FKT Podcast

89 FKTs is a lot!  And 51 of them have been in 2021, including sometimes 2 in one day.  I presume this is intentional? "I used to race more, but the pandemic caused me to focus on where I live.  And we have a huge history here - some of these routes go back hundreds of years." "It's always about the journey, not the goal.  But FKTs are great - this has provided the structure for me to learn and explore in my own surroundings." We discuss how new Routes are Approved (it's subjective).  And we discover that I once (or twice?) dis-allowed a new Route David had Submitted - dang - I'm called out on my own podcast! David has interesting stories and a great perspective on discovering FKTs in the United Kingdom: "It's like "brutalism" - on one hand it looks ugly and un-loved, but there is so much there." "This one route was an absolutely wonderful find - there as a huge amount of crazy graffiti and old architecture in an industrial section of old London, including a boat being used as a sauna - you wouldn't find this if you didn't know about it." "You don't need to "win" - there's great richness in the stories people are sharing, the logistics and the techniques of FKTs." "More people need to find out about these things." This episode is sponsored by Speedland Speedland is a brand new shoe company, founded by two longtime designers from Puma, Nike, and Under Armour. Their debut shoe is the SL:PDX, likened more to a piece of equipment than to a shoe. It is trail footwear made from the most premium components available today. Listen to this trail-runner-wish-list: 1. It’s the first shoe ever to feature BOA’s Li2 Fit System, dual dials with multi-directional incremental dialing for a perfect fit. 2. The midsole uses a new formulation of Pebax foam for ultimate energy return. 3. Then there’s a Carbitex carbon-fiber plate with asymmetrical flex – stiff in one direction, flexible in the other. 4. Finishing it off, the SL:PDX uses a Michelin wrap outsole with a customizable lug pattern that can be adjusted for any terrain. When we say it’s all there, it’s all there. Plus, Speedland gives back 10% of all profits to outdoor organizations chosen by their athletes, and once the shoe reaches the end of its lifecycle, you can send it back where it will be disassembled and recycled. Check out the Speedland SL:PDX over at runspeedland.com and follow them on Instagram at @runspeedland. Drop them a note if you have any questions.

Wow - a new running shoe company! That's gotta be hard - why are these two men doing it? "We've been designing shoes for 25 years for other company's. There was always a compromise. We wanted to build a shoe that was the absolute best - no compromise." "We're always told what the price has to be, and then worked backward from there - we wanted to start with the best product and go forward." Can a new shoe company succeed? "If you work hard, and create a product that means something, you will succeed." "And if we took the same approach as everyone else, you're going to get the same result." Is this a version of the now iconic Nike Zoom technology? "Our SL:PDX is very trail-specific. Effort has gone into new road shoe design, and to some degree track shoes, but trail running requires a very different set of features which has been largely ignored. People have been running incredible FKTs and mountain races, while the technology has not kept up with what they're doing. Until now." This episode is sponsored by Speedland Speedland is a brand new shoe company, founded by two longtime designers from Puma, Nike, and Under Armour. Their debut shoe is the SL:PDX, likened more to a piece of equipment than to a shoe. It is trail footwear made from the most premium components available today. Listen to this trail-runner-wish-list: It’s the first shoe ever to feature BOA’s Li2 Fit System, dual dials with multi-directional incremental dialing for a perfect fit. The midsole uses a new formulation of Pebax foam for ultimate energy return. Then there’s a Carbitex carbon-fiber plate with asymmetrical flex – stiff in one direction, flexible in the other. Finishing it off, the SL:PDX uses a Michelin wrap outsole with a customizable lug pattern that can be adjusted for any terrain. When we say it’s all there, it’s all there. Plus, Speedland gives back 10% of all profits to outdoor organizations chosen by their athletes, and once the shoe reaches the end of its lifecycle, you can send it back where it will be disassembled and recycled. Check out the Speedland SL:PDX over at www.runspeedland.com and follow them on Instagram at @runspeedland. Drop them a note if you have any questions.

He's done it again! After 5 YEARS of planning, Andrew climbed the hundred highest summits in Colorado in a huge non-stop effort of 22 days. And established two new Routes and FKTs within that effort along the way. And he claims he's not that fit ... "I don't know what it is about me; I can just suffer and keep going." No argument there! He tells great stories of being alone at night in the high mountains, and also discuss the history of the Colorado 14ers, from "Rick and Ricky" to "Cavedog". This is a wonderful, lively, edifying conversation you will enjoy. "Someone analyzed all these attempts - Rick and Ricky were 1 full day faster than me running, but I was 4 days faster than them on the logistics! Cavedog and I were the same, so I beat his time only by taking a more efficient line (a longer and bolder linkup) in the Elks." "Cavedog redefined the game, and we all follow that. He realized it wasn't about speed (note: Rick Trujillo won the Pikes Peak Marathon 6 times and the HR100 once!) - the defining factor became efficiency during the entire effort." What about technical proficiency? Rick and Ricky were great runners, but not mountaineers. "It's a style thing. You have to do the Blanca - Little Bear Traverse. These are the things that excite me." Listen and find out the two new routes Andrew considers to be on par with the famous Nolan's 14, the Weminuche Wipeout and the Centennial Elks Traverse ("Sorry, I couldn't think of a cool name for that one"). And his closing advise? "The battle plan never lasts longer than the first contact with the enemy." His Trip Report is a very thorough and thoughtful read. This is the summit-to-summit thread on 14ers.com, with over 400 Comments. "Great story, great writing. I still cannot wrap my head around how this is even possible." - susanjoypaul

There are 490 FKT Routes in the UK - get the insider scoop on them - Our two Regional Editors from the UK tell us what is new and cool, and then walk us through some classic FKT routes. "1,051 FKTs have been reviewed and Approved in the UK in the last 12 months - that's 3 per day - it's been really busy!" These are all really long, super hard efforts - many of these are multi-day, and some have over 100,000' of Elevation Gain. Why is that? "Really good runners are looking for good adventures!" "Because on the other hand, we have hundreds of fell races that people do all the time. Many take place mid-week: you show up on a Thursday at 7pm, pay 2 Pounds, run up the local fell and back, have a beer, and socialize with your friends. It's great!" "And these Classic FKT Routes are all very competitive, in spite of their length and difficulty. Many of the best runners have a go every year. But the Grand Round (all 3 of the Big Rounds, back-back, self-powered) is not a classic because it's not competitive - only John Kelly has done it!"

The 2021 Hardrock Hundred Mile Endurance Run starts today. Two days before the run an important meeting took place where the event announced a new policy to increase women’s participation. Starting in 2022, the percent of women’s entrants will be no less than the percent of women’s lottery applicants. Darcy Piceu who won the the race three times (2012-2014) is now a Hardrock 100 board member and she's returning to the race this year as a participant. What better time to revisit episode 36 (originally published May 31, 2019) where Darcy and Trailsisters.net founder Gina Lucrezi spoke about the challenges and opportunities to make the sport of ultrarunning more inclusive and equitable for women. Original Show Notes Darcy Piceu and Gina Lucrezi share thoughts on this important topic. "We're in a real interesting time right now. If I do nothing else in the sport, it would be to raise awareness." This is a different conversation for Fastest Known Time, and quite worthwhile. Trail Sisters has established 5 recommended practices for races: 1. Equal podium spots 2. Equal prize money and awards 3. Women's-specific swag (not just unisex) 4. Menstrual products at aid stations (events over a Half Marathon) 5. Opportunity for Women at the front of the Starting Line Citations from topics discussed in this episode www.trailsisters.net www.outsideonline.com/2312071/ultrar…gender-problem www.nytimes.com/2019/05/12/opinio…ernity-leave.html time.com/5594356/alex-morgan-world-cup/

You need to hear this inspiring story! Jim Mann, a top ultrarunner from Scotland, had this brilliant idea: ask race directors to give runners the option of having a tree planted in their name instead of being given still another t-shirt that won't get used. "The reason for starting this was 2 fold - I had loads of race t-shirts and kept getting more (I couldn't wear them all and they don't wear out). We wanted to plant more trees and it seemed like a great way to solve a bad problem whilst creating something good." The amount of water it takes to produce a single cotton t-shirt is the same water as a person drinks in 2 1/2 years. Polyester is worse. Why pollute our environment when we can plant a tree instead? "We've planted hundreds of thousands of trees this year alone - our goal is 50 million trees in the ground in the next few years." This is for real. They purchase the land the trees are planted on so they will not get cut down. Each runner receives a Certificate for what they've done, which lists the race name and sponsors (so no one gets left out). And it's all optional. There are 30,000 races in the US alone, and this program is now coming to America. There are 621 million runners in world - we can make a big difference. YOU make this happen: please reach out to all the races you enter, and tell the director this is what you want. That's how this works - you request it. Suggested by Mick Jones, co-Regional Editor for the United Kingdom.

Coree rose to prominence after his 21 day FKT on the Ice Age Trail, exactly one year ago. Before that he was seen rockin' a Speedo on the 10-part "World's Toughest Race" show on Amazon Prime (a great series). Coree has fun, and he has style. This is a very fun conversation with an intelligent and unique person - don't miss his captivating thoughts! "We intended to start everyday at 5:30am - the first day I woke up and said, 'Screw this; I'm going back to sleep.' Now we've changed the plan for FKTs: Start whenever I wake up - 10am or Noon - I'm totally fine with that. I prefer to run at night." Would it be safe to say you're not a methodical planner? "Absolutely. I don't like the logistics or planning - too much time to think. I want to be in top shape, and then just do it." In April Coree set the FKT on the 335 mile Pinhoti Trail in Alabama and Georgia. In this part of the country, there is no shortage of confederate flags flying. As a black man, out there sometimes alone at night, did he feel safe? "I didn't think about it. At mile 13, there was a giant confederate flag - I mean, giant. If anything, it made me more motivated. We want the outdoors experience to be available to everyone, and this demonstrates that. I never felt unsafe." "It was amazing. The people along that trail were awesome people. Pacers came out of the woodwork - they were working 8-5 jobs, showed up at night and ran with me until past Midnight, then were back at work at 8:00 the next morning." "People were dropping off hand-made food. One night I was freezing - I was so cold, all I wanted was warm soup. So a woman heard that, cooked home-made soup, and ran it out to me in the middle of the night on the trail." "Rural people are the best. So many people invited us into their homes. My crew is 3, 4, sometimes 5 people, and there was always room for us. I wanted everyone to know I felt safe. And: the Midwest is a friendly place!"

The Boundary Waters is 1.1 million acres of incredible glaciated terrain way up in northern Minnesota on the Canada border, and yet is the most-visited Wilderness Area in the United States. Because it is so good. Even if YOU have never been there! "Boundary Waters is as remote as it gets. Alex had everything dialed - those people are hard-core canoists - they paddled over two hours to get to the support locations!" - Clare "This is an incredible idea Alex had - he combined his ultra running passion with his passion to protect this place." - Clare "This is one of the most pristine places on planet Earth - you just dip your bottle into the lake or stream and drink without any filtration". - Alex "It was next level! I've never seen anything like it - it's the most wet I've ever been on land - it was so hard-core Minnesota!" - Clare Please listen to Clare, and support Alex and this fabulous wilderness The Boundary Waters is under threat from a proposed massive sulfide-ore copper mine that, if built, would generate acid mine drainage in the form of sulfuric acid and flow straight through the heart of the Wilderness and also into Canada’s Quetico Provincial Park and Voyageurs National Park. The mine site and waste rock tailings would perpetually pollute turning this world class wilderness and pristine watershed into a polluted chain of lakes, rivers, streams and marshes forever. Website with full information Sign this petition! (Corrections from the audio:) Joni Mitchell's 'advice" to Clare: "Wild things run fast" Isle Royale is the least-visited National Park, with 18,216 annual visitors Special thanks to onX Backcountry for supporting Fastest Known Time. onX Backcountry is “All in for Outdoors” during the month of June; you can plan that next FKT and navigate offline with a year-long subscription to the onX Backcountry mapping app for only $10 in June with all net proceeds going to support Leave No Trace. Learn more at onxmaps.com/greatoutdoors

“The animals never forget who we are because they see us every day in their world,” added Angelo. “The best way to remind ourselves who we are and where we belong is to go out into the world and have relationships with our relatives.” Angelo Baca is a Navajo and Hopi filmmaker, and a PhD candidate in sociocultural anthropology at NYU. A graduate of the Native Voices Program at the University of Washington, he has created numerous documentaries and collaborative works around such subjects as indigenous food sovereignty, Native youth development and indigenous international repatriation. He’s also taught Native American literature and media courses at Brown University. In 2016, he directed the ethnographic documentary Shash Jaa': Bears Ears, in an effort to illuminate the Utah landscape’s significance to indigenous peoples of the region. Support Bears Ears - donate to Utah Diné Bikéyah here! Shásh Jaa’ (Bears Ears) is a proposed 1.9 million acres of Utah wilderness considered sacred lands to the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition (Navajo, Ute, Ute Mountain Ute, Hopi, Zuni) coming together to protect this pristine area from natural resource extraction and make this area a designated National Monument in collaborative management partnership with tribes. Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland submitted her first report. https://www.moabsunnews.com/news/article_c27c346e-c999-11eb-9150-67ce4083279b.html Special thanks to onX Backcountry for supporting Fastest Known Time. onX Backcountry is “All in for Outdoors” during the month of June, finally you can plan that next FKT and navigate offline with a year-long subscription to the onX Backcountry mapping app for only $10 in June with all net proceeds are going to support Leave No Trace. Learn more at onxmaps.com/greatoutdoors

Dave is old school: extremely nice and will never talk about himself ... but don't enter a race that he is in, because you will probably get beat by a guy with one leg. How would you feel about that? (He feels fine.) On May 22, 2015, during a casual run above Boulder, Dave stepped on a large boulder which rolled 30' downhill, landing on top of his leg. He lay pinned there for hours, calmly directing his rescuers. A year later, after multiple surgeries, he decided it would be best to amputate it. "It took a year and a half to come back." Understated? That's Dave. This was a epic comeback for anyone, that Dave makes sound almost casual. He recently did the Grand Canyon R2R2R, 15 years after his 2007 FKT (when he was the first person to go sub-7 hours). "Proprioception is different. You have to register each step, pay attention where you're putting your foot. It's just another form of ultrarunning ... maybe little more advanced." With that in mind, has Dave ever considered running roads or easy trails, where technical footwork is not required? "No. Not at all. Too boring." Dave is supported by Altra Footwear, the original zero-drop shoe with the wide toe box ultra-runners (and thru-hikers) love. 24% of WS100 runners use Altra's. Their motto "Zero Limits" fits Dave. Thank you Altra! Special thanks to onX Backcountry for supporting Fastest Known Time. onX Backcountry is “All in for Outdoors” during the month of June, finally you can plan that next FKT and navigate offline with a year-long subscription to the onX Backcountry mapping app for only $10 in June with all net proceeds are going to support Leave No Trace. Learn more at onxmaps.com/greatoutdoors