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humunuku
04-23-2008, 19:44
Something I don't want to do....

www.blueridgeoutdoors.com/content/April-2008/Speedgoat-to-Tackle-A.T./

4eyedbuzzard
04-23-2008, 19:54
Not for me. But unlike WC who thinks he can do it in 30 unsupported, this guy is the real deal and has a shot at breaking 47 if the weather and his health hold out.

Frosty
04-23-2008, 20:30
Not for me. But unlike WC who thinks he can do it in 30 unsupported, this guy is the real deal and has a shot at breaking 47 if the weather and his health hold out.IIRC, WC had it figured out. He walked for an hour in his neighborhood and covered five miles. With 14 hours a daylight and 5 miles an hour, he should cover 70 miles a day. THat will give him 2100 miles in 30 days.

The numbers all check out.

Roland
04-23-2008, 20:43
A few years ago, when Squeaky was planning his Under-40 record attempt, there was an interesting thread about what would be the best starting date.

Many suggested that he should plan his hike to take advantage of the longest days of sunlight. I may be mistaken, but I think he ultimately decided on an August start.

It's interesting to note that Karl Meltzer is also starting in August. I wonder why that is? A balance between shortening days, and cooler temperatures?

Tin Man
04-23-2008, 20:46
Speedgoat Karl joined a discussion about his hike earlier this year...

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=32105&highlight=speedgoat

Lilred
04-23-2008, 23:04
I saw that guy run by me in 2005. I believe his trail name was Flash, could be mistaken on that though, but that name is stuck in my head. You shoulda seen that guy's thighs. Nothin but muscle....huge huge muscle

4eyedbuzzard
04-23-2008, 23:57
IIRC, WC had it figured out. He walked for an hour in his neighborhood and covered five miles. With 14 hours a daylight and 5 miles an hour, he should cover 70 miles a day. THat will give him 2100 miles in 30 days.

The numbers all check out.

But of course. :rolleyes: Thanks for reminding me that all WC has left to do is actually walk the AT. Heck, the hard part(math) is done. :datz

88BlueGT
04-24-2008, 01:25
He has the same last name as my grandfather..... maybe were related! I definitely don't have his abilities though, so probably not :)

45.7 miles a day......... OUCH! :eek:

Tin Man
04-24-2008, 06:26
But of course. :rolleyes: Thanks for reminding me that all WC has left to do is actually walk the AT. Heck, the hard part(math) is done. :datz

WC's scheduled start date is May 1. The waiting will soon be over. :)

DavidNH
04-24-2008, 08:47
hmm I don't know about guys like this. Seems many folks have some need to turn AT hikes into some kind of contest.

I am very skepticle that he can do a 45 mile day through the Mahoosics and the Whites even if he is an athelete.

Is he going to try this unsupported??

DavidNH

Lone Wolf
04-24-2008, 09:04
hmm I don't know about guys like this. Seems many folks have some need to turn AT hikes into some kind of contest.

I am very skepticle that he can do a 45 mile day through the Mahoosics and the Whites even if he is an athelete.

Is he going to try this unsupported??

DavidNH

not unsupported and i know quite a few guys that have done back to back 40s in the whites and southern maine. hike your own damn hike

taildragger
04-24-2008, 09:20
not unsupported and i know quite a few guys that have done back to back 40s in the whites and southern maine. hike your own damn hike

Ditto on the 40's and the Whites (not my idea of fun, but they had little time and wanted to cover a lot of ground)

Do what works for you, if this guy wants to do it as a record, awesome, much cooler than any record that I'll ever hold

RadioFreq
04-24-2008, 17:00
Seems to me that doing the AT this way would make meeting new people very difficult. I wonder what his trail journal will look like. :-?

"Did 45 miles today. Saw 15 other hikers. Have no idea who they were. Took a lot of pictures, but they are all blurry."

ELi
04-24-2008, 18:52
IIRC, WC had it figured out. He walked for an hour in his neighborhood and covered five miles. With 14 hours a daylight and 5 miles an hour, he should cover 70 miles a day. THat will give him 2100 miles in 30 days.

The numbers all check out.

I think his legs & feet will disagree...

Phreak
04-24-2008, 18:57
Seems to me that doing the AT this way would make meeting new people very difficult. I wonder what his trail journal will look like. :-?

He's not doing this trip to meet new people or keep an impressive journal. It's a physical challenge and I look forward to following his progress.

beeman
04-24-2008, 19:10
Sounds like a traverse of the AT but it doesn't sound like a hike of the AT to me.:-?

CrumbSnatcher
04-24-2008, 19:35
He's not doing this trip to meet new people or keep an impressive journal. It's a physical challenge and I look forward to following his progress.
i'm with you phreak! HOP,SKIP,RUN,WALK,CRAWL WHATEVER TRIPS YOUR TRIGGER. JUST ENJOY YOURSELF,OR WHATS THE FRIGGIN POINT!

HugeHill
04-24-2008, 21:15
I actually talked with Thompson on the trail for a bit in 05 (all of 2 minutes as he was going up and I was going down). Seemed like a nice enough guy. His crew was weird though. I wonder if they actually get any enjoyment out of it?

But hey, more the power to you!

Lone Wolf
04-25-2008, 00:30
I actually talked with Thompson on the trail for a bit in 05 (all of 2 minutes as he was going up and I was going down). Seemed like a nice enough guy. His crew was weird though. I wonder if they actually get any enjoyment out of it?

But hey, more the power to you!

i know andy and his "crew" jon. they enjoy what they do more than your packsniffin' ass will ever know. :cool:

Roland
04-25-2008, 05:13
It's easy to be critical of others when what they do differs from our own ideals.

Red Hat
04-26-2008, 11:33
Well, at least I'll know who that guy was that ran past me... Wow!

Rambler
04-26-2008, 13:10
I met a woman who was "thru-running" the AT. Chatted with her as we awaited the ferry across the Kennebec. He husband was supporting her with their pick-up converted to a camper. They had no permanent address,they just lived in the camper. She saw the AT as training ground for future long distant running. She had passed me doing a joggers pace, carrying only a small fanny pack. I enjoyed meeting her.

Lyle
04-26-2008, 13:24
He's not doing this trip to meet new people or keep an impressive journal. It's a physical challenge and I look forward to following his progress.


Absolutely no interest, but to each their own.

clured
04-26-2008, 17:18
Awesome. The dude's obviously a serious BA. Hope he gets the record.

MOWGLI
04-26-2008, 19:03
Why is it that when someone announces a speed hike attempt, all sorts of folks come out of the woodwork to carp & whine?? Maybe hiking 10-14 miles a day, staying in shelters, building fires, and taking your sweet time isn't for everyone. I also love how the slower hikers all suggest that a speed hiker won't be able to see anything on his hike. For crying out loud, he's fast, not visually impaired!

I wish Karl all the best! :banana

CrumbSnatcher
04-26-2008, 19:29
Why is it that when someone announces a speed hike attempt, all sorts of folks come out of the woodwork to carp & whine?? Maybe hiking 10-14 miles a day, staying in shelters, building fires, and taking your sweet time isn't for everyone. I also love how the slower hikers all suggest that a speed hiker won't be able to see anything on his hike. For crying out loud, he's fast, not visually impaired!

I wish Karl all the best! :banana good luck speedgoat,keep your eyes open.there might be a quiz later:rolleyes:

Tin Man
04-27-2008, 02:12
I have come to realize ...

40 days or 40 years - it's all good.

Respect the ones who embrace this basic concept and be patient with the ones who don't.

Newb
04-28-2008, 10:01
This "ultra running" thing can't be good for a person. I can't imagine the damage done to the body by this type of thing. Seems un-natural to me. Remember Jim Fixx.

MOWGLI
04-28-2008, 10:07
This "ultra running" thing can't be good for a person. I can't imagine the damage done to the body by this type of thing. Seems un-natural to me. Remember Jim Fixx.

Thru-hiking is unnatural too. In some ways, ultra runners aren't exposing themselves to things like Lyme Disease and West Nile Virus like someone who is taking 5-6 months to complete the trail. They also are exposing themselves less to harmful UV light. NOBO thru-hikers usually have 30-60 days of hiking before the forest leafs out. That's a lot of exposure to UV.

Who is Jim Fixx?

Fannypack
04-28-2008, 10:13
Who is Jim Fixx?
http://www.halhigdon.com/Articles/Fixx.htm
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Fixx

MOWGLI
04-28-2008, 10:18
http://www.halhigdon.com/Articles/Fixx.htm
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Fixx

You can't outrun your DNA, or damage caused by bad choices early on in life.

Lone Wolf
04-28-2008, 10:20
This "ultra running" thing can't be good for a person. I can't imagine the damage done to the body by this type of thing. Seems un-natural to me. Remember Jim Fixx.

thru-hiking with a backpack is a helluva lot more damaging than running

jesse
04-28-2008, 10:25
Heard a stand up comedian (can't remember who) Ask, "do you realize that Keith Richards outlived Jim Fixx? I'm getting mixed signals here."

MudDuck
04-28-2008, 10:34
Agree with LW on the pack being harder on the body. I knew a guy that used to run these "ultra" marathons. This guy ran 100 miles at a time on trails, not roads, trails.

Tin Man
04-28-2008, 14:04
Agree with LW on the pack being harder on the body. I knew a guy that used to run these "ultra" marathons. This guy ran 100 miles at a time on trails, not roads, trails.

If you leave out rocks and elevation gains/losses, trail running is easier on the body than running on pavement.

humunuku
04-29-2008, 17:45
If you leave out rocks and elevation gains/losses, trail running is easier on the body than running on pavement.

those trails don't exist a lot of places

Darwin again
04-30-2008, 10:54
i know andy and his "crew" jon. they enjoy what they do more than your packsniffin' ass will ever know. :cool:

Lone Wolf: The Wal-Mart of Sweetness, Light and Decorum. Always...

Speedgoat Karl
05-22-2008, 11:52
Just thought I would throw this out there, Hans Dieter Wiesshar (Ultrarunner from Germany age 67) Hans has been running for 9 years and has completed 109...that's right 109, 100 mile races. Is it bad for the body, maybe to that excess, but to the mind, it's priceless. The general public does not understand that a marathon is actually a short distance. The standard media makes it sound like it's far when in reality, the regular media (and most folks not on this forum) are lazy and want every thing done for them. Let them get fat and work to get rich. We are rich because we get out and do things. -Speedgoat Karl

Speedgoat Karl
05-22-2008, 11:53
[quote=Speedgoat Karl;628757]Just thought I would throw this out there, Hans Dieter Wiesshar (Ultrarunner from Germany age 67) Hans has been running for 9 years and has completed 109...that's right 109, 100 mile races. Is it bad for the body, maybe to that excess, but to the mind, it's priceless. The general public does not understand that a marathon is actually a short distance. The standard media makes it sound like it's far when in reality, the regular media (and most folks not on this forum) are lazy and want every thing done for them. Let them get fat and work to get rich. We are rich because we get out and do things. -Speedgoat Karl

karlmeltzer.com (http://karlmeltzer.com)
whereskarl.com (http://whereskarl.com)

Kerosene
05-22-2008, 12:59
I met a woman who was "thru-running" the AT. Chatted with her as we awaited the ferry across the Kennebec. He husband was supporting her with their pick-up converted to a camper. They had no permanent address,they just lived in the camper. She saw the AT as training ground for future long distant running. She had passed me doing a joggers pace, carrying only a small fanny pack. I enjoyed meeting her.That would have been Sue Runtrails Norwood, who even mentions you Rambler in her on-line journal for Tuesday, September 13, 2005 (http://runtrails.net/journal/day_137.htm). I ran across her just south of Chestnut Knob in southern Virginia as I was heading south on Friday, June 3rd (although she was walking at the time and only covered 26 of the 32 miles for the day that she had set out to do). Her on-line journal is pretty extensive.

steve43
05-22-2008, 14:17
Heard a stand up comedian (can't remember who) Ask, "do you realize that Keith Richards outlived Jim Fixx? I'm getting mixed signals here."
that comedian would be bill hicks. one of my favorites and unfortunately taken from us far too soon.

sheepdog
05-22-2008, 18:10
Just thought I would throw this out there, Hans Dieter Wiesshar (Ultrarunner from Germany age 67) Hans has been running for 9 years and has completed 109...that's right 109, 100 mile races. Is it bad for the body, maybe to that excess, but to the mind, it's priceless. The general public does not understand that a marathon is actually a short distance. The standard media makes it sound like it's far when in reality, the regular media (and most folks not on this forum) are lazy and want every thing done for them. Let them get fat and work to get rich. We are rich because we get out and do things. -Speedgoat Karl
Good genetics trump all. Choose your parents wisely. Some training doesn't hurt either. Best of luck on the run.