Fastest known times (FKTs) are where trail runners can really show off not only their speed, but also their mental fortitude. Traverses of hard routes like the Appalachian Trail or Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim are a few of the proving grounds where runners can elevate themselves to legendary status.
Friday afternoon, not one, but two runners blew away FKTs on Colorado’s Nolan’s 14.
iRunFar reported around 10 p.m. Friday that Alex Nichols, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, set the supported record in 46 hours, 41 minutes, bettering the previous time set by Spaniard Iker Karrera by just shy of one hour.
The hotly contested route is a point-to-point expedition linking 14 peaks over 14,000 feet elevation in Colorado’s Sawatch Range. Runners can summit the mountains in any order, using any route, racking up more than 80 miles and 44,000 feet of elevation gain. To be considered a Nolan’s 14 finisher, runners must complete the route in under 60 hours. Adding to the difficulty of distance and climbing, runners face up to 40 percent less oxygen at 14,000 feet than at sea level.
As if the linkup itself wasn’t hard enough, Joe Grant, from Gold Hill, Colorado, took on the challenge unsupported. In 49 hours, 38 minutes, Grant took more than four hours off the previous best.
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It has been debated whether the 60-hour legend was to the fourteenth summit, or down to the final trailhead. Both runners’ times are documented as trailhead-to-trailhead.
