I can't go on a trip without looking for an FKT route nearby. Also, I'm a sucker for vert and sometimes starved for it in the Midwest. In a nutshell, that's why I found myself running up and down a long flight of outdoor stairs 17 times on a beautiful fall morning beside the Kalamazoo River in Saugatuck, Michigan. The stairs were a little damp from morning rain, but there's a good handrail that I used throughout. I only slipped once, and didn't fall. I didn't want to fight crowds and was actually hoping the rain in the forecast would give me a solo window on the stairs... but it was hard to complain about the sun coming out instead--along with a lot of other stair enthusiasts. I enjoyed seeing all the other people intentionally seeking out the challenge of these stairs, and it was never so crowded that I felt unbearably rude, or delayed. As Buzz and Will said, people I met were kind and encouraging.
This is a different sort of FKT and lacks any feeling of remoteness or adventure, but it's a serious physical challenge in a beautiful place and I quite enjoyed it. I reached out to Buzz a few days in advance, and dropped by to visit him afterwards, on his last day in Michigan for the fall. He and his wife were gracious--thanks Buzz! I felt good afterward, though my legs felt absolutely leaden on a cooldown jog. I woke up a little sore the next day, and on day two I was a wreck and could barely walk. Not much stair-specificity in my training, I guess!
So, who's imbalanced enough to lower this mark next?
Comments
Awesome stuff Nathan!