Some of the Most Shocking Fastest Known Time Records for United States

Endurance athletes and ultrarunners have completed some insane Fastest Known Times around the United States this year.

Anton Krupicka checking his watch during his Fastest Known Time attempt running the LA Freeway. / Mandatory Credit - Anton Krupicka

Over the last few years, Fastest Known Times records have been getting completed quite frequently. Ultrarunners and endurance athletes have been putting in the work to accomplish feats that many people wouldn’t even dare to attempt.

With the summer winding down, temperatures remaining cool and areas being dry, it has been the perfect recipe for those people to attempt some wild records.

“There was a big push toward FKTs during Covid,” said Will Peterson, who set a new FKT on Vermont’s 272-mile Long Trail FKT on September 1, as shared by Corey Cuhay of Outside. “Some people went back to doing races, but many athletes have stuck around because they got into FKTs during the pandemic and really liked it.”

What have been the most eye-catching ones? Buhay shared five of the craziest ones that have been done this year.

One of them occurred on August 22nd when Brent Herring began his trek of the 500-mile Colorado Trail. His time of 10 days, 17 hours and 38 minutes was about four days faster than the woman’s record Marilyne Marchand-Gouin set in 2020.

An endurance athlete and skimo racer based out of Colorado, heat exhaustion almost led to him quitting after Day 1. Hallucinations started about a week later, as Herring thought he was hearing people.

Despite the extreme fatigue, he fought through and finished what he set out to do.

On August 31st, endurance runner Anton Krupicka did a run along the LA Freeway. 34 miles long and being about 12,000 feet in elevation, he needed just over 13 hours to complete the entire thing.

His official time was 13 hours, 20 minutes and 48 seconds, doing it in about three hours quicker than Kyle Richardson in 2018.

Over Labor Day Weekend, Will Peterson attempted the oldest thru-hike that the United States has to offer. Located in Vermont, he wanted to conquer the aptly named Long Trail, which is 272 miles long.

It took him only three days, 21 hours and 10 minutes. He is the first person to get through the trail in under four days time, beating the previous record by more than six hours. The unsupported record for the trail is also owned by Peterson from his trek in August 2023.

Will Peterson at the southern terminus of the Long Trail. / Mandatory Credit - Michael Tidd

“I put out an appeal to the local running community, saying that I needed help with a supported attempt,” he explained. “About half the people who responded were friends and family members. The rest were total strangers.”

The next one that Buhay mentions came with a lot of controversy.

Michelino Senseri, an endurance athlete from Idaho, claimed to have completed Wyoming’s Grand Teton in under three hours. It was reviewed by Fastest Known Time, who actually rejected it.

As written by Buhay, “In their review of his claim, Fastest Known Time noted that Sunseri cut at least one switchback. That means that, while he did climb the Grand in a very fast time, he did not follow the sanctioned route. Because he was essentially competing on a different field of play, his claim was ruled invalid.”

That shouldn’t take away how impressive of a feat it was that Senseri accomplished. Reaching the summit and coming back down normally takes a full day; he did it in two hours, 50 minutes and 50 seconds.

Last but not least, there is Tara Dower. Based out of Virginia, “Candy Mama” claimed the Appalachian Trail fastest supported time by a man or woman, as the timer stopped at 40 days, 18 hours and five minutes.

Her trek was completed on September 21st, as she covered about 54 miles per day to take the record away from Karl Sabbe. 10,000 calories per day were consumed and she woke up at 3 a.m. each morning to keep up her torrid pace.

“If I’m to be honest I didn’t think it was possible,” she wrote. “However, I had people on my crew who believed in my abilities and pushed me to my limits. That’s all it was.”