Coming to you every Friday: interviews with FKT-setters and other athletes in the world of Fastest Known Times.
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The Colorado and California 14ers have long been top objectives, and the Idaho and Utah summits over 12,000' have been done, but NOBODY had done the highest summits in Montana - until Nate.
"I did eight scouting trips, logging over 180 miles, 340 miles, and 126k of vert."
Listen to Nate's great description of what's cool in Montana, and how not to get attacked by a Grizzly Bear.
"I'm not a great ultra runner ... I just wanted to spend big days in the mountains rambling around."
The "Speedgoat" has won 40 hundred mile trail races, including one every year 18 years in a row.
"I do want to win my 19th in a row, but at some point it's all going to end ... is that time now"?
Listen to Karl's thoughtful and honest comments, what it means to be slowing down, his descriptions of the Appalachian Trail, and ... his next project:
Jeff just did the Arizona Trail Self-Supported, 9 hours faster than the Supported time! How do thru-hikers do that?
"I work it out so I can go for hours without even taking off my pack - bending over to get water out of a stream takes time."
Really? Yes, really - thru-hikers work to save seconds on trips that may take months. Jeff has done the Calendar Triple Crown and the Great Western Loop, while only running one ultra - listen to how a real thru-hiker approaches these huge trips.
There are two ways to build a running career: 1) By talking about yourself on social media; 2) By winning races. Darcy has taken the second path!
"I was from a different generation … I just like to run … “
She broke Sue Johnston’s 10-year old Female Supported FKT on the John Muir Trail by a whopping 10 hours, and threatened the Overall (Mens) FKT, much to the delight of those following her progress.
Jared Campbell is the sleep deprivation king. He has the most Barkley Marathons finishes (3); he has 10 Hardrock 100 finishes including a win; he's the holder of many original FKTs; he founded Running Up For Air and he's rrreally into "speed canyoneering"... wait, what?
This week we talk with Ryan Sandes all the way from Cape Town, South Africa. His bio is long but what stands out most is his 5th, 2nd and 1st at the Western States 100 where he’ll be racing again this year. Along with preparing to run the iconic Two Oceans road marathon, Ryan recently invented a project called the 13 Peaks Challenge.
It's the 1 year anniversary of FastestKnownTime.com! Buzz and Peter talk about what has changed about the website, its functionality and features, what it means to be the "gatekeepers" of the FKT movement, and much, much more.
"Our site is crowdsourced. YOU provide the information and the stories".
Peter has become an encyclopedia of the coolest routes in the world. What are they?
Mike completely disrupts the long-distance paradigm - instead of 1-2 Marathons a year, he might do that many in a single weekend. He has run 107 ultra’s in the last 11 years, and most of them fast - his Marathon PR is 2:17:49. And he just completed the Israel National Trail - 1,016km in 10 days, 16 hours, 36 minutes.
“I’ve been inspired by this FKT movement … I think there’s freedom with it … and there’s so much opportunity to engage the community.”
At only age 37, Andrew Skurka has already been there, and done that:
"Hiking fast was not accepted. I was frowned upon for doing the AT in 3 months."
Times have changed, and so did Andrew - he's done massive projects many people may not have even heard of: the Sea-Sea route (7,775mi), Great Western Loop (6,875mi), and the Alaska Yukon Expedition (24 days between road crossings). He's written a book, definitely has the best how-to website for backpacking (andrewskurka.com), and his perspective on FKTs is very worth listening to:
FKTOY-EU wraps with an exclusive, 30 minute interview with Kilian Jornet. Besides being the best mountain runner of his generation, Kilian is an extremely thoughtful and knowledgable student of the sport:
"We think trail running is a new sport, but we cannot be more wrong about that".
Find out the #1 FKTOY's for Europe, and listen to his first-hand descriptions:
"It was insane - she was in crazy good shape. Coming from Norway, from sea level, she was like, flying up to the summit".