FKT Podcast

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,...

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...

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 ah...

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...

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 tr...

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. S...

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 ult...

Welcome to the brand new iteration of the FKT Podcast, hosted by the one and only Heather “Anish” Anderson! As a record-setter on the Pacific Crest Trail, Appalachian Trail, and Triple Crown of Thru-Hiking, Heather brings a trove of insight to share with you about what goes into pushing ourselves to the limit. And she harnesses her gift as an author and speaker to guide us on a journey into the he...

BIG NEWS: We have sold Fastest Known Time to Outside Inc, the publisher of iconic magazines such as Trail Runner, Climbing, Backpacker and of course Outside. Buzz, Peter and Jeff are very happy with what we created, and are very grateful to all of you that have cared and supported our work so that it is now an integral part of the sport of running, utilized by a worldwide community. Most important...

YOU asked and the experts answered! Re-listen to this episode from a little over a year ago where Andrew Skurka and Mary Cochenour answer listeners' gear questions on a very wide variety of applications.

How many times have you heard bad training advice? Right; there's a lot of it. Here's a quick list, plus some (hopefully) good advice as well. More is Better. Maybe not - without rest and recovery, the stress of training just makes you tired instead of creating an adaptive response. Just Run. Most other sports emphasises technique, while some runners just run a lot - cardiovascular training is imp...

Anton was our very first podcast, 3 1/2 years ago!  He was very articulate even back then:  "Sometimes being successful means getting back to the car. Alive." He was also Episode 127 last year: "I don't identify with any one sport - it's about the pure experience" He's still crushing some huge, creative routes; last summer he cycled to the 6 highest peaks in 6 different mountain ranges, ran up the...

"People think the natural progression is from running to scrambling to climbing, but it's better to start climbing with a rope for safety. You gradually learn the skills, learn what you can do, then when you start scrambling you have the experience to do it safely" "The Grand Traverse was mostly 3rd and 4th class with some technical sections." What? The North Ridge is one of the 50 Classic Climbs...

Tyler twice ran in the Olympic Marathon Trials, and now runs up the biggest mountains in South America. From a 2:15 marathon to climbing Aconcagua (22,841') in 3:32. "A big reason I went to Aconcagua is because that is where the best guys go." No kidding: the legendary Bruno Brnod still has the fastest round trip from basecamp, Kilian Jornet had and FKT before Karl Egloff (#1 FKTOY in 2019 on Dena...

Nika Meyers FKT: Colorado Trail (CO) Time: 9d 14h 19m 00s Notes: 22 hours faster than a FKT set last year; Self-supported within 4 hours of Supported time Athlete Comments: "If you have a dream, go for it, because there will never be a perfect time. Be proud that you're going to take the risk." John Kelly FKT: Pennine Way (UK) Time: 2d 10h 04m 53s Notes: First to go sub 60 hours on the UK's most c...

#3 Female: Anna Troup FKT: Pennine Way (UK) Time: 3d 00h 46m 37s Notes: The premier long trail in the UK is also very competitive; 8 hrs quicker than her own FKT set 2 weeks earlier Athlete Comments: "It was typical English weather, which means it rained most of the time.” "The classic style in the UK is full Support, partially because we've been doing this a long time, before GPS and watches and...

#5 Female: Addie Bracy and Corey Conner FKT: Grand Canyon R2R2R (AZ) Time: 08h 06m 41s Notes:  Unsupported quick double crossing of the Grand Canyon; a Premier Route. Athlete Comments: "Corey) "This was the longest run of my life by 3 hours! I was so scared my teeth were chattering. I may have over-compensated, because I ate and drank so much at the beginning I had to relieve myself 5 times in the...

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...

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 int...

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 A...

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 clif...

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 16...

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 ra...

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...

"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...