Starting July 1st, 42 year old Brit Kristian Morgan will begin his attempt of breaking the fastest known time (FKT) for the Appalachian Trail. We’re sure many of you will be aware of what the Appalachian Trail has in store for Kristian, but to put things into perspective; it’s like running the length of Britain two and a half times, whilst climbing Everest sixteen times – all in under six weeks.
The current FKT of this trail is currently 41 days, 7 hours and 39 minutes set last year by Belgian dentist Karel Sabbe (who Kristian supported last year). Trail running legends Scott Jurek and Karl Meltzer are some of the alumni who have previously owned the FKT for the trail.
“It’s like running the length of Britain two and a half times, whilst climbing Everest sixteen times”
Kristian plans to complete this 3,523 km trail in a pair of Graphene infused Inov-8 Roclite G 275. We’ve covered the use of Graphene and how this material looks to aid ultra runners, but we’re keen to hear how how Kristian’s shoes hold up, with runners typically wearing through ten or more pairs of shoes during FKT attempts at the Appalachian Trail.
What’s most impressive is that Kristian has been living out of his camper van in the heart of London for the past eight years. A healthy dose of imagination was therefore required in order to get the right level of training for such a large test of endurance like the Appalachian Trail. Kristain found running 100 or more repetitions of a small hill near Crystal Palace each day was sufficient – kudos!
“Life on the AT will be very different to life in London, but I can’t wait to get going. I’ll start running at 04:00 each day in the dark and push on until reaching the overnight camp. I’m really looking forward to the peace and tranquillity, but less so the prospect of encountering bears and snakes. Meeting a bear in the dark is my biggest fear!”
If you’re looking at getting the miles in, but like us, are trapped in the capital, then you can check out our Editor Will’s advice on the best trail running spots in London to help you escape the hustle of city life, just like Kristian has managed.
You’ll be able to follow Kristian’s progress on his AT world record attempt via this live tracker map – we’ll always have a tab open on our computers to check how he’s getting on.
