FKT Podcast

46 people from around the world have been Nominated for the Fastest Known Time Of the Year award!  Wow.  Let's talk about it with Hillary. "Can you believe this guy?  He not only did the 58 Colorado fourteeners, but he walked the entire distance between them, with no support!" "I really like what Kelly is doing - she ran Gannet Peak by herself, which is high, remote, and technical." "Great to see Hong Kong on the List. And 5,000 meters of vert?  That's over 16,000 feet in a city that's on the ocean!" "I'd never heard of the Larapinta Trail, but I liked what she wrote: 'Hot, remote, wild; very Aussie in experience.'" Interesting!  So definitely go to the Nominations List to click on the route name, and see photos and read stories written by the athletes themselves.  This is your world bucket list of cool routes to do. Podcast Schedule 12/31/2021: We catch up with Hillary, and review the year. 1/7/2022 (This one):  We discuss the FKTOY contenders 1/14/2022:  We announce the #5 and #4 winners (Female and Male) 1/21/2022:  Announce the #3 and #2 winners 1/28/2022:  Announce the #1's  There was no advertising on this podcast - we rely on YOU.   Please show your support here!  (The Internet is NOT free). Please Review and Rate the Fastest Known Podcast (this helps people find the show).

We catch up with the "indomitable force" for a quick introduction to the upcoming Fastest Known Time Of the Year award, and more. "This is my favorite time of the year!  We get to discuss all the cool FKTs." But first, we delve into the wonderful world of gravel-bike racing.  Many runners got into SkiMo, which we've discussed here, but now the new cross-training sport is gravel riding.  "I got into cycling after an injury, and now I love it.  It's so fun.  And so easy on your body - you can ride all day, and the next day you feel fine." We discuss the 'super bowl' of gravel racing, Unbound Gravel, in Emporia Kansas. "It was really hot, and windy, and sunny ... it was carnage out there ... riders were flopped out the shade on the side of the road." "There was this guy drafting me, and he wouldn't come around.  He just wouldn't take a pull.  So I started crying. That's what you do, right?  He finally comes around, then doesn't do anything, so he's actually slowing me down.  So I pass him back, and this time pull away, still crying." "That's what endurance sports are.  It's so incredible what the body can do.  And the mind." Rob Krar on the Tonto Rim, "Hole to Hump" in the Grand Canyon, and why there are many FKTs in the UK but few in France ... this is a fun conversation. And lastly:  Buzz propositions Hillary live on air!  What was her response? There was no advertising on this podcast - we rely on YOU.   Please show your support here!  (The Internet is NOT free). Please Review and Rate the Fastest Known Podcast (this helps people find the show).

Our Co-Founder and our Director of Community Partnerships gives us the scoop - - - PB: "Races are resuming so FKTs are coming in at a more manageable rate. The UK has a very strong tradition so a lot of action there, including in winter.  Australia is active as well." AM: "It's been an amazing year!  We forget that Rob Krar and Mike Foote did R2R2R.alt almost a year ago. Then Stringbean beat the AZT by 3 days after temporarily quitting due to snow." FKTs are now a standard part of the sport.  The term is used all over the world, the same in every language, pro runners go for FKTs like they would a race, and we all can participate ourselves. PB: "You can - and should - find what is meaningful to you." AM: "I love FKTs!  I met my husband doing them, and am continually amazed and what people come up with." Their advice? PB: "Learning and growing is fun. That's probably how I got into this." AM: "Do your homework." It's time for year-end gifts.  Consider us!  There was no advertising on this podcast - we rely on YOU.   Please show your support at fastestknowntime.com/support!  (The Internet is NOT free). Please Review and Rate the Fastest Known Podcast (this helps people find the show).

Allie "Mac" McLaughlin flies down the trails (USATF Trail Marathon Champion 2 years in a row) and in the air (300 skydiving jumps). And did we mention riding dirt bikes? "It was super technical. So I revved the engine, closed my eyes, and took off." "I've gotten hurt way more times from running than from sky diving." At the Moab Trail Marathon in November, her BASE-jumping friends were on the cliffs high above the course as she went by the halfway point. "When I came out of Hunter Canyon, they could see me down below, and let out a 'ca-caw'. I heard that and yelled a 'ca-caw' back. It was echoing up and down the canyon. Then they jumped." "It was definitely a 'high on life' moment." Allie formerly lifted weights, which might have helped her on the Manitou Incline FKT. "I weighed 85 lbs and squatted 175." She also has some tips for downhill running: "You gotta remember to run. You just gotta send it." Photo: Peter Maksimow

John lives in Australia, where the whole country is sports-mad, the runners are fast, the routes long ... and it's now summer. "Normally it's starting to get hot, 40 degrees, but it's a La Nina year so it's raining now and the conditions are still good." He's been exploring the tricky canyons of the Blue Mountains, which are very different.  His recent FKT is "Passes of Narrow Neck", which took 16hrs 40min.  He and his partner did 14 passes in one day.  What does that mean? "A pass is an unlikely, in-obvious, or difficult passage through a rock cliff." This route is a mixture of scrambling, hiking, running, and canyoning.  At one point he and his partner climb a tree to surmont a pass.  As the Route Page says, "This route is only for experienced scramblers who understand the risks, and who have rehearsed every metre in advance. Only two of these passes are maintained by National Parks - any other ropes, spikes, chains or ladders you encounter could snap."  As John's partner Keith wrote: "The Passes Of Narrow Neck is a significant undertaking that definitely needs thorough preparation and familiarity with the route and terrain, as well as a good head for heights & strong scrambling ability.  By the end expect to be covered in charcoal, battered and scratched by the scrub and to have had an unparalleled adventure in the wilderness of the Blue Mountains."

Gary Cantrell, aka Lazarus Lake, (or is it the other way around?) could be the most creative person in the entire sport. That is a low bar, but possibly by accident he has single-handily changed ultrarunning forever. The Barkley Marathons is an iconic, world-renowned event, and the subject of two films, even though only 40 people enter, there is no website, and the time and even the date of the race is secret. "It's good clean fun. But not always clean, and not always fun." "A 'Barker' isn't someone who says, "This isn't fair!" and goes home. They are someone who goes home and works to get better." "It's a 1% race. It's designed so only 1% of entrants should be able to finish. Since 40 people are in each year, two finishers every five years is about right." In 2006 a runner got lost on Loop 1. He didn't find his way back until 32 hours later. "If you run off the map, the map doesn't help much anymore. He went about two miles. That's 16 hour miles." Backyard Ultras are another Laz invention ("Just One More Loop") and will possibly be his most enduring legacy. The original Bigs Backyard Ultra is still is held on his farm in Tennessee, where 35 people competed on October 16, but this year 25-30,000 runners will enter an official Backyard Ultra in 65 countries. Who'd have imagined such a wild success? Not Laz: "This is like a fantasy, because I'm just an old hillbilly who lives in the woods. I wonder if I'm going to wake up and it's not real." "I wonder if we stumbled on a whole new sport." "People don't stop when they can't keep going; they stop when they think they can't win." You need to listen to this. Laz is one of the most unique and insightful people we've ever had on the podcast. Or that you have ever heard. "The job of a race director is to help people find greatness in themselves."

Jack is a Regional Editor for fastestknowntime.com - he volunteers his time to process your FKT submissions. And he is young, fast, knowledgable, and passionate. Don't miss this view of our sport from behind the curtain! "I think the FKT scene is where the elite runners should be. Races are fine, but the courses are not - we can't get permits to hold races on our best terrain. But with an FKT, you can race up the best mountains and the best routes in the country." "You don't have to go to Europe to run up mountains. With FKTs, you choose the best course, on the optimal day, with good weather ... and it's all free!" Jack has outstanding advice for FKT hopefuls: Be very efficient at aid stations Research the course conditions Scout the course many times in advance Choose the right footwear (cushion vs grip?) Nutrition ("sold on Maurtens") What Style is the competition? (instead of looking for the slowest style, do what the top people have also done) He thinks the White Mountain 100 is under-appreciated: its 34,000' of vert is the same as UTMB and Hardrock (which is almost twice that of WS100). And it will never be a race - it's an FKT Route. This is a outstanding 10min video of the Hut Traverse that precisely illustrates what Jack describes.

"I'm a mom to three teenagers and on the verge of turning 50. The fastest I normally travel is in my mini-van shuttling kids around town. Achieving an FKT as an amateur middle-aged athlete with minimal time to train was a huge stretch of my comfort zone. So adding my name to this roster was one of my proudest and most rewarding moments." Boom! Isn't Nancy the type of person you want to meet on the trail (or listen to on a podcast)? She is a SAR volunteer who raised $30,000 with this FKT, and was inspired to undertake this project by the tragic death of another mother of three who died of hypothermia one mile from the trailhead. She has excellent safety advice for all of us: "Don't forget to pack what's between your ears." "STOP. Which means: Stop - Think - Observe - Plan. When lost, wandering or leaving the trail is never a good idea." Is this more inspirational than listening to a professional runner who can run really fast? "We care. With all the anger and divisiveness in the world, I want to say there are millions of people like us out there, who really care." Nancy also found the time to write a book, which we recommend: "Chasing the Smokies Moon; An audacious 948 mile hike, fueled by love, loss, laughter, and lunacy." Purchase signed copies at www.nancyeast.com.

This is a re-airing of our November 15, 2019 episode exploring 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." Episode photo: Joe Kennedy

On October 18, Drew ran back and forth across the Grand Canyon 4 times (R2R2R2R2R). It was his third try, so he learned some things! Which he shares with you ... "They start turning off the water when the weather gets cold. So there's a narrow window when most people try this. I did the first R2R2R at night, so the warm sun made starting the second lap easier." This route was 83 miles, with 22,000' of vert. And unlike running in the mountains, to finish it off, you have to run almost 5,000' back UP! "Your quads must be preserved. The "box" is good running, so you'll lose big chunks of time if you're already beat up by then." Drew loves the Grand Canyon, and it shows. Even though it's not always easy, as he describes one trail in the western section: "You can hardly see the trail. My lower legs were shredded. If I were to do that route again, I'd put KT Tape all over my shins in advance." This Episode Sponsored by Rabbit: The free-spirited California brand dedicated to all things running. Drew used their cool-weather kit for his night-time start, and their super-light gear for the rest of his FKT - check it out here. Subscribe to their email list (bottom of page) to stay in the know for new gear drops and sales, and get 10% off your first order. And follow them on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runinrabbit