I did this route spur of the moment on the first 80+ degree evening of 2021. It's been pretty dry for the last 2 weeks so I was optimistic that the infamous mud on this route might be more manageable, but I was in for a bit of a rough surprise as the first 2 miles were deeply rutted with 8-10 inches of mud and big 20 foot long puddles. Even in trail shoes I couldn't get a grip, and I ended up slipping and doing a cool power slide on my left knee that got me a nice layer of mud. Thankfully that was totally painless and probably didn't slow me down for more than a second.
There was virtually no mud on miles 3, 4, and 5, however I'm not the best at technical descents and by the turnaround point I had fallen 45 seconds or so behind the current record. However, I started to gain that ground back on the steep uphill, and brought that momentum into a fast 6th and 7th miles. I saw a bobcat on the trail in front of me around the mile 7 mark, which helped me hit 5:15 pace and build into a strong final kick. The GPS got a little wonky at the finish, but I promise I didn't suddenly sprint off into the woods rather than hit the finish. I started and stopped exactly at the green gate.
To future FKT-ers, here's some advice. First, probably don't attempt this in the spring. Drier conditions would've been a big help. Second, I opted to start this route from the high point (Steep Rd) so that once I hit the hill, I'd know all I had to do was kick it into the finish. In practice I think this was a good idea for me, but if you're a better downhill runner than uphill one you might want to do the reverse.