This route has previously been completed in 3:42:20 by Ben Nephew in 2012. It's unclear whether he did it self-supported or unsupported, but knowing him my guess is the latter. His description: 'This is a 22 mile out and back on one of the most difficult sections of trail in New England. If the entire 114 mile Metacomet-Monadnock trail is too long, but the 12 mile 7 Sisters trail race is too short, then you can connect sections 7 and 8 of the MM for a challenging 22 mile.'
As a local who has run this route and variations on it countless times, I am fairly convinced that the route is closer to 20 miles, if not less. There's simply no way that we can continue kidding ourselves about running sub-10 pace on this kind of terrain. This route and Ben's time on it have loomed large in my brain since I started running these trails, and looking longingly at the ridge when I wasn't on it, in 2017. After all my races were cancelled for COVID-19, I finally decided to take a crack at it.
Approximate Splits: Harris Road to Notch Visitors Center in 45:00, 7 Sisters Trail Race in 1:54:30, and 47:30 Notch Visitors Center to Harris Road.