This was an all out effort for me! Started at 6:44am from Black Rock Campground and finished 4 hours, 40 minutes, and 11 seconds later. My husband, Nick, and I ran this as a mixed-gender unsupported team back in February, so I had a rough idea of what the trail looked like going in today. This time, I wanted to go for a supported solo time, so my husband and our good friend, Robert Hunt, took turns pacing me. This also meant that they could meet me at several points throughout the route, including at miles 19.5, 25, 29, and 31.5 or so. I carried a handheld but otherwise they were able to hand me gels and any extra water, which was great because it meant I could move light and fast. I wanted them to run behind me, so that I could be in charge of the pace, so that's what they did. I ended up dropping both of them at various points, including 3 or so miles out from the finish.
Since Keely's time is so impressive, I knew that I had to stick close to her splits throughout. At the halfway mark, I believe I was a little over a minute or so off, and thereafter chose not to look at any more times and instead just focus on running as fast as I could. This continued right up until the finish, and it wasn't until I had sat down and looked at my watch that I saw I had improved upon her time by about two minutes.
I consumed roughly 1700 calories during this and felt like that was a great amount to keep my energy up. That said, this was honestly one of the hardest efforts I've ever ran, whether during a FKT or race. I have a lot of respect for the other females on this board! They set the bar high.
I have a Coros watch that is notoriously slow when it comes to mileage, so you will see a discrepancy in the distance here (36.3 vs. 36.9) However, this is the same mileage that it gave me when I ran the route in February and my route can be verified via the Strava segment, as well.
My husband took lots of photos and videos in the chance that I was successful today. Luckily it paid off! I'm including the photos here.