Karl Meltzer is on pace to break Jurek's Appalachian FKT

Wonder if he'll get a summons like Jurek did for his celebration...

hasaysass wrote:

Wonder if he'll get a summons like Jurek did for his celebration...

Probably not since he is 2,190 miles away from Mt Katahdin.

Clearly this record is soft.

An insomniac who doesn't sleep much could break this record, no need to run any parts of it. It can be done.

I heard that there was a Fancy Bear prowling about.

MarathonMind wrote:

Clearly this record is soft.

Yeah only about 322 MPW for 6 and a half weeks, or roughly the same as Lindgren's high school mileage back in the day. At least Karl had the good sense to do it on the AT instead of the backroads of Gerry's head.

I'm still more impressed with Jennifer Pharr Davis's record. Aren't women's WR's around 10% slower than men's at most distances? If so, these so-called elite ultra-walkers should be exceeding her AT record by about 4 days, not a few hours.

This is a tough record for elite men, but soft for strong female hikers.

Kudos to Karl. I am in awe. On a related note, here is a brief 2012 interview with Jennifer Pharr Davis. The interviewer is a former CEO of the company I work for... terrific guy who is fascinated by people who challenge themselves.

http://www.skipprichard.com/tag/jennifer-pharr-davis/#close

Just one little note: a friend and I hiked about 830 miles of the AT about 20 years ago. We were really fit (both of us were competitive runners) at the time. We weren't racing, but we would usually hike as fast as we could, just because it was so boring and we wanted to get to camp. And covering 3 mph on the AT is HARD! It's one of those things that is hard to accept until you try it. I remember doing lots of little 8 or 10 mile stretches without a stop where I was really hustling, and I'd often still end up only averaging 2.8 or 2.9 mph.

Anyway, the point is, when you hear about these FKT people doing "only" about 3 mph for extended stretches, it may sound like just a really easy walk, but the reality is different.

I've done the whole thing. Biggest day ever was 32 miles (followed by a 26 mile day the next). Did 30 milers 2 other times.

Most of the time high teens to low twenties were really good days. Some places (parts of NH and ME) 15 miles was a great day.

Of course I was carrying a full pack, going into resupply every 5-7 days, etc. and it was tough.

I can't imagine doing the miles required day in and out to get close to the record, even without a pack.

Congratulations. Definitely not the way I would (or could) choose that experience, but it is very impressive!

the FKT just got broken earlier today by a woman, no troll

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=7697188

Great follow up interview with Karl:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6C_OBpONkM

my conclusion wrote:

This is a tough record for elite men, but soft for strong female hikers.

Especially free bleeders that like to get real uncomfortable.