FKT Podcast

What is the relationship between speed and safety? What is the boundary and how do you know when you're hitting it? Ultrarunners have the fitness to get really far into the backcountry, but do they have the skill and experience to get back safely? "People are drawn to these routes, because they're super aesthetic, iconic lines. But are they over their head?" "You can download a .gpx file and just follow your watch on a trail, but on technical terrain, that doesn't work." You need to practice. To take time. It's more rewarding to spend years, learning the craft. "Kyle did the First Flatiron over 320 times before setting the FKT." "Kilian has zero chance of breaking Kyle's record on the LA Freeway" What can we all do to be safer? What are the best tips? "By far what makes you safest is your mind." "Don't be in a hurry to go fast." https://www.boulderweekly.com/adventure/kyle-richardson-sets-new-speed-records-soloing-first-and-third-flatirons/

In 2016 Joe climbed all 57 Colorado 14ers, self-powered, riding his bike to each mountain, taking 31 days - and he didn’t bring a foam pad. Earlier he entered the Colorado Trail Mountain Bike race - on a non-suspension bike with a leather saddle. "An ideal aesthetic is not necessarily a rational thing, it's an emotional feeling." He has finished 2nd, 3rd, and 6th at the iconic Hardrock 100. He's done everything from the Iditarod Trail Invitation in the Alaskan winter, the Arizona Trail Race on a mountain bike, to the Tour de 14ers. UTMB was sort of an easy day for Joe. Comfort does not create happiness - that's a bad but persistent modern myth - but when does a project become so hard it's not worth it? Joe is very thoughtful and articulate - listen as he answers these questions, AND, gives us a heads up on his upcoming project, "Home to Home", which uses both photography and music to share his recent Colorado Trail FKT. "Style matters" https://www.alpine-works.com/

Leor won 36 of the 42 races he entered, then in 2013 stopped racing to do FKTs. He held the FKT on the John Muir Trail AND the High Sierra Trail at the same time - then stopped doing FKTs too! What is his new passion? "Big Sur is just as wild as the High Sierra - there are places no one has ever seen". "I've cataloged 157 waterfalls - some I call "FKS's" - First Known Sighting!" See great photos and track his "Big Sur Waterfalls" and "High Sierra Glacial Lakes" project here: https://pantilat.wordpress.com

We discuss the highlights of the year so far, and note that unlike in previous years, there have been no major efforts on the AT, the PCT, or the JMT. Why is that? "FKTs in my opinion can leave the trails and be more creative.” “And maybe the big routes have become too fast!” The California 14ers were just done by a woman, it is somewhat uncommon for a woman to go solo on the technical routes; why is that? "When I choose a partner for a technical route, I don’t care about gender, I care about their experience." “And, maybe women are smarter.” The Fastest Known Time of the Year Award will be back again this year, including a separate FKTOY for Europe. "FKTOY is one of my favorite things, because even if the route isn’t something I’d do, it’s always so inspiring, so interesting.”

Once again Chris McDougall finds a seed of truth and sprouts it into a great story - this time the millennia-old bond between animals and humans, and how that connection can still nurture us. And frustrate us, if you've just entered a burro race. "If you and that burro aren't of the same opinion where you're going and how fast, it can drag you up the side of a cliff or through a boulder field." - Ken Chlouber The story brings Chris full circle, as he first witnessed burro racing at the same time when he visited Leadville to learn about the Tarahumara, who won the 100 mile race then disappeared back into Copper Canyon. "You can't be a bully or a blowhard, and if that sounds more like one gender to you than another, you'll understand why men can struggle at this sport and women excel." "Running With Sherman" was just released on October 15 - buy it here: https://www.amazon.com/Running-Sherman-Donkey-Heart-Hero/dp/1524732362

The Wasatch Ultimate Ridge Linkup encircles Little Cottonwood Canyon.  Joey lives IN Little Cottonwood Canyon! "The Rustler Lodge is closed in the summer, so it's just 3 of taking care of 85 rooms. It's like 'The Shining'". Joey spent 56 days going NOBO on the AT in 2014 for a new Self-Supported FKT, but he took one car ride to a hospital due to injury ... so he didn't claim it. He is not sponsored. He doesn't have a YouTube channel. He just lives the life. "I ski the 'greatest snow on earth' every day in winter, and when it's gone, I run in the same mountains." Joey's WURL Trip Report is worth a read: https://joeycamps.blogspot.com/2019/09/and-i-think-to-myself-what-wonderful.html

From an FKT on the Ptarmigan Traverse to 61,000 vertical feet skied in one day, Mike Foote is as skilled as he is at home in the mountains. But here's question: What's the dumbest thing you've ever done? "My first time skiing I didn't have skins, so for traction I duct-taped pine boughs to the bottom of my skis. Then I fell into a cornice overhanging a 1,500' cliff." Listen to Mike's humble, humorous, and thoughtful recollections of a life well-lived in the mountains and deserts. What is the coolest thing you've ever done? "Maybe coaching HS Cross-Country. Or working for a local land trust saving the places we love."

Katie is from Maine; Germain from France - they both were top 10 at UTMB, then went to New Hampshire for their passion project: the Hut to Hut Traverse. They ran the whole Traverse together, with Katie 2 hours ahead of the previous female FKT. "I was on 'Croo' for 4 summers, and told Germain how at the end of every summer we saw how fast we could go between the 8 Huts." - Katie "The trails in the White Mountains were the most technical I've ever run - it's crazy; we were scrambling while below tree line - it's like a dance on rocks." - Germain What's the difference between U.S. and Europe? "In the U.S., someone might show up in crazy socks, while here, it looks like everyone just walked out of a sporting goods store." - Katie "U.S. runners are fast, because the college system with their scholarships and support increases speed, while here, we're better at steep and technical." - Germain

This August, the pair went sub-4 days on the WRHR, a terrific 100 mile traverse of the Wind River Range in Wyoming. "I was into backpacking and climbing, then discovered trail running and loved the lightweight freedom ... I'm fascinated by how far the human body can go, and how much you can see and experience." This is one of the finest routes of its kind in the world, designed to replicate the Sierra High Route: Stay as high as possible, with scrambling but no technical climbing. Just like the SHR is parallel and above and much harder than the JMT, the WRHR is off-trail and above the Highline Trail. "Maybe we ran 10 or 15 miles - fast-packing - it's an endurance mission." Note: One week after Sara and Emma, their Overall FKT was bested by Skyler Williams, then 3 weeks after that David Ayala took it down again - https://fastestknowntime.com/route/wind-river-high-route-wy Sara's website/blog: https://bivytales.com Skurka's description and route guide: https://andrewskurka.com/adventures/wind-river-high-route/

The competition is intense - how do you start a new running shoe company, and be successful? "My friend gave me a prototype, and I said, 'forget it, don't even try, you'll never succeed against the big shoe company's. But then I tried them on." "We typically don't talk about the product, we just ask people to try them, and that's what comes back: 'Running on clouds.'" This is a fun discussion with the co-owner of an international running shoe company - get the inside scoop on how this all works. "On was born in the Swiss alps with one goal: to revolutionize the sensation of running. It’s all based on one radical idea: soft landings followed by explosive take-offs. Or, as we call it, running on clouds." https://www.on-running.com/en-ch/about