Started officially at 9:05 a.m. I used a maruten gel and one soft flask bottle on this effort. It was a little warm in the 80° range, it didn't bother me much thankfully and it wasn't totally humid. On the climb going up to little haystack I ran every section less than 20° grade and power hiked the really rocky steeper grades. Hit little Haystack in 44 minutes and let out a big yell which felt amazing. Running the ridgeline I didn't take my eyes off the ground. The view was so beautiful I could tell in my peripherals. On the ridgeline I maintained speed and ran as much of the uphills as I could. I hit Layfette Peak in an hour and 4 minutes and made sure to not make a wrong turn. Still ahead of pace I just tried to make it down those 3.4 miles safely to the finish. I felt so connected with the rocks on the descent, new VJ Irock shoes had bomb traction. I floated and tapped the rocks all the way down. Panting heavily at the finish line, I looked at my watch and thought i cut the course. My time was 10 minutes faster than Kanoa Kings previous record. The whole day went perfect, I felt strong and confident the entire time which isn't always the case. Tapering for this event paid off immensely. The record will be lowered eventually, there is always room for improvement. Such a killer route with mixed trail running skills needed. This has been a classic route for a long time and I highly recommend doing it at any pace. The ridgeline is easily one of the best views in the White Mountains.
Athletes
Route variation
Standard route
Multi-sport
No
Gender category
Male
Style
Unsupported
Start date
Finish date
Total time
1h
32m
2s
Verification
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