A little background on why we picked this trail: Lauren wanted to do a long run for her birthday and this one had been on our list. I live in Harrison County, Indiana, where the AHT is located, and Lauren used to work as a biologist in the area. We both would love to see more runners getting out on the beautiful trails in southern Indiana, just outside Louisville, KY.
We began our run around 8:30AM on January 9th from the connector trail parking lot. We, unfortunately, missed a turn shortly into the run, but didn't have to backtrack more than a quarter mile. We hit the main loop of the AHT and decided to go clockwise. The terrain is classic for the area, and the trail goes up and over knobs and winds down through ravines. Along the way we saw views of both the Blue River and the Ohio River, and across into Kentucky. We did miss one other turn, but it took us to a beautiful overlook of the Ohio, so we weren't too upset. It also wasn't that far from getting back on track. By the time we made it back to the connector, we were excited for our mostly downhill finish - although we realized the last little bit was more uphill that we remembered from running down it in the morning. We finished strong, and celebrated with cake at the trailhead.
We planned to do this unsupported so we packed enough food and water each. I also brought my water filter in case we wanted any extra, although most of the water sources were dry at the moment (they are very rain dependent in this area.)
We know that other woman could do this much faster - and we hope they do! We just are happy to be the first ones to get the ball rolling for this unsupported FKT.