I have ran this trail multiple times, including having the FKT for a spell last year, and absolutely love it, there is a good mix of flowy single track, short steep hills, valleys, meadows, and flat, fast paved sections. My previous best was 4:54 last fall so I knew I was going to be pushing it. I was supposed to run Georgia Death Race this weekend but with it being postponed due to COVID-19, I decided to go after this FKT instead. I had originally planned on going after this FKT and following it up with a second loop to set the Double Loop FKT as well. Some severe flooding last weekend left the trails extremely muddy and nasty. This trail is almost always wet but this was on a new level, plus all the extra foot traffic from people being off work had it all tore up so two loops weren't happening this time. For anyone attempting this, I highly recommend going after it in the fall when it's dry.
From a logistics standpoint, I started at Kercher Park and went up to Germantown Metro Park first, doing a CW loop to get the worst of the hills out of the way in the beginning. I got back to my car in 2:05 and stopped long enough to get a new water bottle and some more food. Then took the bike path down to Twin Creak and went CCW so that the last 5 miles or so would be pretty much flat and good for making some time up. The last couple miles were a struggle but I knew if I just kept going I would get it.