2013 was the year of the FKT (fastest known time). Out west, Rob Krar set a blazing fast FKT of 6:21 on the Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim (a 42-mile trek), and went on to win ultrarunner of the year. Hal Koerner and Mike Wolfe set an FKT on the 223-mile John Muir Trail. Darcy Africa and Krissy Moehl set a women’s record for a supported run of the 95-mile Wonderland Trail, coming up just 90 minutes behind the men’s FKT of that trail. Internationally, Kilian Jornet made it up and down the Matterhorn in an insane 2:52, obliterating Bruno Brunod’s previously untouchable record of 3:14.
The Northeast had its share of FKT competition as well. The route with the most excitement was unquestionably the Presidential Traverse. On August 24, Jan Wellford posted a time of 4:35:29, taking away Ben Nephew’s title. Two weeks later, Nephew hit the trail and stole the title back by less than a minute, with a new time of 4:34:36.
The Mount Tripyramid Slide Loop was also a heated battle site. Adam Wilcox ran the loop in 1:55:56, but he too lost his crown only two weeks later when Ryan Welts ran the loop in 1:53:23.
Joe Wrobleski put up an impressive 43:04:47 unsupported record for the Maine 100-Mile Wilderness. And Matt Kirk took on the longest trail east of the Mississippi, setting a new unsupported record of the whole Appalachian Trail by hiking the 2,160-mile trail in a mere 58 days, 9 hours, and 38 minutes.
Seeing these fast times might make even an experienced runner or hiker wonder whether these routes are only for the best of the best. In fact, last year we were surprised to overhear a pretty strong runner and hiker mention that he assumed he couldn’t do a Presidential Traverse in a day. Now, let’s be clear. Not all of the big treks on the FKT board are accessible to average or even above average runners. That said, many of these adventures are well within the reach of the running everyman.
So, if 2013 was the year of the FKT, we are declaring 2014 the year of the normal runner time (NRT). Now that the snow is gone and trails are dry, we will be hitting some of the routes on the FKT board and letting you know what an average, normal, ordinary runner can expect to find out there—how long the route might take, possible modifications to the route, whether the route is a fun one for non-recordsetters, etc. Let the hurting begin!