FKT: Peter Bonito - Monadnock-Sunapee Greenway Trail (NH) - 2022-10-07

I started at the top of Mount Sunapee just after 7 a.m. I had been hoping for a cool, crisp day but the weather was unseasonably warm and humid. I decided to forgo wearing my vest and just used my belt as I don't care for the way the vest traps in heat. I started with 32oz. of water and then a filter bottle to use once I ran out. I had put a TBSP of maple syrup in each of my 16 oz bottles so I could drink my calories during the more challenging technical sections in the beginning. These two bottles lasted me the first 3 1/2 hours. Afterwards I filtered a total of 5 times (from some pretty sketchy sources as we are just coming out of a drought) and consumed 5 energy gels for a total of 132oz of water and 700 calories. This kept me feeling strong until the last 4 or so miles, where the lack of calories started to settle in. I went through the first half much faster then expected (~4:02), which I think was a good thing as I started to fade in the end, but not enough to lose the time I had gained in the beginning. I made it to the base of Monadnock around 7:57, three minutes ahead of the time I was hoping for. It took me approximately 48 minutes to ascend which I was happy with considering my calves were cramping the entire time. I reached the summit of Mount Monadnock at 8:45:57, 14 minutes and 2 seconds faster than my goal time. Overall it was a great day and besides the lack of calories and the extra sweating from the warm weather, I felt I held strong and ran well the whole way through. This route has been a goal of mine for a few years now so I am overjoyed to have been successful.