FKT Podcast

In 2016 Adam took a 200' fall in the Canadian Rockies. "Nick Elson and Dakota Jones ran down and were so relieved to see me moving. They thought I had died”. 10 months later Adam finished the Hardrock 100 in 33 hours. More runners are taking up climbing and skiing - do they have the needed skillset? If you mess up in a race you might get blisters; if you mess up in the mountains you might die. Wha...

Darcy Piceu and Gina Lucrezi share thoughts on this important topic. "We're in a real interesting time right now. If I do nothing else in the sport, it would be to raise awareness." This is a different conversation for Fastest Known Time, and quite worthwhile. Trail Sisters has established 5 recommended practices for races: 1. Equal podium spots 2. Equal prize money and awards 3. Women's-specific...

"Nellie" won almost everything she entered - 441 events with 390 podium finishes - until she almost died. Alone in the desert for 3 days and 2 nights in December, with a broken pelvis, lying unsheltered and unable to move Alone, except for her dog. “Taz,” she said, “maybe you could go and get some help for me.” It's a good story. They were on the Today Show and a Discovery Episode, and now listen...

The Colorado and California 14ers have long been top objectives, and the Idaho and Utah summits over 12,000' have been done, but NOBODY had done the highest summits in Montana - until Nate. "I did eight scouting trips, logging over 180 miles, 340 miles, and 126k of vert." Listen to Nate's great description of what's cool in Montana, and how not to get attacked by a Grizzly Bear. "I'm not a great u...

The "Speedgoat" has won 40 hundred mile trail races, including one every year, 18 years in a row.   "I do want to win my 19th in a row, but at some point it's all going to end ... is that time now"? Listen to Karl's thoughtful and honest comments, what it means to be slowing down, his descriptions of the Appalachian Trail, and ... his next project: "I'm going out there this summer to scout it ......

Jeff just did the Arizona Trail Self-Supported, 9 hours faster than the Supported time!  How do thru-hikers do that? "I work it out so I can go for hours without even taking off my pack - bending over to get water out of a stream takes time". Really? Yes, really - thru-hikers work to save seconds on trips that may take months.  Jeff has done the Calendar Triple Crown and the Great Western Loop, wh...

There are two ways to build a running career: 1) By talking about yourself on social media; 2) By winning races. Darcy has taken the second path! "I was from a different generation … I just like to run … “ She broke Sue Johnston’s 10-year old Female Supported FKT on the John Muir Trail by a whopping 10 hours, and threatened the Overall (Mens) FKT, much to the delight of those following her progres...

Jared Campbell is the sleep deprivation king. He has the most Barkley Marathons finishes (3); he has 10 Hardrock 100 finishes including a win; he's the holder of many original FKTs; he founded Running Up For Air and he's rrreally into "speed canyoneering"... wait, what? Finally, he's a "runner's runner." He's basically not on social media or sponsored - instead he's the lead engineer in a full-tim...

This week we talk with Ryan Sandes all the way from Cape Town, South Africa. His bio is long but what stands out most is his 5th, 2nd and 1st at the Western States 100 where he’ll be racing again this year. Along with preparing to run the iconic Two Oceans road marathon, Ryan recently invented a project called the 13 Peaks Challenge. Similar to the “rounds” in the U.K., there are 13 summits one mu...

It's the 1 year anniversary of FastestKnownTime.com! Buzz and Peter talk about what has changed about the website, its functionality and features, what it means to be the "gatekeepers" of the FKT movement, and much more.

Mike completely disrupts the long-distance paradigm - instead of 1-2 marathons a year, he might do that many in a single weekend. He has run 107 ultra’s in the last 11 years, and most of them fast - his Marathon PR is 2:17:49. And he just completed the Israel National Trail - 1,016km in 10 days, 16 hours, 36 minutes. “I’ve been inspired by this FKT movement … I think there’s freedom with it … and...

At only age 37, Andrew Skurka has already been there, and done that: "Hiking fast was not accepted. I was frowned upon for doing the AT in 3 months." Times have changed, and so did Andrew - he's done massive projects many people may not have even heard of: the Sea-Sea route (7,775mi), Great Western Loop (6,875mi), and the Alaska Yukon Expedition (24 days between road crossings). He's written a boo...

FKTs of the Year in Europe...what an inspiring list! Kilian Jornet was the #1 men's FKT of the Year in Europe for his effort on the Bob Graham Round. Hear from Kilian himself in this new episode.

FKTOY Europe Awards, Part 1, with Matt Lefort, Meredith Quinlan, & Jess Baker - #24 by FastestKnownTime.com

Matt Lefort is a native of France, who 5 years ago moved to Andorra, a mountainous principality in the Pyrenees between Spain and France. He is the Race Director of the Els 2000, and an active mountain runner and skimo athlete. Matt describes how the Euro style is different than the US: the classic routes start on the stone steps of a church, go to the top of the mountain, turn around and come bac...

A resident of Boston, MA, Joe McConaughy set the Supported FKT for the 2,655 mile Pacific Crest Trail in 2014, and on the 26-peak Wicklow Round in Ireland last May.  He is best known however, for his amazing Self-Supported FKT on the iconic, 2,189 mile Appalachian Trail, which not only bettered the Self-Supported record by 8 ½ DAYS, but also the overall Supported record of Karl Meltzer by 10 hours...

Paddy O'Leary is an Irish transplant who on October 13 set the FKT on the East Bay Skyline Trail, running 32.61 miles in 4 hours, 18 minutes, 12 seconds. He was training for the TNF50, where he was 5th place last year; he's also been 3rd at Chuckanut and 4th at Way Too Cool. So what's a young fast guy like Paddy doing running an FKT? "When I moved to the Bay Area 5 years ago I didn't run at all, I...

Candice Burt speaks to us from Moab last fall, where she was race-directing the Moab 240 -- she basically invented the 200 mile trail racing distance. And she described going solo and unsupported on August 29 around Mount Rainier on the Wonderland Trail, which earned her the #3 Fastest Known Time of the Year Award. "The Wonderland Trail was joyous, painful, and scary all at the same time. It makes...

Part two of our special Fastest Known Time of the Year Awards concludes, with the #2 and #1 winners, female and male. All four winners are interviewed for this episode, describing how they did the super-cool FKTs that won them the awards. Who are they? "I planned on running TNF then with no race to run, went after this iconic FKT instead." - "It was so fast, was it like a time trial?" - "It was a...

The Fastest Known Time of the Year Awards are back for the 3rd year! This special Episode features amazing descriptions of the #5, #4, and #3 FKTs of the Year. Adding to the fun is Hillary Allen as co-host, and an appearance by Joe Grant, who beautifully articulates what is meaningful about this sport. "When you stop racing and you start dreaming, that's when the magic happens. And for me, that's...

What was the preeminent FKT in 2018? What inspired you the most? What are your predictions for 2019? Anton Krupicka, Clare Gallagher, and Peter Bakwin answer these questions and more! "Nick Elson on Half Dome and Joe Grants' Nolans - it's style versus pure performance." "When the TNF50 was cancelled, the ladies really threw down - watching Ida, Sandi, and then Taylor in less than a week was really...

Sunny Stroeer's impressive resume includes FKTs on the 22,838ft Aconcagua and its circumnavigation, the Annapurna Circuit, and the Pfiffner Traverse. She left a high-paying job as a management consultant -- but kept her hard-charging attitude -- to spend her days bagging many of the world's tallest summits, climbing big walls, and setting records running in the mountains. "I went by myself solo an...

Peter Bakwin is the only person to do the Double Hardrock, the first person to go under 4 days on the John Muir Trail, plus many other races and FKTs, and is one of the co-founders of this website and podcast. Following up with our “3100: Run and Become” interview, Peter describes his experience of self-transcendence while running, and discusses when ultra-running may become unhealthy. “My own exp...

What if running could lead to enlightenment? This ambitious question is the heart of the documentary 3100: Run and Become. Based around the Self Transcendence 3100 Mile Race, the world’s longest certified footrace, this is an uplifting, intimate portrait of endurance runners who push themselves to the edge of physical and mental collapse, as they endeavor to challenge the boundaries of impossibili...

Jim Walmsley is one of the best ultrarunners in the world, who a few days ago (12/10/2018), with Tim Freriks and Eric Senseman, set a new FKT on the dramatic and adventurous "R2R2R.alt" in the Grand Canyon. "It's really aesthetic, because the Bass is the only trail other than the Kaibab that goes completely from one Rim to the other, with the only catch being, there is no bridge across the River.....