Meet the trailblazers leading the way in FKT's for top hiking trails.
If you have ever hiked a trail and wondered how fast someone has completed it, read below and discover the fastest known times (FKT) set by ultrarunners for some of the most popular hiking trails in the USA.
Spoiler. Ultrarunners are fast.
As COVID continues to lead to the cancellation of running events around the world, the number of FKT attempts is on the rise.
Three women’s FKT records have been set in August 2020 - congratulations!
Liz ‘Mercury’ Anjos set the new women’s supported Appalachian Trail NOBO FKT at 51 days 16 hours 30 mins (completed 27th Aug 2020).
Summer Frazier set the new women's unsupported Mt Whitney ascent FKT at 3 hours 4 mins 46 secs (completed 27th August 2020).
Mikaela Osler set the new women's self-supported Colorado Trail FKT at 10 days 12 hours 36 mins (completed 9th August 2020).
FKT attempts involve no physical assistance, however there are three different categories of support:
Supported - if any form of support is received from a friend/family/crew member, the FKT attempt is classified as ‘Supported’.
Self supported - similar to supported, however the difference is that the support received was unplanned/received along the way.
Unsupported - you guessed it, no external support of any kind was received (e.g. everything required was carried, with the exception of water).
FKT’s for popular hiking trails in the USA.
Arizona Trail - 800 miles
Men’s FKT - Josh Perry
14 days 12 hours 21 mins | 2019 | Self-supported
Women’s FKT - Helen Galerakis
17 days 11 hours 3 mins | 2019 | Supported
Colorado Trail - 485 miles (Collegiate East route)
Men’s FKT - Scott Jamie
8 days 7 hours 40 mins | 2013 | West to East | Supported
Women’s FKT - Betsy Kalmeyer
9 days 10 hours 52 mins | 2003 | East to West | Supported
Long Trail - 272 miles
Men’s FKT - Jonathan Basham
4 days 12 hours 46 mins | 2009 | Supported
Women’s FKT - Alyssa Godesky
5 days 2 hours 37 mins | 2018 | Supported
John Muir Trail - 211 miles
Men’s FKT - Francois D’Haene
2 days 19 hours 26 mins | 2017 | NOBO | Supported
Women’s FKT - Darcy Piceu
3 days 7 hours 57 mins | 2017 | NOBO | Supported
Challenge accepted.
Anyone can make an attempt at a FKT, however you will be up against some of the top ultrarunners in the world!
To put it into perspective, check out the average mileage for the Appalachian Trial and Pacific Crest Trail current speed records:
Karel Sabbe, men’s Appalachian Trail FKT (supported) - 52.9 mile average per day
If that wasn’t enough, he completed the final 100 miles by running 40. Hours. Straight.
Heather ‘Anish’ Anderson, women’s Pacific Crest Trail FKT (self-supported) - 43 mile average per day