FKT Podcast

One of the best mountain runners in the world started as a Jiu Jitsu champion in Brazil. Visiting New Zealand in 2006, she got involved with Kiwi adventure multi-sports, then ran a Half-Marathon in the mountains - in the exact same time as her previous best, set on a flat paved course. "My family were fighters. Then I discovered mountains." She's lived in Chamonix for the past 10 years, been on th...

Fastestknowntime.com volunteer Craig Randall discusses with Buzz Burrell that this virus is not going away any time soon ... so what are we going to do about it? "We put our own country into a medically-induced coma ... I think it's time to revive the patient." The pandemic is certainly an enormous tragedy, which we fortunately took extreme action to limit.  And now two months in, we have learned...

There was something wrong with our statistics: during April, there were 31 FKTs ... just from Connecticut! What's up with that? Turns out 7 were from ONE person?  Did Sarah Connor call the Terminator for help? "There are a lot of people out there doing more impressive things right now; I'm just doing a lot of smallish ones. It's been fun!" This is inspirational: you can be 100m runner and long jum...

Marshall has been there, and been doing that for decades. His output, especially for the hugely long routes, is prodigious (think running across the US).   "What I was doing was kicking back and having fun.  Showing people you can do more". "Kicking back and having fun"?  Running across Death Valley a total of 29 times doesn't strike me as that much fun.  But that's Marshall - taking humble unders...

Outdoor and running shops are closed! Which is bad for us - but how about for the world's leading brand in mountain footwear? What does it look like from behind the curtain? "It hurts. It's not easy right now. We hit the Pause button on our entire business in mid-March." Jonathan Lantz is President of La Sportiva North America. This is a 93 year old company based in the Italian Dolomites. What doe...

Karl was a mountain bike racer and working as a mountain guide on Kilimanjaro when his friends, noticing he was very fit, suggested he go for Kilian Jornet's FKT.  He asked, "Who is that?  What is an FKT?" Karl went up and back very fast - while wearing a bike jersey - and a new career was launched. That winter he prepared for Aconcagua, and heard Kilian was going also, who then set a new FKT.  Wh...

This is our most authentic podcast! We recorded this in-person, sitting outdoors, while maintaining a 7' physical distance - those birds you hear chirping in the background are real! And what could be more important to talk about right now? Exercising outdoors is the single best thing you can do for your physical, mental, and emotional health ... AND ... we are in a pandemic, where safety (not jus...

Tyler ran the Olympic Trials Marathon, then went to Nepal to hike and relax. Then the global pandemic broke out. So he decided he might as well try the FKT for the Everest Base Camp run. "I was over there, all races were being cancelled back home, so decided I might as well do something." The fast road guy who had never run longer than 6 hours decides to run up to 17,598' and back. "I got my maps...

Everyone is disappointed that races were cancelled or postponed. What about the race directors themselves - this is how they make a living - what is their perspective? James Varner, Rainshadow Running: "We're known for our post-race parties as much as the running; it's one big happy family. That's all a big no-no right now with social distancing." Justin Ricks, Mad Moose Events: "When you lose som...

Everyone is talking about it so we should as well. But instead of more graphs of "How COVID-19 will spread," we will listen to authentic, personal reports from friends in Europe, the United States, and New Zealand. Each report is very different! We can learn from each other. Note: These conversations were recorded Monday afternoon, March 23, which is important to know as the situation changes ever...

Amanda and Justin were in Kauai to run the Kalalau Trail and thought to check it out. Ill prepared for the humidity, Amanda nonetheless decided to go for the FKT, and succeeded. Justin accompanied her going out (so she is listed as Supported) but then then fell apart from the heat. "We were all wondering, 'where's Justin'? He was two hours late getting back." Three days later he felt better, going...

Going lightweight saves a ton of energy, but how best to do that? Andrew Skurka was a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, and created monster routes, such as the Great Western Loop and Alaska-Yukon Expedition. He now runs a guiding business (when not racing Marathons), with 29 trips this year alone. Alan Dixon is an engineer and adventurer who helped co-found Backpacking Light, and will be...

Ryan has been actively racing since 2006 - winning and doing well in 26 Ultra's - then announced for 2020 he will focus exclusively on FKTs: "I like racing, a lot. But this fall I asked myself what I really care to do the most. And that was easy. I love running in the wilderness. Alone in the biggest, best, and most wild mountains." Listen to Ryan recount setting the FKT on Half Dome, while a Fres...

The Stoke Factor goes up a notch with Rea Kolbl and Trever Townsend in the room (or on the trail): “We just like to sign up for things we have no idea how to do, then figure it out!” Rea Kolbl was a competitive gymnast in her native Slovenia, then while earning a Masters Degree in Engineering at Stanford University, realized she could make more money Obstacle Course Racing than indoors teaching Gr...

The Longs Peak FKT stood for 33 years! The Grand Teton FKT for 29 years ... then Andy broke them both in the span of two weeks! "I'm a mediocre runner and a mediocre climber ... but not many people do both." Andy was Climbing Ranger at the Longs Peak Ranger Station (as was Chris Reveley, the previous FKT holder) so he has extremely valuable thoughts and advice for all of us: "I've backed off more...

A resident of Keene, NY, Ryan is one of the guys trading fast times on the Presi and Adirondack Traverses. They get after it, yet it's all one big friendly community. "The previous record-holder came out and helped, making sure I knew the best ways to go." His next project? 500 miles on fat bikes, unsupported, in winter, across Manitoba, on the "worlds longest winter road", the Wapusk Trail (Wapus...

Brett came seemingly out of nowhere in 2009 when he set the coveted FKT on the John Muir Trail, going Unsupported 7 hrs faster than the Supported time. "I think it took Barkley to convince some of the holdouts." He finished Barkley in 2011 and again in 2012, with what is still the fastest time (the course changes so there is never a "course record").  Definitely go to his Athlete page on this webs...

The Te Araroa is amazing: from the northern to southern tip of New Zealand, across the entire island (2 actually) nation! Lucy set the Female FKT, followed by George a mere 4 days later with the Male FKT, completely by coincidence. Lucy's tip for hiking 66 straight days? "Go shove a heap of food in your face, then go again." George met the previous Female FKT holder by chance in a cafe, who told h...

The four FKT principals discuss what specific gear really helped us all move faster, easier, and safer in the mountains and trails. Our thoughts might surprise you, and hopefully they will also help you. "This product straddles being the best and being the worst!" We also discuss what did not work, and really interesting, what is coming next? “20 years from now, when movies are made to have taken...

We talk with the #2 and #1 Fastest Known Time of the Year winners! They tell their own stories, which are amazing listening. "I consider myself a relatively normal person without any particularly special skills. I simply had an idea and dedicated myself to training to make it happen." (Find out what this person did - her definition of "normal" is very "relative"!) From very long trails in the dese...

Let's do this! The #5, #4, and #3 FKTOY for ladies and gents. And EVERY one of these Athletes is on air - 8 people total! Extremely interesting and inspirational - listen to these people in their own words. "I have been chasing what makes me feel alive, what I see is possible, and what scares me...this FKT passion is about the experience, it is about the creativity, it’s about living in a way that...

This year's FKTOY coverage is brought to you by the running apparel company, rabbit. Go to runinrabbit.com, enter FKT at checkout, and save 20% on your first order. Thanks for supporting the companies that support Fastest Known Times! Five women and five men will be awarded for the best FKTs in 2019.  Who will they be?  Peter Bakwin (Episode 65) and Andrew Skurka (Episode 26) discuss what inspired...

We created short selections from 7 of our best podcasts! Including our very first from September 2018. Each segment is only 3-11 minutes long. Ep. 1 - Tony Krupicka - Longs Peak Duathlon - "Sometimes being successful means just getting back to the car. Alive." Ep. 2 - Karel Sabbe - Appalachian Trail - "I start to hit my stride after 2,000 miles". Ep. 7 - Christof Teuscher - R2R2R2R2R2R2R2R2R! - "I...

630 FKTs this year (and more coming in every day) ... what's new and cool? "More women, and more women going solo on technical routes" There were no big efforts this year on the big routes, like the AT, PCT, R2R2R, JMT ... the existing times are too fast! "The low-hanging fruit has been plucked" Who will be the FKTOY winners? What do YOU think? READ the ARTICLE with the NOMINATIONS LIST Podcast mu...

These two high intensity people run together, work together, and live together: how does that work? "Unlike having a training buddy, being in a relationship is both wonderful and super, super challenging." I thought we were just going to talk about the good stuff? "No, let's talk about the shitty parts!" What happens when one person is injured and can't run, and the other is crushing it? You can't...