I completed this FKT and the other route up and down Black Bear Mountain this morning as part of 46Climbs, a fundraiser for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to raise awareness and funds for mental health. I opted to do the blue trail up and down first, as I had read that it was steeper and more technical. I'm glad I decided to this route first so that I could do it on fresh legs.
Since it was Labor Day weekend, I started early to avoid any crowds on the trails, but it wasn't too bad the whole morning. The first mile was very runnable, and then I had to walk most of the second mile. It was muddier than I expected, and I'm not very fast when the trail is steep and rocky. I also dropped my phone during the third mile when I started to pick up the pace again and had to go back for it. Nevertheless, I'm proud that I finished strong.
It was a bit of a last-minute decision to do this, so someone with more preparation and who is much better at the steep/technical parts will easily smash this. I'm glad to get the ball rolling on this FKT and hope to see some speedy ladies crush this in the future!