Thank you, will do.
"Maybe life isn't about avoiding the bruises. Maybe it's about collecting the scars to prove we showed up for it."
You being funny?Originally Posted by Teacher & Snacktime
Or was that snacktime?
Today should be the day... (in theory).
There was a random sighting of him 100 miles out 1-2 days ago so there's a shot.
The spot tracker is sorta pinging here and there it appears but since the post about not catching a new phone and spot updates and info is pretty thin.
Best of luck either way.
Wonder the outcome.
A feller on FB reached out and says he's got until late this evening to still finish...
Looks like the '100 miles out' post was late sunday night... so 100 miles Monday, Tuesday and today should have been realistic if all was well. Other than Big K there is some smooth sailing in the last 50-60 miles.
But with no working phone I can't imagine we'd hear much until this weekend.
Record breaking? Or just sickly fast? Bill you are a wealth of knowledge!
I'm a liar and a cheat...
These days I'm just a soft, fat ex-hiker sitting in front of the sewing machine drinking beer catching up on game of thrones.
Much like Varys- I have little birds now. Over the years a few folks have started reaching out to me so mainly just relaying info.
Much like Tyrion- I drink and I sew things. (that's how the quote goes right, lol)
My hair is clearly prettier than his so nothing personal with Knotts. The FKT is what it is.
I'm not sure where my little bird got the start time but I don't recall seeing it.... nor do I know what day he started.
The spot issues are strange... not that he couldn't have gotten a malfunctioning unit but it is sporadically pinging him in (last at west branch) still.
If I got to NOC and only had a few pings show up I woulda freaked out then. But who knows, maybe it is an issue with Trackleaders and he has a perfect line of tracks backed up someplace.
Sickly fast seems in the bank provided he finishes.
Record breaking.... considering some of the oddities I'll wait until I see a trip report to get too excited.
And likely wait until the season wraps up as there seems to be at least one maybe two fellas named Joe still to come.
So to be blunt- Knotts may be worth drinking with and patting on the back but may not be a character worth getting attached to as somebody else may be sitting on the throne later this season.
Though for those a fan of the Nobo vs Sobo debate- all credit to Dan for not only going Nobo but doing so fairly early in the season as well and pulling off an amazing hike regardless of the outcome.
I tend to agree that the FKT is ripe to be set by someone in their prime. If Jurek or Meltzer had done this 15-20 years ago, don't you think they would have done it faster?
Without a dramatic debate or sources to cite off hand-
I do recall discussing, reading and hearing in several places that in endurance events of such extreme durations... that our "prime" is closer to age 40-50.
So I wouldn't automatically assume that. Karl tried three times... He's 48/49 now... first shot was 08 or nearly 10 years ago. At about 40... a time he was still actively winning races and couldn't he couldn't beat a lower time then or a few years ago.
Could Killian Jornet set an FKT... quite possibly but that's talking one of the best in the world once a generation type atheletes who could do all kinds of things if he applied himself to them.
But would you say Killian is in his prime now? As he nears age 30 or is he already washed up, lol. I would say 30-40 will be prime time for him.
Those that know the ultraworld better than I could probably better comment on 100+ races and who wins them at the top of the platform. My understanding is there are some 20 somethings who make a big splash and flame out... but as far as career folks 30 years and up seems to be the more common age. Was Jurek peaking in his 20's or 30's... I don't know his career well enough to say but I know there were many significant wins in his 30's.
If it's mainly a mental game... where is that sweet spot where the fitness of youth and the years of learning, knowledge and experience coalesce into self-knowledge and wisdom?
30-50 years of age seems about right to me for events like this.
I just checked and all of Jurek's ultrarunning PR's are from his late 20's. All single age records for the marathon that are under 2:04 are from age 18-35. I know an AT hike is a different beast than an ultramarathon, but I don't have any doubt that from a physical standpoint, an AT FKT attempt would be best suited to someone in their late 20's. The mental aspect of it might favor someone older, but I do think either of these guys would have gone much faster at age 30 and eventually someone will do it.
Yar- under 100 mile events I'm with you. Over 100 miles and back to back to back to back like this... I gotta think 30 to get your ****e together enough for it.
And if you're good enough to be doing that other stuff at a high level... gotta figure you're going to go get paid before you come do this stuff for free too, lol. Jurker was pretty candid about what something like this does to your body and why it wasn't realistic at any other time in his career. We all got dayjobs.
Either way-
Jen was under 30, not sure how old Andrew Thompson was.
Matt was 32. Don't know how old Anish is.
Joey Camps was late 20's on his 58 day hike... I'm not sure how old he is now... but I know he's faster than he was then.
Jurek, Meltzer, Horton all older.
Joe McCon is mid to late 20's? https://whiteblaze.net/forum/showthr...rted-on-the-AT
So you get your wish there, lol.
So hard to say, especially on the AT as there is a natural speed limit that favors experience over youth.
It would be an interesting question to pose to Karl and Jurek.
A more interesting experiment to see Jen, Matt, Anish or others of that generation or the current one return to the trail later in life and report back.
From memory, a male's maximum VO2 max(ability of the body to process oxygen) comes around the age of 20. So, in theory, the younger the better. However, there are many more factors that will determine a runner's peak ability. Experience, training, genetics, etc all come into play for something like this. Not only that, the body's ability for running and to process high amounts of oxygen hits its peak early in life, but doesn't diminish near as quickly. Meaning it's not a Bell curve if that makes sense.
This is why Jurek and Karl can still pull off these huge endurance events at their age. They've got a massive amount of training that allows their body/mind to withstand the abuse, plus the endurance is still there. Not as much as a 30 year old, but FKT's aren't all about maximum anaerobic output anyway. So, in short, I agree that all other things being equal that a 30yr old Karl beats a 50yr old Karl.
Minor quibbles on these points....
Andrew Skurka is the only person I know of who went from strong runner to stud hiker and then back to a runner. He's winning 100 mile races and finished 72nd at the Boston Marathon with a 2:32 time. That's very fast and it didn't take him long to get back in shape for it. This route is not the best for becoming a world class runner, but I dont think it causes a lifetime of damage by any means.
Also, Anish was running 50mi and 100mi ultras for 3-4 years prior to her PCT FKT, including taking a podium finish in some of those. She did much more than just hike long trails prior and didn't really come out of nowhere. She just wasn't a household name.
Nope that was me. I'm not up on the acronyms of these forums, especially in areas like this where it hasn't been part of our experience.
"Maybe life isn't about avoiding the bruises. Maybe it's about collecting the scars to prove we showed up for it."
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?sto...1&id=504651470
I know y'all aren't FaceSpacers but he's claiming 53 days 23 hours
I will reserve judgment until his SPOT tracks get posted. It doesn't seem possible, given his splits at known times/locations. And, there is a question about his SPOT tracking and possible documentation problems as well.
And a hitch question too, no?
Yes. The whole thing seemed "off" from the beginning...
Why do these FKTs always seem to have such poor tracking??? These efforts are so massive. I would want everything possible to verify what I did. I've used a Spot device A LOT. They're cheap, light and very reliable for something like this. Geez folks, don't make it so hard.
Any news on the validity of this hike?\
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