I’ve been eyeing this section for a while when I discovered there was no female FKT while working on section hiking the entire Appalachian Trail. I’m a lifelong runner and a former college XC/TF athlete, but my experience is shorter distances mostly on the roads and track. My training for this was the 1700+ miles of the AT I’ve completed so far and a 28 mile run on the Pennsylvania section of the AT last weekend (prior to this, my longest run was only 15 miles!). Someone with more ultra experience and appropriate training will easily be able to set this FKT. Excited to set the bar for this FKT and excited to see future women set the bar even higher!
The weather was supposed to be 50s, but it was 40s and rain. Most of the trail was very rocky, and in the rain it was slippery. I did very little true running and more fast hiking for most of this route. Despite the slower pace due to the weather and rocks, I made my time goal of under 6:30!
I carried 2 liters of water (only drank about 1) and ate dried apricots, applesauce, fruit snacks, Sour Patch Kids, peanut butter crackers, and a quarter of a protein bar throughout the run.