FKT Podcast

Luke has FKTs on the Idaho 12ers (9 summits over 12,000'), and the Utah 13ers (17 over 13,000'). A few weeks ago he did the Wasatch Ultimate Ridge Linkup, a gnarly but entirely logical Jared Campbell route ringing Little Cottonwood Canyon, starting directly above Salt Lake City. "The WURL is a fascinating route; it took several years for me to feel ready to even try it. I wanted to be able to move not only quickly through this terrain, but safely at the same time." Luke is very conscious of the “Kilian Effect”: "I’ve been very careful how I’ve talked about this - I don’t consider it a running route - it’s a mountain route. If you’re an experienced trail runner, you might not have the skillset that’s appropriate to do this route."

The Cascade Trifecta, then the Rainier Infinity Loop - Solo and Self-Supported - one week apart! The Infinity Loop alone is 130 miles with 47,000' of elevation gain. How did he do it? "I slept for 90 minutes the first night, to optimize my summit to start at first light. Then 21 minutes the second night - because I was too tired to move. It delivers full value". "There's something that draws out the authenticity in people - there's a shared experience." Jason has also developed a clever "van life" lifestyle, affording him a lot of mobility and free time, while at the same time is passionate about teaching Physical Education in school: "I was always the kid who couldn't sit still."

This is Sunny Stroeer's second appearance on the Fastest Known Podcast. As a person who not only attempts but thrives on self-supported, big mountain FKTs, Sunny offers honest perspective on what motivates women to try fastest known times. Whether it's the "confidence gap" or "low hanging fruit" FKTs, Sunny talks about what's changed in the landscape of women's FKTs since we spoke to her almost one year ago. It turns out a lot has changed. Since then, women have attempted to break her FKTs on the Aconcagua-360 route and the Pfiffner Traverse and not succeeded and yet, just two weeks ago, a two-woman team broke the record on the Wind River High Route, a super rugged and wild traverse. Sunny just returned to the U.S. from China where she set an FKT on the TransQilian route, an environment she describes as a mix between the Swiss Alps and the Colorado Rockies. What's next for Sunny? An attempt at Colorado's Nolan's 14 in September. Visit sunnystrooer.com and follow instagram.com/sstroeer

Jennifer famously set the Overall record on the Appalachian Trail earning her National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, but is also the author of 7 books, a public speaker, runs a guide service, and is happily married with two children. So how did she go 11 DAYS faster than her previous effort? "I resolved to not set a limit on what I could do - no matter what happened, I would leave the Trail with that question answered." "I was on the Trail I loved, with the person I loved, doing what I loved." http://jenniferpharrdavis.com https://blueridgehikingco.com

No action yet on the JMT, PCT, or AT ... are the existing times just too hard? But Peter is processing 5-8 submissions per day from all over the world! And, stop worrying about "Supported" vs "Unsupported" - "If you want to go solo, go solo. If you want to go as a team, do that. But don't say one is better than the other." And what are the early candidates for this years FKTOY?? (someone has already nominated the Arctic Fox that walked 2,000 miles from Norway over the North Pole to Greenland in 76 days - it's Verified because the fox was wearing a GPS tracker!).

Marcy and her husband John travel the US, living in a camper trailer, and knocking out FKT's everywhere they go. "We've been doing this for 10 years. It's a great way to see the country!" She's also a Hardrock finisher, and done a lap or two of Barkley. But her favorite race? "Big's Backyard Ultra. I'm not real fast, so the 'Last Person Standing' style suits me." Marcy's blog: http://marcy-twss.blogspot.com They're also ticking off the state High Points: http://www.kipley.com/marcy/highpoints/index.html

Josh is from Michigan - sounds mundane? Think again! You wouldn't believe what this guy is doing ... Fastest person to visit all 50 states - and run a 5k in each: 6d, 6h, 58mins! Most countries visited in one day - and run in each country: 13! Most 14ers climbed in one day: 10 "FKTs have become my new obsession. When I race, I pay a race fee. FKTs are 'free' but I appreciate what you are doing so much, whenever I achieve a new FKT, I'm going to make a donation, much a like a race entry fee, to help continue this super rad thing you've got going. Thank you!” https://www.joshsanders.net/blog/greatesthalf

Who won the inaugural Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc and the Hardrock 100? AND, who is a really nice person? You know it's Krissy Moehl. "I love running and I love sharing this with others". She set FKTs on some of the most iconic routes in the west: Tahoe Rim Trail, Wonderland Trail, Trans Zion, and R2R2R. She wrote "How To Run Your First Ultra", and if you purchase it from her website, it comes signed: http://krissymoehl.com

The Hut-Hut Traverse is a New England classic, especially with the "Croo" ... "The section between Greenleaf and Galehead is really steep and usually wet - you have to use your hands - that's what those trails are like." Jeff now lives in Colorado, with more big plans.  What's the difference between the Rockies and New England? "There's nothing like New Hampshire. And I'm still living the dream."

On June 20, Karl broke Kilian Jornet's time on Denali by 4 minutes. After more than 11 hours, it came down to the wire? "He used skis, so I was way ahead at the top, but he was much faster going down." Karl is going for FKTs on all the Seven Summits - he holds 4 of them simultaneously right now! "I'm not that fast, but I'm at home on glaciers, up high, in the mountains. This is what I was born to do." https://www.karlegloff.com