FKT Attempts We're Tracking

We are including Jeff Garmire's daily totals for comparison.  Jeff has the fastest NoBo time (though a day slower than the overall FKT).  He started at 7:00am on Day 1, so 2h50m before Candice's Day 1 (3/15) start time of 9:50am.  Note that Jeff hiked self-supported, while Candice is supported.

DAY 1 (3/15): 64 miles total 💪 🏃‍♀️ Having fun, feeling good! 😃 Thank you to my sponsors: @kogalla for lighting up the night, @altrarunning enjoying the super max padded Olympus, [Candice took a break at FR58, around 46 miles in.  64 miles in 24 hours.] [Garmire, 47.6 miles]

Day 2 (3/16): 112.6 miles [Garmire, 100 miles].  Candice took a break at Marsh Station Rd (just north of I-10), the end of AZT Passage 7.  Started again at 6:22am on 3/17.

Day 3 (3/17):  Ended at about 164 miles [Garmire, 145.5 miles] (end of AZT Passage 10) for a ~ 3 hour break.

Day 4 (3/18):  Ended at American Flag Ranch TH near Oracle, 198.3 miles [Garmire, 196.5 miles] (end AZT passage 12).  "Last night was survival. Two videos here (sound on)  
We made first tracks through the eye of a fierce and beautiful Arizona high altitude snow storm almost 200 miles into my 800 mile Arizona Trail FKT attempt"

Day 5 (3/19):  Candice took ~2hr break at Freeman Rd, 234.7 miles [Garmire ended Day 5 at 249 miles] (end AZT Passage 14).  Got going again about 10:30pm (3/19).

Day 6 (3/20):  With only a short break last night, Candice had a longer (~6hr) rest around midday a couple miles before crossing the Gila River.  She reached Kelvin (mile 262.8) around 1:40pm.

Day 7 (3/21):  After a longer break yesterday afternoon, Candice ran thru the night, then stopped for a rest at Picketpost TH, just about 300 miles.  She got going again just after noon.  She's a few hours behind Garmire's pace at this point.

Update at 4PM on 3/21:  Candice's tracker shows her getting a ride back to Superior.  Hoping she's OK!

Day 8 (3/22):  After ~16hr off trail Candice is moving again this morning.  Crew update:  "She was just exhausted.  She was really tired from the long two nights before. She needed to recover .  A lot is going on in the world right now and I think she’s having a hard time being motivated. We are just going day by day ."

Consider sending Candice some LOVE on Instagram (etc) !

Took a break at Roosevelt Lake, 348 miles [Garmire ended Day 8 at 398].

Day 9 (3/23) Stopped at Mills Ridge TH, maybe 9 miles into the day. We confirmed with her crew that she's decided to end her FKT bid:

I made the very difficult decision to leave the Arizona trail yesterday after 9 incredible days running, crawling, sleep walking, stumbling, eating, bivying in awkward places, laughing and crying. It was an indescribably special and challenging experience but I couldn’t in good conscious continue on with the way the Covid 19 pandemic is progressing and my children at home. It was incredibly difficult to be out on the trail when I wanted to be home supporting my children during this scary time. When we left civilization on Sunday, March 15 shit was just starting to really go down and the following rapid progression of lockdowns, trail and store/city closures added to my realization that I needed to be home with my family. Perhaps most looming of all for my team and I was the impending (?) and likely closure of the Grand Canyon, which would stop us in our tracks just 100 miles from completion of the entire trail. Ultimately, I made my decision as a mother first and it only felt right to get home and be with my children. I am so lucky to have this amazing team that cared for me the entire way: @dirtdiva333 @dave_wiskowski @adamkurt13 @_zgerman I learned so much out there - more than I could’ve ever imagined! I hope to come back with my knowledge during a time when I can focus and safely leave my family. I’m grateful for the experience, thank you everyone for your love and well wishes. I could feel the support every step of the way 🤎🤎🤎This photo represents our Experience and is our official DNF photo (by Dave Wiskowski). I’m the blob in the orange emergency bivy gripping a San Pelligrino water. I’ll continue to report on the experience in the coming days including my scary over dose on nsaids and some other lessons learned! Love to you all and stay safe xxoo

Thank you to my sponsors: @kogalla @altrarunning @runinrabbit @silver_star_nutrition @spring_energy

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-IIMmhHfhf/

https://www.instagram.com/p/B93MKHoH6-q/

We did it. New Everest Base Camp Trail #FKT: 23:45:12! (press release linked in bio)

On Monday, I had the privilege of spending literally almost all day running, hiking, and climbing through the Himalaya Mountains in Nepal. As runners, I feel like it's common to say that you "feel like you could run all day" when you're fit. I got to put that to the test.

I left the sleepy town of Lukla, Nepal at 12:06am, woke up every dog (and probably their owners) in the valley for the next several hours, ate 5000+ calories (while burning 11,000), listened to all of the Hamilton soundtrack (and only cried a little), climbed up to 17,600 ft. at EBC, and found a new level of motivation, a new answer to that "why?" question, in order to make it back before the clock struck midnight and my shoes turned into pumpkins.

Seriously, though, it was a special day and though I certainly had moments of true suffering, pain, and really wishing I could teleport the last 15 miles or so, I was and am so grateful for having the opportunity to do this.

Thank you so much to all those of you who were out on the trail: those who gave me a shout and a high five whom I'd met or had heard about the attempt as well as those who gave me a confused smile and concerned whisper to their companions ("do you think he's okay?"). Thank you as well to all of you have helped me get to this point, this day, literally, especially my parents, DW, MW, SB, GK, JW, PR, AF. I have cried with all of you in these past months and I'm not sure I'd be here without all your support.

Thanks to all of you who sent along your words of encouragement, both before, during, and after, from near and far. Your messages mean the world to me and I try to reply to every single one.

And lastly, thank you to the Himalaya Mountains. Someone wrote to me that "I hope you found what you were looking for in the mountains." I'm not really sure I knew what I was looking for at all when I came here, but I found so much. Thank you to the mountains for giving me that space for self-discovery and letting me journey and return safely.

Now, it's time to head back to the USA (for a bit) and think about what's next. There's much more to come.

Pre-run announcement from Instagram:

Announcement! I'm going after the Everest Base Camp Trail FKT!
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If I've learned one thing in my twenties (which are about to end!), it's that I feel most alive when chasing something of which I'm unsure and/or scared. And this is one of those things.
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The locals have told me (in not so many words) that I'm crazy, stupid, suicidal, etc. to try to cover so much distance so quickly in the Himalaya. But that's what's got me fired up.
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I've been romping around these incredible mountains since the Olympic Marathon Trials and - with a spring racing season up in the air - I'm excited to strike while the iron is hot.
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The Everest Base Camp Trail is one of the most spectacular, challenging "bucket-list" routes out there.
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Covering approximately 110km (68 miles) from a low point at the start in Lukla, Nepal at 2800m (9000 ft), it traverses valleys, high passes, rocky moraine, and snowy forests before arriving at EBC at 5365m (17,601 ft) and then returns.
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I've hiked the entire route and between the altitude, the almost 10,000m of vertical gain, and the often brutal terrain and conditions, I can say it's going to challenge me in entirely new ways.
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According to locals, the current round trip FKT is held by Pemba Sherpa with a time of 30 hours. I'll be looking to try to crack a single 24 hour day. (There are also ascent only and descent only records which I'll be vying for en route).
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To have such experienced people tell me I'm crazy to attempt this gives me pause, gives me a bit of the ol howling fantods. But I know that the pursuit will be worth it, no matter the outcome.
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Stay tuned for more. Attempt will start at 00:00am Nepal time on Monday, March 16.