Fastest Known Podcast

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?

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!"

Josh has run in 13 different countries in a single day, and run a 5k in all 50 states in 6 days! Like the Jared Campbell Episode 61, Josh is a spreadsheet maestro.

"The elite talent I lack can be made up for in logistical planning."

Josh lives in Michigan and sets FKTs in the western mountains - Midwesterners take note - you can do this!

"R2R2R.alt has the same elevation profile as the over-crowded R2R2R, but besides being much more remote and thin, requires you swim the Colorado River.  If you mess up, you'll really mess up"

The success or failure - and misery or enjoyment - of a project is often dependent on your partner! Everyone intuitively knows this but we rarely hear any discussion about it - so let's discuss it with Jared Campbell.

Potential partners should talk in advance to ascertain:

Jared discusses the 4 key components (important links below) - - -

What is the relationship between speed and safety? What is the boundary and how do you know when you're hitting it? Ultrarunners have the fitness to get really far into the backcountry, but do they have the skill and experience to get back safely?

"People are drawn to these routes, because they're super aesthetic, iconic lines. But are they over their head?"

"You can download a .gpx file and just follow your watch on a trail, but on technical terrain, that doesn't work."

In 2016 Joe climbed all 57 Colorado 14ers, self-powered, riding his bike to each mountain, taking 31 days - and he didn’t bring a foam pad.  Earlier he entered the Colorado Trail Mountain Bike race - on a non-suspension bike with a leather saddle.

"An ideal aesthetic is not necessarily a rational thing, it's an emotional feeling."

Leor won 36 of the 42 races he entered, then in 2013 stopped racing to do FKTs.  He held the FKT on the John Muir Trail AND the High Sierra Trail at the same time - then stopped doing FKTs too!  What is his new passion?

"Big Sur is just as wild as the High Sierra - there are places no one has ever seen".

"I've cataloged 157 waterfalls - some I call "FKS's" - First Known Sighting!"

We discuss the highlights of the year so far, and note that unlike in previous years, there have been no major efforts on the AT, the PCT, or the JMT.  Why is that?

"FKTs in my opinion can leave the trails and be more creative.”

“And maybe the big routes have become too fast!”

The California 14ers were just done by a woman, it is somewhat uncommon for a woman to go solo on the technical routes; why is that?

Once again Chris McDougall finds a seed of truth and sprouts it into a great story - this time the millennia-old bond between animals and humans, and how that connection can still nurture us. And frustrate us, if you've just entered a burro race.

"If you and that burro aren't of the same opinion where you're going and how fast, it can drag you up the side of a cliff or through a boulder field." - Ken Chlouber