FKT Podcast

The Moab 240 starts today! As intrepid athletes embark on their multi-day journeys across the desert, catch up with the race director herself Candice Burt. Candice not only founded the Moab 240, she helped popularize the 200+ mile foot race distance.On this episode of the FKT Podcast, Candice and host Heather Anderson chat about all things ultra-ultra distance racing. They get into the vast disparities between the 100-mile and 200-mile race distances, and how each requires specific strategies and skillsets. Candice also dishes the scoop on her new 200-mile race in Arizona and why she’s so attracted to its particular desert scape.With four Arizona Trail FKT attempts under her belt, Candice opens up about how her last attempt led to a revelation: striving for a time goal on that particular trail was not serving her.“Once I got out there, I realized that the pressure of having a certain time goal took away from the experience,” Candice says. “The time wasn't as important to me as having the experience on the trail. So it was kind of a cool shift that I made. It made me less competitive, but it increased my joy of the whole experience.”Candice replays the dramatic ending to her last AZT record attempt, which involved saving someone from a burning car.Read up on Candice’s FKTs on fastestknowntime.com, keep up with her adventures on Instagram, and check out her iconic 200+ mile races on Destination Trail.

The Wainwrights 214 represents the 214 fells chronicalled in Alfred Wainwright’s seven-volume Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells. Many British walkers aim to summit all 214 peaks in their lifetimes. The less sane attempt to summit them all in one continuous round.On May 7, 2022, John Kelly solidified his place in the later category by completing a continuous round of the Wainwrights – setting the record in the process. His time of five days, 12 hours bested Sabrina Verjee’s record by 11 hours. Yes, we’re using “record” strategically here. Fell runners, the colloquial term for trail runners in the Lake District of the UK where the Wainwrights 214 takes place, have their reasons. Tune into the latest episode of the FKT Podcast to find out why.Kelly and host Heather Anderson unpack the logistical quagmire of linking together the summits and viewpoints that make up the Wainwrights 214 in the most efficient line while factoring in the weather and ground conditions. Haunted by sleep deprivation issues on big efforts in the past, Kelly discloses how he overcame that challenge this time. Kelly, an American who lived in the UK for the past two years, explains the unique beauty of the fell running community, and the collaborative effort required in these round record attempts. A data scientist and father of four, Kelly also opens up about how he balances his various athletic goals with each other, along with the rest of his life. Kelly also makes the case for why everyone should attempt these iconic routes, whether they are going for the record or not.Get Kelly’s full trip report from the Wainwrights and his other records on fastestknowntime.com. And keep up with him on Instagram. 

A fever forced Alyssa Clark to forgo her early April race, so a few weeks later she put her fitness to use and set an FKT on Mount Whitney instead. Alyssa didn’t just set any FKT, she went after the self-supported record on the mountaineer’s route from the town of Lone Pine. The 33-mile out-and-back involves a 12-mile road climb, a couloir filled with snow, and fourth-class scrambling before tagging the 14,505-foot summit, turning around, and repeating it all again in reverse. What inspired Alyssa to supplant a running race with such a mixed terrain FKT? Alyssa and host Heather Anderson get into it on this episode of the FKT Podcast. Alyssa also shares the gear she used for the route, and where she cached various items and resupplies. A teacher, Alyssa talks about the inspiration she derives from her students, and how one simple trick — turning off her headlamp — helped her find motivation on that long road climb well before the sun came up.And last but not least, Alyssa sends out a rallying cry: women, submit your FKTs! Representation matters. Alyssa may or may not have even convinced Heather to submit a few more, tune in to find out.Get Alyssa’s full FKT write-up, and check out her supported FKT on the Pinhoti Trail over at fastestknowntime.com. And keep up with Alyssa’s adventures on Instagram. 

Longer routes tend to get most of the love, but shorter FKTs can require just as much planning, practice, and persistence. In fact, dare we say shorter FKTs can be just as notable? Mountain athlete Kyle Richardson certainly won’t weigh in on that debate, but his records throughout the Boulder, Colorado area speak for themselves. Loyal listeners may remember Kyle from episode six of this podcast, when we discussed his FKT on the LA Freeway, a 16-hour off-trail epic along the Indian Peaks skyline above Boulder.The LA Freeway is short compared to a long trail like the AT. But Kyle holds even shorter records. The fastest “scrambler” in Boulder, Kyle set FKTs on the most iconic routes in Boulder’s fabled flatiron rock formations, including the First Flatiron and the “Quinfecta,” a scrambling link-up of Flatirons One through Five. Both of these records require precision maneuvering the fifth-class terrain of the flatirons themselves, as well as endurance running up the steep hills and nimbleness descending the technical terrain and buffed-out trails.In August 2020, Kyle set the record on Longs Peak, the 14,255-foot behemoth that towers above the front range. The fastest way requires a mixture of on and off-trail running and fifth-class scrambling up the Cables Route, a 5.4 granite rock face that, as its name implies, once held cables to assist climbers up the peak. On July 22, 2021, Kyle set the FKT on Green Mountain, the home hill he runs nearly every day – 711 times to date.All of these records may create the illusion that these FKTs came easily. Kyle argues that is not at all the case. Each required years of practice, meticulously learning every handhold on the rock and repeating the routes over and over to learn the quickest lines. In fact, Kyle at his ripe old age of 26 has gone up the First Flatiron 356 times. He summited Longs 50 times before his record-setting run – including 13 times just that summer. Tune in to this episode of the FKT Podcast to hear host Heather Anderson’s take on FKTs that could not be more different than the ones for which she’s known. Kyle shares his philosophy around the daily practice of running up his home hill and learning a landscape intimately. Plus, learn how Kyle, a professional musician, uses his movement in the mountains to inform his music. Fun fact, Kyle created the music for this podcast! Read the trip reports for all of Kyle’s FKTs over at fastestknowntime.com. Keep up with his adventures on Instagram, and check out his film, Tempo, which explores his relationship between movement and music. 

April 28, 2022, 5:55 pm: Ella Bredthauer reached Springer Mountain, the terminus of the Benton MacKaye trail. Ella’s shuttle, which she had scheduled before setting off on the trail eight days before, arrived five minutes later – right on time.Ella’s uncanny punctuality belies the ordeals she faced in setting the fastest known self-supported time on the 288-mile trail. First, Ella had to get over her fear of hiking solo in the dark. (Nightlife encounters with feral pigs and big shiny eyes didn’t help.) Then there was loneliness from only seeing three people over the final six or so days. And finally, Ella succumbed to crippling nausea from powering her way up and down the Appalachian's steep and rocky, hot and muggy slopes. Learn how Ella overcame these obstacles on the latest episode of the FKT Podcast. Ella and host Heather Anderson, who has completed the Benton MacKaye trail herself, dig into night hiking strategies. They discuss the challenges of charging all of your electronic devices while trying to set a multi-day record. And they shed light on just how remote and empty the Benton MacKaye feels compared to the overlapping Appalachian Trail. To run or not to run? Ella and Heather get into that, too. Plus, Ella divulges the backpacking gear she can’t hike without, as well as the one critical gear error she made on this record-setting journey.Read Ella’s full write-up and check out her photos on fastestknowntime.com. And keep up with her adventures on Instagram.

Toxic water, wind storms, poisonous gas – Death Valley lives up to its name. Or at least that’s what Cameron Hummels learned while attempting the 160-mile Death Valley North to South Crossing in February. And yet, Cameron smashed the FKT.Cameron traversed the national park in this FKT’s characteristic unsupported, entirely off-trail style in three days, 23 hours, and 54 minutes – four minutes ahead of his arbitrary goal, and three days faster than the previous mark set by Roland Banas.But those four days were over two years in the making. Cameron, an astrophysicist postdoctoral fellow who spends most of his days using computer simulations to model how galaxies form and evolve, applied that scientific rigor to the FKT research process. To blow the previous FKT out of the water, Cameron knew he would have to treat water differently than his predecessors. Namely, Cameron would have to rely on water sources along the way rather than carry all his hydration needs on his back from the start. Research led Cameron a century into the past, where he unearthed a U.S. Geological Survey report from 1909, “Some desert watering places in southeastern California and southwestern Nevada.”On his many recon trips, Cameron hiked to potential watering holes described in the book. Sometimes he’d find a muddy puddle less than an inch deep. Sometimes he’d find just dry ground. Cameron collected water samples from these far from pristine sources and sent them away for testing.The results were not encouraging. But Cameron decided to try the uranium and arsenic-laced water from the safety of his home anyway, reasoning that drinking a small amount of water with five-times the FDA-approved arsenic limit wouldn’t kill him. He felt sick for months.Tune in to this episode of the FKT Podcast to learn Cameron’s solution to making these water sources at least somewhat potable. Discover what it’s like to get trapped in a haboob – an airborne wall of wind storm – as well as to traverse a salt swamp and suffer from visual, auditory, and olfactory hallucinations. Plus, find out whether Cameron manages to convince host Heather Anderson to go after his record.Get the full-low down on Cameron’s FKT, along with his stunning desert imagery, over on fastestknowntime.com. And follow Cameron on Instagram. 

Last fall, Art Brody set the unsupported record on the Arizona Trail. Yes, the unsupported record. This means he traversed over 800 miles of desert, mountains, and canyons with absolutely no outside help. No trail magic beer. No water from caches. No food resupplies, or the reassurance of picking up new gear if something breaks. He even had to pack out all of his trash.The hurdles associated with this unsupported attempt began before Art even started. Just to step foot on the trail, Art had to shoulder his 87-pound pack. Given the logistical, physical, and psychological challenges associated with unsupported FKTs on long trails, it is perhaps not surprising that Art’s AZT record might also be a record for the longest unsupported thru-hike ever.How did Art accomplish this feat? And, perhaps more importantly, why?On this episode of the FKT Podcast, Art hashes it all out with host Heather Anderson – a former AZT self-supported record holder herself. They trade notes on their record-setting styles, tales of questionable water sources, and wildlife encounters along the way. Art explains how a hiccup before he even started led to a cascading chain of events on the trail…including essentially running out of food. Tune in to get the full inside scoop, including why Art found it worthwhile to carry a second pair of trail running shoes in his already back-breakingly heavy pack. Follow Art’s adventures on Instagram, and get his full trip report over on fastestknowntime.com.

It’s no secret that the FKT craze has skyrocketed over the past few years. What started as a niche concept relegated to the most quirky of already quirky mountaineers and thru-hikers has spread to every corner of the earth, garnering mainstream attention and sponsor support along the way.Here to talk about the challenges and opportunities that arise with this change is someone who’s lived that transformation himself. AT and PCT record-setter Joe “Stringbean” McConaughy joins host and fellow AT and PCT record-setter Heather “Anish” Anderson to discuss the growing pains that come with FKTs going “mainstream"...among other things.Follow Joe (@thestring.bean) and Heather (@_wordsfromthewild_) on Instagram. Want to hire Joe as your coach? Check out his website: https://thestringbean.co.

You’re in for a treat this week with not one but two AT record holders! Fresh off her Pinhoti Trail self-supported record, Liz “Mercury” Derstine sits down with host Heather “Anish” Anderson to talk all things record-breaking on the east coast. Liz delves into why she was more intimidated by the 348-mile Pinhoti Trail through Alabama and Georgia than by embarking on the entire Appalachian Trail. She dishes out the challenges she faced on the Pinhoti Trail, and how she managed to surmount them to break Katherine Baird’s self-supported record by three days.And of course, these two AT queens trade notes from Liz’s supported AT record and Heather’s self-supported one. Get Liz’s full trip report for the Pinhoti Trail over at fastestknowntime.com. And keep up with Liz (@pinkfeathers) and Heather (@_wordsfromthewild_) on Instagram.

We’ve got a juicy episode for you today. Host Heather Anderson catches up with Witt Wisebram, who’s going after the self-supported FKT on the PCT…a record currently held by Heather herself. Will Heather dish out all of her secrets? Tune in to find out!Witt, a triple crowner who’s also raced iconic ultra events like the Cocadona 250, dives into how he straddles the line between thru-hiking and ultrarunning. Does that mean he trained for the PCT? No. But he’s got an arguably good reason as to why not.And finally, Witt explains what on earth the moniker in his Instagram bio – “ridgerunner” – means. Thank goodness. Turns out, “ridgerunning” refers to Witt’s job with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, a nonprofit organization that preserves and manages the AT. For months on end, Witt patrols a section of the AT from Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia, to the northern boundary of Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. Spending months walking back and forth along the trail in all types of elements, maintaining the trail, and serving as a wilderness first responder, Witt provides unique insight into trail use, conservation, and gratitude for his upcoming journey.Cheer Witt on during his attempt over at @yung.chattahoochee on Instagram and track his progress over at fastestknowntime.com.