I had a couple days to get some running in before a backpacking trip, and I thought pushing for a couple FKT’s could make it a bit more fun! Decided to run this loop first and then go for the Matterhorn/Sacajawea FKT the following day.
Tried to start out steady and not completely destroy my legs on day one. Set a fun pace up to the lakes basin. All very runnable which is great! Tons of water along the way so it’s easy to refill just about anywhere. Mostly fast hiked the portion up to Glacier Gap and couldn’t help but stop and take a ton of pictures at Glacier Lake. I was still feeling good, and figured it would be pretty cruiser downhill back to the trailhead. It was pretty rocky and slower than anticipated coming down from glacier. Then after the stream crossing the heat really started hitting me. It was 100°+ in Joseph, not sure what the temp was on the trail, but it was HOT. That last stretch felt awful. I stopped to slosh around in just about every stream. My easy cruise down felt like a never ending slog, and I almost passed out back at the trailhead from a little heat sickness.