Coming to you every Friday: interviews with FKT-setters and other athletes in the world of Fastest Known Times.
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Simple question? Let's hear answers from 3 people who should know:
"Training is the fun part."
Allison Mercer is our Social Media Coordinator. She and Ben Mercer met on the trails, she admired his FKTs, so they got married and now have set some together! In October they did the Georgia segment of the AT together, Unsupported, finishing it in "a Michael Jordan time of 23:23!"
Allison also answers all your questions submitted on the Contact Form. So we quizzed her on the spot with actual questions that have been submitted! How did she do?
Hello, just wondering if there is an FKT for just the Blue Ridge Parkway 469 mile ride?
What is an FKT Challenge? (Michael started one, and their Award Party is November 15).
"These are the routes we like to run. They are quite technical. You can never be too competitive, because they are very rocky and steep, but that’s what we consider a good FKT route."
"We had 100 people trying one route in one month."
How do tourist boards help create FKT routes?
David, along with his wife Megan, is an excellent runner, and a renowned coach ... and is he also the most positive person in the world? We asked four of his clients what they thought!
"He is very high bandwidth -- making hundreds of runners feel like he's truly their personal coach."
"I'd say he's the most enthusiastically and eternally optimistic person there is when it comes to his athletes."
'He's a low-key savant. And a brilliant environmental lawyer on the side."
Meghan Hicks has run countless ultra marathons, while she seems to specialize in the really long adventures. Such as five top-ten finishes at the Marathon des Sables! More locally, she has great results on the iconic Nolan's 14 line.
"I played around on the Nolan's line for 2-3 years before I thought it was even possible to do it".
Zoë is a podcast host (see link in her CV below), has graduate degree in Environmental Journalism, and could be a public speaker - you should listen to this one!
"It's a tough time to be an independent publisher. I urge people, if there's something you like, you should absolutely become a supporter. It's not enough to just enjoy what we enjoy, we must become mindful consumers."
And her insights on technical FKTs is a must listen:
Sean O'Rourke defended his PhD thesis in 2009 (so he is a doctor) and instead of starting a job, immediately moved into is car so he could climb more mountains (thus he's a legit dirtbag too). And those 18 FKTs?
"I’m a so-so runner and climber who has found a niche and focused on it."
Matt is a longtime endurance athlete who wrote a startling new book, just published on October 6, on the Alberto Salazar doping scandal and the dominant (domineering?) Nike Oregon Project. This corporate giant was on top of the running world, until Salazar was given a 4 year suspension last September 30, causing the NOP to shut down immediately after.
INSIDE NIKE RUNNING AND ITS CULTURE OF DECEPTION
This is cool! The two ladies started on the same route at approximately the same time, but from different places - who would complete the route first?
"I’m very surprised we seem to be the first to have done a “race” style FKT, it certainly added a fun element to the attempt." - SARAH
"It was good to know Sarah was out there - a little different because it added pressure, but helpful." - ALYSSA
The 'Beast Coast' sometimes doesn't get enough attention, and the two women describe what makes it special ... and hard.
That's no typo: the Rocky Mountain Slam has 432,500' of elevation gain. He climbed 205 summits in 1,030 miles, and set FKTs on Colorado's Highest Hundred and the Wyoming 13ers en route, without attempting to do so.