Coming to you every Friday: interviews with FKT-setters and other athletes in the world of Fastest Known Times.
Subscribe to the Fastest Known Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, or Spotify.
Sean McCoy has been with the Gear Junkie since this excellent website was started 14 years ago - he knows gear! Need a holiday gift idea? Wondering what you need for your next FKT? Sean has been there, seen that - what are his recommendations?
"I'm an adherent to the 'buy once, cry once' philosophy - if it's a sport you're committed to, get the best now, and then use it until it falls apart."
Oldies But Goodies
Four short highlights from Season One you may have missed or need to hear again. The best 10 minutes from each!
Episode 1: Tony Krupicka on the Longs Peak Duathlon (our most listened-to podcast ever). Free-soloing is all about "how you feel".
"Sometimes being successful means just getting back to the car. Alive.”
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