Inside The Fastest Known Time On Vermont's Long Trail

Will Peterson joins Finn Melanson on the Singletrack Podcast to talk about the fastest known time he set this past weekend on Vermont's Long Trail, the oldest continuous footpath in the United States and the setting for many notable performances over the years from top athletes in the ultrarunning scene like Nikki Kimball, Joe McConaughy, Jennifer Pharr Davis, and John Kelly.

We talk about all aspects of Will's effort including mental and physical preparation, multi-day strategy, highlights from his race report, the skillset to accomplish something of this stature, whether he plans to stay in this type of arena in the future, and some fun topics generated by listeners and viewers (like whether he'd do a race like the Cocodona 250 or a multi-week FKT like the full Appalachian Trail).

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction and Initial Feelings
06:40 The Long Trail and Other Routes
10:38 Background and Skillset
15:17 Motivation and Competition
19:14 The Evolving FKT Scene
24:17 Creating a Competitive Narrative and Mental Strategies
27:04 Training and Preparation
36:22 Planning and Adaptability in FKT Attempts
55:46 The Future of FKTs: Amateurs and Professionals
01:01:41 Data-Driven Goals for Optimal Performance
01:09:18 Instigating Participation in the Multi-Day Scene
01:11:06 Future in Multi-Day FKTs
01:17:21 The Debate on Expanded FKT Leaderboards
01:19:32 The Appalachian Trail and Future Challenges
01:23:38 Reflections on FKT of the Year Snub
01:26:06 The Unique Challenges of the 100 Mile Wilderness
01:31:24 Regulating External Communication on Unsupported Efforts
01:41:11 Gratitude for the Crew

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[runsingletrack]

Have you hiked the Long Trail before? Thoughts about Will's FKT? What should he do next - Cocodona?! Let us know in the comments below! - Finn

[KelpandFern]

Great talk, appreciate the time and congrats Will! I have supported and filmed many multi-day and multi-stage efforts and some of them have resulted in FKTs.

I have documented one journey of 135 miles, unsupported around the Island of Anglesey and FKT stated that if I photograph or video the attempt, it does not count and would be void.

Yet the runner attempting the FKT who was going for an unsupported FKT that two guys had together in a team was using his phone and talking to loved ones.

He still went ahead with the FKT attempt and with me documenting it, he wanted it himself, even without someone else who wasn't even there declaring whether he should have it or not.

I also work on wildlife docs, am I supporting wildlife when I am filming them? No i am not.

To add to this, FKT state that if the record is on strava and is the fastest time and you attempted it but did not beat the time on Strava, then do not add it to the FKT site if it is not yours to add.

Which actually means that a lot of Strava Segments to the FKT site are "legitimate".

I am not a fan of FKT, i know of many multi-day records here in the UK that were validated yet large chunks of the route were missed or cut, and to top it off they have weird rules stated above.

[EnduranceMaineiac]

Loved this episode Finn. Cheers from Portland

[jtkrunct]

you guys made my run today. love the east coast trail talk. thanks a lot!

[chuckhazzard]

A fellow Maine-born runner here, who lived above Boulder for a short bit but missed NNE, so moved back and now live in the Upper Valley of NH/VT. I agree that there this part of the world is pretty darn special. And Great run Will!

[tysonslade]

Podcasts since Cocodona mentioned: 0

Great episode!

[TrekwithTyler]

How about this for weird FKT rules. An unsupported attempt can be made by a tandem team as long as they start and finish together. They can even share gear and take down solo unsupported times. How can anyone argue that having a whole other person there to mule isn't support?