FKT: Jason Gavenonis - Cumberland Valley on the AT (PA) - 2021-11-11

Athletes
Route variation
out & back (rim-to-rim-to-rim)
Multi-sport
No
Gender category
Male
Style
Unsupported
Start date
Finish date
Total time
7h 19m 55s
GPS track(s)
Report

Took the route exactly as described by Rick Martin. There was construction in the BS Forge parking lot, so I parked at the AT Conservancy in Boiling Springs and walked over to the parking lot to start the attempt at 7:04 AM.

I ran unsupported, carrying everything* I needed: a 1.8 L hydration pack with 3x Tailwind, 2x 500 mL caffeinated Tailwind in hand-held bottles, a third 500 mL handheld in the pack with just water, 5 gels (4 went unused), two Skratch rice cakes, some Welch's fruit snacks, and a Pickle Juice shot that had been sitting in my office fridge for a year but somehow wasn't expired. I had another 300 mL HydraPak that couldn't quite fit in the pack, so that one spent just over 7 hours in my trunk.

The first up/down of CPK went just like every other time I run it, and I made it up to the turnaround just around 3:30 in. Got just far enough to trigger the SB FKT segment; I went maybe 20 ft. past the fallen tree that's been sawed to clear the trail.

The way back had plenty of walk/run, and I was glad I had that pickle juice around mile 34 just before crossing Leidigh Dr. Walked most of the way up CPK the second time, and managed to put together nearly two miles in the 9's to get back to the BS Forge lot just under 7:20.

Weather was perfect for this, and I saw plenty of hikers (and even a few runners) for a Thursday.

* I ran out of fluids halfway up the last CPK climb. So almost everything.