Serendipity! I ended up with four hours between meetings on either side of Elkins, and only needed two hours to make the drive through the West Virginia mountains. What to do with the extra two hours? FKT!
I didn’t have time for a warm up or course scouting. I parked in a wide spot just before the start, laced up my trainers, and was off. The first mile was easier than expected, then the grade kicked up and I slowed down. I ran hard, but maybe only 98% effort. I don’t think I have the mental strength to go all out in a solo run without a rabbit to chase. Still, I was hurting as I neared the top. I received an unexpected smattering of sincere applause from a group in the tower parking lot who were impressed that someone would make a self-powered ascent of the mountain. The tower was smaller than expected - only four flights of stairs. There was a nice view from the top (lots of windmills), but I didn’t pause to admire it. 35:06 split at the summit.
The descent was a blast. I never run one mile under six minutes, let alone four. The biggest challenge was not tripping on the washboard road or rolling an ankle on the loose gravel. My heart rate dropped, as I was limited by my leg turnover, not cardiovascular conditioning. 23:39 back to the hard road, for a total of 58:45.
Temperature of about 60 and low humidity made it about as nice for running as it ever gets in June in WV. There was no cloud cover, but the forest canopy shaded most of the road. I was passed by eight cars on a weekday morning. Weekends are likely busier, and I imagine it would be aggravating dodging lots of cars and dealing with their dust.
If you run the course unseen, note there appear to be two trails leaving the summit parking lot on the knob. (I could be wrong as I didn’t spend much time there.) One seems to continue straight (north), but the tower trail is a hard left. It’s not too confusing, but could cost you a few seconds. I was fortunate to find someone in the parking lot who directed me.
There aren’t many FKT routes in WV. Thanks, Katie, for creating the course, and congrats on a great time!