FKT: Emily Walker, Cali Janulis - NJ Appalachian Trail (NJ) - 2025-01-02

Route variation
Full NJ AT (72 miles)
Multi-sport
No
Gender category
Female
Style
Supported
Start date
Finish date
Total time
18h 22m 5s
GPS track(s)
Report

We intended to run the FKT on the Winter Solstice, on December 21st with a large crew and pacers, having a trail party along the way. Cali and Emily spent a few weekends planning and running sections of the AT to prepare, wanting to set out together and run a supported FKT together. When a big snowstorm came in and left us with 6 inches of snow. We decided to switch gears on that day to just have a trail celebration in the snow with our pacers and crew that all came out; we knew the FKT wouldn’t happen but ran a 50k and had a lot of fun. The weather window looked okay for Jan 1st, mild temps and only some minor rain.  On the evening of Dec. 30th, we made the call to spontaneously try again. This time with a limited crew, Josh and Dan, and whoever could come out last minute.

The two runners, Emily and Cali, and two crew/pacers, Dan and Josh, met at Tammany at 4am. We all then drove to Sunrise Lake for the hike in, starting around 5:20am and trying to take it easy on the first 1.3 mile climb to get to the start of NJ/NY border. It had poured the night before and was still misting in the morning, the trails were flooded and wet, but route seeking and conditions were much better than the 6 inches of snow we had on the 21st. It felt so amazing to see the trail, the blazes, and what was underfoot this time.

At 5:56am we officially started our NJ AT FKT attempt, running southbound and supported. The rocks were very slick in the beginning and would be through most of the day, but without the snow, it made it much more manageable. Dan started the first 6 miles with us and we were met every 1-2 hours at road crossings for crew and support. Cali and Emily ran the morning alone, and the 40 degree weather felt great, we even had a few glimpses of the sun. We had friends popping in at crew stations throughout the day, and it was so fun to be surprised by who came out. Jess and her dog, Luca, showed up first and brought us Wawa Pretzels, and then Dakota came with a wonderful warm blanket and encouragement. Josh paced at High Point around mi 29 until mi 44. Rain, snow, and wind greeted us around this time, but it blew off a couple of hours later. The wind stayed until the end but dried the rocks up nicely around 8pm. Ray surprised us by running in and did a section up to Culvers Gap and a little out and back beyond. At Culver’s, Cali’s parents, Jenise and Ted, came to cheer us on with bagels (Cali’s brother, Dean, just missed us) and Ryan came and stayed until the finish. Dan, then paced us from mi 44-62. We were on our projected splits to the minute at times at each aid station, even despite some stomach challenges throughout the day and the slick boardwalks and ridges. Justin came out to cheer us and we took the final section from Mohican Rd to the Sunfish alone. We saw the Northern Lights from Racoon Ridge to the pond! What an incredible night. We had a waist-lamp and a headlamp die at the entrance to the pond and had to use a phone flashlight. Dan and Josh ran up to Sunfish, (sprinting to catch us most of the way up!) with fresh batteries and a headlamp to meet us for the finale and the final descent! We crossed over the NJ/PA bridge at 12:18 am, 18 hours and 22 min later. 

Overall, we had a great experience. We couldn’t have done it without our crew, pacers, and friends who supported us both on our originally planned day for the first attempt (Josh, Ryan, Jess, Justin D, Justin L, Christa, Nickolai, Dakota, Mason) and again on our second spontaneous attempt (Josh, Dan, Jess, Dakota, Ray, Jenise & Ted, Dean, Ryan, Justin L).