Cool route and highly recommend if you ever get the chance. All kinds of varying terrain. From paved path, to boardwalk and suspension bridges to even technical single track that was slick with roots and mud from all the recent rains. Add on wearing road shoes and the good times were a rolling. There were also a couple parts of the trail that were flooded out due to the Neuse River. Two of the three spots I came upon, there was no choice but to ford the water with one being up to mid-calf deep. I hate running with wet shoes, especially road shoes but it is what it is.
Some other monkey wrenches thrown in were at the very beginning, city construction crews had blocked off a small section of the trail for maintenance. You couldn't go through and they put you on the sidewalk paralleling the course for a couple hundred feet. That would have been fine but somehow, I missed the turning point and had to back track. This would not be the first where I missed a turn and had to back track, happened two more times. I calculated that I added anywhere between 1 and 1.5 miles of running then my predecessors doing the exact same route so... it is what it is. I believe I could have dropped at least another 10 minutes off my overall time. Additionally, all public taps had been turned off thanks to COVID but I did luck out and find two public taps that were working. This enabled me to carry a lot less water than originally planned.
See photos for other details like how small the signs are in the city block sections and pics of other neat things. You can check my Strava for other details. Contact me if you have any questions. Thanks.