I started from Whitney Portal at 5:37am once it was light enough to run without a headlamp and be worried about tripping. I was surprised at how runnable the trail was for most of the ascent. I carried all of my calories and 74oz of water with a filter. It was cool enough at the start I didn't drink very much. I felt really good running up. The altitude definitely slowed me down, but I didn't have any other issues. Such a beautiful and fun route!! I made it to the top around 8:24am! I switched around the full and empty bottles in my vest and started walking down as I ate a snack. Then I started running back down!
I had all the previous splits written out for both the ascent FKT and the car-to-car. If I was around or slightly under all the times I had I would've reached the bottom in 5:04. For the ascent I was under by 18 minutes so I knew if I kept a steady effort I would reach the bottom in under 5:20. I felt pretty good the entire time!
I had absolutely perfect weather and I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day! Most importantly I had so much fun and couldn't stop smiling for the first 17 miles (then I hit my shin on a rock and fell in a creek, so the smiling stopped). I made it back down by mid morning and had a lovely lunch by the stream!