FKT Podcast

Extending from Blue Ridge, Georgia, to near Sylacauga, Alabama, the 335-mile Pinhoti Trail is a popular route through the southernmost portion of the Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States. This week’s episode, hosted by Heather Anderson, delves into Ashlie Itherburn’s recent overall supported FKT on the route. Ashlie shares her highs and lows, which were often linked, as she raced storms, dealt with aggressive dogs, and got turned around in the Duggar Wilderness. Tune in to hear more about her incredible FKT debut completing the trail in 5 days, 6 hours, and 39 minutes.

In this week’s episode host Heather Anderson is joined by Michael Brower to talk about his experience setting the overall FKT for Michigan’s 220-mile-long Shore-to-Shore Trail. Michael details his experiences with ticks and sand and how he handled encountering unexpected restrictions around an active military base, as well as a scary cabin in the woods at night. Tune in to learn more about this lesser-known route.

In this week’s episode we’re traveling to the rugged Mahoosic mountains of southern Maine, home of the hardest mile on the AT. Host Heather Anderson talks with Jeff Colt who recently set the overall unsupported time on the Northeast’s “Hardest 50K” completing the route in 6 hours, 40 minutes, and 53 seconds—taking an hour off of the previous men’s time.  Tune in to hear how his background as an AMC “Hut Kid” and his connection to the history of this route inspired him to take it on.

In this week’s episode, host Heather Anderson talks with Brittany Haver and Carrie Henderson, who each set FKTs on Arizona’s rugged Tonto Trail. Carrie established the initial supported female time in 1 day, 9 hours, 20 minutes, while Brittany logged the first female unsupported time in 1 day, 9 hours, and 58 minutes. Tune in to journey along this lesser-done trail in the Grand Canyon and hear about the unique challenges this desert route presents, including why finding water in the notoriously rugged Gems segment is so crucial to success.

The 272-mile Long Trail is one of our premier routes for good reason. With an impressive history of competitive FKTs, this trail has once again seen stout records fall. Tune in to join host Heather Anderson as she talks all things LT with Tara Dower, who set the overall and women’s supported time in 3 days, 18 hours, and 30 minutes, and Tori Constantine who took down the women’s unsupported time in 5 days, 19 hours, and 29 minutes. They share their stories of sleep deprivation and accompanying hallucinations, their hard-earned lessons, as well as what they’d do differently.

This week we head to the well-trodden premier route across Arizona. Host Heather Anderson is joined by Sadie Curry who set the women’s self-supported northbound time on the iconic Arizona Trail by covering the 800 mile distance in 17 days, 12 hours, and 27 minutes, taking 7 hours off of the previous time. Tune in to hear how she accomplished her first FKT despite being sick, dealing with UV rash, and developing severe tendonitis.

This week we’re headed to the rugged Adirondacks of New York where Scott Benerofe recently set the unsupported FKT for tagging all 46 4,000-foot peaks in one go. Tune in to hear how he pulled together his experiences with trail running, thru-hiking, and peakbagging to push deeper into the realm of endurance adventure. He shares the highs and lows of the effort from the effects of wildfire smoke, to how he wanted to quit so badly that he was hoping for a minor injury, to his gratitude for a beautiful sunset in the Great Range and humorous sleep deprivation issues. 

2025 was a stunningly busy year on the Appalachian Trail. There were many high profile FKT efforts and several DNFs in the final days. Three long-held records did fall, however. Sarah Baker set the women’s self-supported northbound time in 74:04:42. Lyla Harrod set the women’s southbound time in 52:18:37. And Jeff Garmire took down the men’s self-supported record in a time of 45:08:37. Tune in to learn more about these notable feats and the highs and lows of their experiences.

Stretching from Washington to California along the Pacific Ocean, the 400+ mile long Oregon Coast Trail is a mix of road, beach, and forested trail that challenges travelers with tides, estuaries, and frequent bad weather. Join host Heather Anderson this week as she chats with Katie Gunvalson who recently smashed the women’s overall record with her self-supported time of 7 days, 19 hours, and 41 minutes–two hours faster than the women’s supported time–despite logging over 20 additional miles. Katie shares her experiences with timing the tides, battling bad weather at the crux of the route, sleep deprivation, and how this record reset what she thought she was capable of.

On today’s episode we’re traveling to the High Sierra of California where Caroline Himbert recently set the women’s unsupported northbound record on the premier John Muir Trail. Her first long, unsupported effort was a way for her to go back to her roots as a long distance hiker. Along the way she dealt with excruciating foot pain, a knee injury, and the effects of sleep deprivation. Tune in to hear how she almost missed the record when her hallucinations led her off trail, her “brain said goodbye” and she fell asleep for over 4 hours, just miles from the finish and why she ended up in Urgent Care after it was all over.