Past the halfway point (1099) pretty early this morning. Still a little behind but 4 big days in a row, averaging ~55 miles/day, which puts him right back in the game.
Thanks James! While doing research for the attempt, WhiteBlaze was one of the best sources for daily breakdowns (OddManOut and MapMan come to mind) as well as people posing questions, making suggestions, and some uh, "constructive criticism."
One of the things that Harvey wanted to do with his run was to make it accessible. Harvey thrives on positive thought and support (my first year with him at Badwater, one of the other guys on the crew suggested that I periodically put my hand on his shoulder and talk to him about what I was experiencing and how that was possible because of what he was doing), and so we've tried to pull back the curtain to some extent and let people peek behind the curtain a bit.
On a personal level, I've really enjoyed reading WB and all of the discussion on both this and other attempts, and it's clear that this is an amazing, passionate (and at times amazingly passionate) community who truly love this trail. And I appreciate the opportunity to poke my head in the door and share some additional insight on this attempt.
I know there are some who likely looked at Harvey as an interloping ultrarunner - and a road runner at that - and probably rolled their eyes. I know when Harvey first started talking to me about it, my initial reaction was "Wait, what? Really?" But Harvey does respect the trail, those footsteps he's literally following, and the people that he's meeting along the trail and in the towns along the way. He went into this knowing it was going to be a huge challenge, and I've had several conversations with him that have included him saying "You have no idea how tough this is."
Did he really know what he was getting himself into? Oh heck no. I don't think anyone who has done a thru-hike ever really does. The team has had multiple conversations that ended with "Man, I wish we had an extra year to plan!" But I don't doubt that in June of 2019 we'd still be sitting here saying "Man, I wish we had an extra year." Attempting a thru-hike, let alone an FKT, is a mammoth undertaking (as I know many of you are intimately aware).
ScottS and Matthew.d.kirk are right on in their assessment - the FKT will get to the point (and maybe it already is at this point) where the only way to break the record is to spend years of trial, planning, scheduling, and potentially multiple attempts and will require a specialized skillset (and maybe a healthy dose of luck and trail magic). Jurek broke the record thanks to his world-class fitness (and other reasons), Meltzer broke the record thanks to his planning (and other reasons). I have no idea how Stringbean and Joey did what they did.
Travis, the intimate knowledge of the trail was a huge advantage for Scott Williamson when he was setting near annual records on the PCT. He knew unmarked water sources and I suspect he had unadvertised resupply points based on relationships that he had established. As far as the hybrid approach goes, I wonder if the efficiency of sleeping at times on the trail is outweighed by the support factor of being around others. I guess you could have a traveling hiking crew to get the best of both worlds.
enemy of unnecessary but innovative trail invention gadgetry
Harvey's had a rough couple of days with some falls outside of Port Clinton and getting off-trail heading into Delaware Water Gap (he corrected, backtracked, and was back on trail with about an hour of lost time).
I spent some time last night - with "Made to Be Broken" playing in the background on Netflix - trying to work out a strategy for the remaining 18 days and what options exist for closing a 30 mile deficit to Stringbean.
I'm drawn to day 44. From numbers I found on the forums here, Stringbean ended day 44 at 2076.4. Jurek ended at 2074.6. Despite being at nearly the same distance, Stringbean finished 19 hours and 52 minutes faster than Jurek. I know that he made that final push without sleeping, but that was the first time that I've really dug into those numbers.
And so the question shifted to trying to figure out how to get Harvey far enough ahead by day 44 that he might have a buffer against Stringbean's final push.
He'll end today (it's 10 pm eastern and he's still moving) somewhere around 20-30 miles behind Stringbean. So there's time to make up that he's behind already - and time that he needs to get ahead to guard against Stringbean's closing speed.
The numbers still make sense on paper. With Scott and Joe being at roughly the same place, I've put together a plan that targets a few miles more than whatever the maximum was done by Stringbean or Jurek on each particular day. For instance on Day 35, Stringbean did 55.3, Jurek did 50.4. We're looking at 58.5.
It's tough, it's aggressive, but it's the only way at this point.
I think it’s awesome and an amazing effort for what it’s worth hopefully this guy knows no matter what he’s a damn fine runner
Before Harvey even started, I had some conversations with people about what it would mean for him to complete the trail, but miss the record. Obviously it's something that happens - Joey last fall comes to mind - but I can't imagine what that feeling would be like. Actually, after going completing the trail - regardless of how fast - I can't imagine what that must feel like.
For any of you who have completed a thru-hike, what is the feeling like of going back to the "real world?"
Is his Road ID page not loading correctly for anyone else? The map won't display for me
Here's what I have so far, along with Stringbean's pace to the finish.
Harvey StringBean Day Start Location Day Miles Location Day Miles Ahead of Pace 0 Springer Mtn/AT Southern Terminus Springer Mtn/AT Southern Terminus 1 Unicoi Gap/GA Hwy 75 52.3 Low Gap Shelter 42.6 9.7 2 Rock Gap Shelter/USFS Rd 67 53.1 Standing Indian Shelter 43.1 19.7 3 Stecoah Gap/NC Hwy 143 44.9 Nantahala, NC/US Hwy 19/74 50.8 13.8 4 Clingmans Dome Tower 49.3 Spence Field Shelter/Eagle Creek Trail 46.8 16.3 5 Davenport Gap/NC Hwy 32 39.1 Cosby Knob Shelter 47.4 8.0 6 Log Cabin Rd 52.1 Hot Springs, NC/NC Hwy 209 43.6 16.5 7 Spivey Gap/US Hwy 19W 42.0 Bald Mtn Shelter 52.7 5.8 8 Roan Mountain, TN/US Hwy 19E 62.0 Roan High Knob Shelter 51.5 16.3 9 Iron Mtn Shelter 49.2 Watauga Lake Shelter 51.5 14.0 10 Elk Garden/VA Rd 600 50.3 Saunders Shelter 49.6 14.7 11 Partnership Shelter/VA Hwy 16 39.2 Partnership Shelter/VA Hwy 16 53.9 0.0 12 Laurel Creek/VA Rd 615 50.8 Jenkins Shelter/Hunting Camp Creek 46.4 4.4 13 Pearisburg, VA/VA Hwy 100 52.2 Cross Ave/VA Rd 793 55.6 1.0 14 Rocky Gap/VA Rd 601 34.8 Craig Creek/VA Rd 621 52.8 -17.0 15 Catawba, VA/VA Hwy 311 38.1 Daleville, VA/US Hwy 220 40.9 -19.8 16 Bearwallow Gap/BRP 90.9 41.4 Thunder Hill 44.8 -23.2 17 Robinson Gap Rd/VA Rd 607 46.4 Woodworth Shelter/Lovingston Trail 47.8 -24.6 18 Reids Gap/VA Rd 664/BRP 13.6 46.7 Calf Mtn Shelter 48.9 -26.8 19 Black Rock Gap/Skyline 87.4 39.1 Lewis Spring/Big Meadows Wayside 53.9 -41.6 20 Skyland Loop Rd 50.6 Goose Creek/VA Rd 638 52.5 -43.5 21 Whiskey Hollow Shelter 52.4 Loudoun Heights 45.1 -36.2 22 Rocky Run Shelter 54.2 South Mtn, PA/PA Hwy 233 56.7 -38.7 23 Woodrow Rd 58.5 Conodoguinet Creek/Bernheisel Bridge Rd 54.1 -34.3 24 Peters Mtn Rd/PA Hwy 225 57.8 Yellow Springs 39.5 -16.0 25 Shartlesville Rd 55.3 Windsor Furnace Shelter 52.1 -12.8 26 Bake Oven Knob Rd 38.3 Leroy Smith Shelter 50.0 -24.5 27 Beulah Trail 47.9 Gren Anderson Shelter/Stony Brook 51.5 -28.1 28 Lake Wallkill Rd 52.8 Mombasha Mtn/Allis Trail 52.1 -27.4 29 RPH Shelter/Hortontown Rd 51.9 30 Caesar Brook Campsite 52.0 31 Tyringham, MA/Jerusalem Rd 59.0 32 Wilbur Clearing Shelter/Notch Rd 49.2 33 Stratton Pond Shelter 50.8 34 GovernorClement Shelter 50.2 35 Norwich, VT/Elm St 55.0 36 Oliverian Brook/NH Hwy 25 45.7 37 Liberty Springs Camp 28.4 38 Ripley Falls Trail 24.6 39 Carter Dome/Rainbow Trail 33.6 40 Mahoosuc Notch/South End 36.9 41 Spruce Mtn 42.7 42 Crocker Cirque Campsite 37.2 43 Kennebec River 44.0 44 North Pond Brook 40.8 45 Mud Pond 57.6 45.51 Mt Katahdin/AT Northern Terminus 53.1
Yeah we've had a number of issues with the RoadiD map but haven't been able to find an exact cause. We think it has something to do with the number of connections but nothing seems to really explain it.
He ran past midnight last night and was going before 7 AM today. At 8 AM today he at the low point. that is, crossing the Hudson. It's all uphill from here.
Harvey had a fairly short day yesterday, stopping at Mile 1471.8, which puts him 58.3 miles behind StringBean's pace. He is having a good day today, having already gone 40 miles.
Harvey covered 57.3 miles on Saturday, leaving him 50.2 miles behind StringBean's pace.
Looks like I may have been confused with Harvey's starting point on Saturday. It appears he covered around 47 miles, leaving him around 60 miles behind StringBean's pace.
This is what I have as of this morning. For the first time he is more than a day behind Stringbean, i.e. he started day 32 behind the spot where Stringbean started day 31.
Harvey StringBean Day Start Location Day Miles Location Day Miles Ahead of Pace 0 Springer Mtn/AT Southern Terminus Springer Mtn/AT Southern Terminus 1 Unicoi Gap/GA Hwy 75 52.3 Low Gap Shelter 42.6 9.7 2 Rock Gap Shelter/USFS Rd 67 53.1 Standing Indian Shelter 43.1 19.7 3 Stecoah Gap/NC Hwy 143 44.9 Nantahala, NC/US Hwy 19/74 50.8 13.8 4 Clingmans Dome Tower 49.3 Spence Field Shelter/Eagle Creek Trail 46.8 16.3 5 Davenport Gap/NC Hwy 32 39.1 Cosby Knob Shelter 47.4 8.0 6 Log Cabin Rd 52.1 Hot Springs, NC/NC Hwy 209 43.6 16.5 7 Spivey Gap/US Hwy 19W 42.0 Bald Mtn Shelter 52.7 5.8 8 Roan Mountain, TN/US Hwy 19E 62.0 Roan High Knob Shelter 51.5 16.3 9 Iron Mtn Shelter 49.2 Watauga Lake Shelter 51.5 14.0 10 Elk Garden/VA Rd 600 50.3 Saunders Shelter 49.6 14.7 11 Partnership Shelter/VA Hwy 16 39.2 Partnership Shelter/VA Hwy 16 53.9 0.0 12 Laurel Creek/VA Rd 615 50.8 Jenkins Shelter/Hunting Camp Creek 46.4 4.4 13 Pearisburg, VA/VA Hwy 100 52.2 Cross Ave/VA Rd 793 55.6 1.0 14 Rocky Gap/VA Rd 601 34.8 Craig Creek/VA Rd 621 52.8 -17.0 15 Catawba, VA/VA Hwy 311 38.1 Daleville, VA/US Hwy 220 40.9 -19.8 16 Bearwallow Gap/BRP 90.9 41.4 Thunder Hill 44.8 -23.2 17 Robinson Gap Rd/VA Rd 607 46.4 Woodworth Shelter/Lovingston Trail 47.8 -24.6 18 Reids Gap/VA Rd 664/BRP 13.6 46.7 Calf Mtn Shelter 48.9 -26.8 19 Black Rock Gap/Skyline 87.4 39.1 Lewis Spring/Big Meadows Wayside 53.9 -41.6 20 Skyland Loop Rd 50.6 Goose Creek/VA Rd 638 52.5 -43.5 21 Whiskey Hollow Shelter 52.4 Loudoun Heights 45.1 -36.2 22 Rocky Run Shelter 54.2 South Mtn, PA/PA Hwy 233 56.7 -38.7 23 Woodrow Rd 58.5 Conodoguinet Creek/Bernheisel Bridge Rd 54.1 -34.3 24 Peters Mtn Rd/PA Hwy 225 57.8 Yellow Springs 39.5 -16.0 25 Shartlesville Rd 55.3 Windsor Furnace Shelter 52.1 -12.8 26 Bake Oven Knob Rd 38.3 Leroy Smith Shelter 50.0 -24.5 27 Beulah Trail 47.9 Gren Anderson Shelter/Stony Brook 51.5 -28.1 28 Lake Wallkill Rd 52.8 Mombasha Mtn/Allis Trail 52.1 -27.4 29 Seven Lakes Dr 48.9 RPH Shelter/Hortontown Rd 51.9 -30.4 30 AT Metro Station/NY Hwy 22/55 50.3 Caesar Brook Campsite 52.0 -32.1 31 Carse Brook/Cornwall Rd 34.3 Tyringham, MA/Jerusalem Rd 59.0 -56.8 32 Blue Hill Rd 47.0 Wilbur Clearing Shelter/Notch Rd 49.2 -59.0
If he's already that far behind, no catching up. He's about to get into the hard parts of the trail and with afternoon thunderstorms popping up in the Whites lately, that will slow him down even more.
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