I departed from Saint Jean Pied de Port on October 2nd 7:29am and arrived in Santiago de Compostela on October 14th 6:54am.
This is my first self-supported style long distance FKT attempt, and truly I can't imagine a better trail for such an attempt. Perhaps the Camino Frances isn't the prettiest long-distance trail out there, but it's definitely one of the best in terms of infrastructure and trail culture. After all, pilgrims have been carving out this path for hundreds of years.
The experience was more akin to a running vacation than an all-out ultra race. For fueling, I was able to purchase juices and snicker bars from bars and cafes along the way throughout the day. Each day I'd usually eat 3 sit-down meals as well. The 3-course pilgrims menu available in most restaurants along the way are generally quite good and affordable around 12 to 16 euro. The trickiest time is during the siesta in the afternoon, where many small town restaurants and bars are closed. So I learned to stock up on snickers right after lunch. I also brought a dozen of gels and chews with me, which turned out to be quite handy during the few 10-15km stretches without restocking options.
Water was very readily accessible. Fountains were practically in every town. I carried 3 500ml soft flasks but only ever used two and it was enough. There was only one stretch during a particularly hot afternoon I was struggling with water, but it wasn't too bad, and would have been fine if I filled all 3 of my soft flasks.
For sleeping, I did not bring a bivvy bag, only a sleeping bag liner as I planned on sleep in the albergues along the way. I ended up sleeping in all kinds of accommodations, from 5 euro a night empty dorm room that I had all to myself in municipal albergue to extravagant 75 euro private hotel with medieval-looking bed. My main issue was looking for places that allowed check-in past 8pm as most albergues cut off checkin past that time, and some even earlier. In the first half of the run, accommodation fitting such criteria was easy to find and widely available. Towards the end, the trail got a lot more busier, and many accommodation was fully booked out. I had to call much more places, and had to have some good luck to not having to sleep on the streets.
The weather was generally good also, which was quite lucky for this time of the year. There was only one night where it rained a bit. It was the only time I used the rain jacket I brought.
Despite my need to push fast and go for long days, I managed to meet a few walking pilgrims along the way during meals. I even walked with one for 10 minutes once during an uphill to have a conversation. I really do think such interactions are worth it on the camino. It fueled my "why", because it's not just about the speed, the physical limits, but also about the people along the way, the stories, and the countless nameless pilgrims that supported each others journeys in their own ways.