Fastest Known Podcast

Tyler twice ran in the Olympic Marathon Trials, and now runs up the biggest mountains in South America.  From a 2:15 marathon to climbing Aconcagua (22,841') in 3:32.

"A big reason I went to Aconcagua is because that is where the best guys go."

No kidding: the legendary Bruno Brnod still has the fastest round trip from basecamp, Kilian Jornet had an FKT before Karl Egloff (#1 FKTOY in 2019 on Denali) broke it, and now Tyler has the Ascent FKT from both Base Camp and the Trailhead (13,838' of vert).  

Listener Suggestion: "Can you please get Nick Elson the podcast!? He's quiet and humble; if obliterating a classic FKT on Vancouver Islands highest peak doesn't grab attention, then taking down Dean Potters Half Dome FKT has to!!!

Allie Mac flies down the trails (USATF Trail Marathon Champion 2 years in a row) and in the air (300 skydiving jumps).  And did we mention riding dirt bikes?

"It was super technical. So I revved the engine, closed my eyes, and took off."

"I've gotten hurt way more times from running than from sky diving."

At the Moab Trail Marathon in November, her BASE-jumping friends were on the cliffs high above the course as she went by the halfway point.

John lives in Australia, where the whole country is sports-mad, the runners are fast, the routes long ... and it's now summer.

"Normally it's starting to get hot, 40 degrees, but it's a La Nina year so it's raining now and the conditions are still good."

Gary Cantrell, aka Lazarus Lake, (or is it the other way around?) could be the most creative person in the entire sport. That is a low bar, but possibly by accident he has single-handily changed ultrarunning forever.  The Barkley Marathons is an iconic, world-renowned event, and the subject of two films, even though only 40 people enter, there is no website, and the time and even the date of the race is secret.  

Jack is a Regional Editor for fastestknowntime.com - he volunteers his time to process your FKT submissions.

And he is young, fast, knowledgable, and passionate.  Don't miss this view of our sport from behind the curtain!

"I think the FKT scene is where the elite runners should be.  Races are fine, but the courses are not - we can't get permits to hold races on our best terrain.  But with an FKT, you can race up the best mountains and the best routes in the country."

"I'm a mom to three teenagers and on the verge of turning 50. The fastest I normally travel is in my mini-van shuttling kids around town.  Achieving an FKT as an amateur middle-aged athlete with minimal time to train was a huge stretch of my comfort zone. So adding my name to this roster was one of my proudest and most rewarding moments."

On October 18, Drew ran back and forth across the Grand Canyon 4 times (R2R2R2R2R).  It was his third try, so he learned some things!  Which he shares with you ...

"They start turning off the water when the weather gets cold. So there's a narrow window when most people try this. I did the first R2R2R at night, so the warm sun made starting the second lap easier." 

This route was 83 miles, with 22,000' of vert.  And unlike running in the mountains, to finish it off, you have to run almost 5,000' back UP!

We finish our 3-2-1 countdown interviews from the Men's podium of the US Mountain Running Championships with the winner, Joe Gray.  Joe is one of the best mountain/trail runners in history.  He is very articulate and insightful, and is extremely well respected by other runners, while some casual runners may not have heard of him.  How can that be?  Let's correct it!

Joe has won a ridiculous 20 National Championship races, as well as 2 World Championships, in addition to wins at countless (literally) other races - see his Bio below. 

We are counting down the podium from the US Mountain Running Championships!  Last week: Joe Demoor, #3.  This week: Max King, #2.  (Stay tuned for next week!)