Amen. Now let's hear about Karl. The ignorant (me) desire knowledge. Any pre-attempt tidbits to share? I know little about the man.Originally Posted by Pedaling Fool
In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. - Abraham Lincoln
How about we just combine the two? Hikers have to keep turning left so they don't get anywhere (or do they keep turning right? I never watch NASCAR).
I'll take a stab at it but I'm working from just a handful of sources. Karl is another Western runner. He has more +100 mile wins than anyone. He knows how to suffer for days and weeks on end -- he ran the Pony Express trail (Missouri to Sacramento, +2,000 miles) in 40 days. Unlike Davis and Jurek who are vegetarians, Speed Goat is a beer-swilling, Red Bull chugging, bacon/hamburger eating machine. He will almost certainly run southbound. He will pay more attention to taking care of his feet than before and not let blisters go from bad to worse. I gather from the audio interview that he will put a big emphasis on assembling a top notch crew. And from what he said, this will probably be the last attempt at the AT. Maybe most importantly, and from the audio and Scott Livingston's blog, I'm pretty sure he learned a lot from previous 2 attempts and from studying Davis' and Jurek's records. He's a really smart guy, this won't be a haphazard effort, so barring injury, I'd bet he'll break the record.
For those who wish to debate merits of FKT attempts, I suggest posting your concerns in the Trail issues forum. Thx
Thank you John B.
Now I am worried Scott might try to feed Karl something healthy and mess his system up.
In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. - Abraham Lincoln
This will be his third attempt.
His first was off-pace but he still finished the hike. 54 days and change.
His second ended with foot issues developed during a wet start.
As mentioned, he's known as an Ultrarunner- which mainly means he's a hiker.
He's best known for the Speedgoat 50k, and for winning more 100 milers than any other person.
His first attempt was circus style, he didn't like that and skipped the press and such on his second try; choosing to self-sponsor his trip.
Regarding supported efforts... I'll have to give that interview a listen, but seems fairly clear that crew choice is an increasingly critical as the time slowly drops.
Not sure if Karl is married, but in a somewhat neato fact- Jen and Scott were crewed by their spouses. And much more personal opinion than fact- after the train of individually inspirational athletes Scott wrangled up to help push him through his thru; my admiration for Brew Davis as the greatest crew chief of all time remains higher than ever.
Hopefully Karl will take a good hard look at Anish's hike as well. Perhaps it's only because of my personal preferences, but I have long felt that Aug/Sept SOBO is the ideal time to make a run for it. Without a doubt maine junction to big K has wreaked the most havoc on busted and successful attempts both, including Karl's. Makes the most sense by far to surrender to this fact and hit this part of the trail in the best possible season.
A best of luck from me for sure.
Just another hiker out to see how deeply they can go- whatever that means to each of us.
outside of the AT, Jurek is pretty well known as being a nice guy.
Hey- what do you get when an Ultra-runner retires? A backpacker.
I have a feeling that dude will be around a bit, and in the end we'll be glad he stopped by.
I still think the coolest thing about FKT's is that everyone is connected to everyone. Which is true of every "new" sport I suppose, but interesting still.
I can think of folks here who have met or know one person personally, and other than Ward perhaps, can't think of a single person in AT FKT circles who has not interacted with or been friends with a fellow FKT participant.
I know for a fact that;
Horton talked and/or ran with Jen and Matt.
Jen talked with Andrew Thompson.
Jurek talks with Jen.
Karl paced Scott, Scott will pace Karl.
Matt paced during her FKT; Jen, Brew and Charley cheered Matt on Springer.
Anish talked with Matt before and after her hike.
Joey and Greyson- good fellas with near misses- both talked with Matt.
And on...
Lone Wolf and others could likely point out more folks as well. More connections and webs of friendship.
In general these folks put in far more trail time than any hiker, in general they care very deeply for the trail.
I'd go so far as to say most are most comfortable on the trail.
It may be worth a spare thought to consider that it is exceedingly rare for a d-bag to complete the trail at all, and apparently impossible for any less than a fine human being to successfully complete an FKT on a big trail. Yar there is some sibling rivalry in there, some pushing and pulling. But there is more support, bouncing ideas, and mutual respect than anything.
It's very hard for someone to beat you in a competition against yourself.
It'd be very cool if we took a step back and learned from these "competitors" a bit more about what the real meaning of "tramily" is.
I'm not going to copy/paste what Just Bill wrote above, but he's spot on correct.
And yes, Karl's married. To Ms. Speedgoat.
BTW, when I wrote "beer swilling," I was writing tongue in cheek. I just read that he's certainly not averse to drinking a beer here and there at appropriate times.
Further debate, please move to Trails Issues forum.
Last edited by Mags; 12-19-2015 at 13:06. Reason: Churlish...
I wish Karl luck. I have met and ran with him on several occasions. A great guy who has roots to the AT.
I guarantee that Speed Goat will not;
Have his corporate sponsor violate agreements made in advance with Baxter State Park.
Have his three support drivers ticketed for speeding on the Baxter State Park Tote road.
Have his three support vehicles ticketed for entering a closed parking lot.
Sign out his group of 22 as "12".
Invent a story claiming that a Ranger, posted to ensure his group follow Park rules, said booze was OK.
Hold a 30 minute press conference at the summit sign.
Have one film crew ticketed for violating the terms of their permit.
Have his other two film crews ticketed for filming after permits were denied.
Try to claim the only thing done wrong was a sip of champagne.
And certainly won't go on a months long PR tour crying he was being picked on.
Teej
"[ATers] represent three percent of our use and about twenty percent of our effort," retired Baxter Park Director Jensen Bissell.
I think Anish did the perfect FKT.
Keep it to yourself.
Keep it out of media.
Tell us about it later.
Announcing months in advance, and who will crew for you...is intended for MEDIA. period.
Bad.
Self promotion
take it elsewhere and quit YOUR cryin'
Edit: Looks like a post is missing. MW, your post is not snarky.
The 2 previous posts are quite snarky. Laying the snarkiness aside, I have to agree to the extent that a thread about Karl's attempt should not be a continuous review of the past. Even I am snarked out on that subject. (I like that word and the chance to misuse it a few times).
Time to let it go. Let's talk about Karl. Looking forward to his attempt.
Nice summary though TJ
Last edited by BirdBrain; 12-21-2015 at 17:43. Reason: Okay... maybe just one last snark :)
In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. - Abraham Lincoln
Sooner or later there'll be separate records for south and north. (or should be)
Karl Meltzer is going to attempt to break an AT speed record and people are criticizing this!
None of those speaking negative of this man or what he achieves can even walk in his shadow - worlds apart - ALWAYS know that.
Peace and Good Will to all Men (and Women)
For clarity, its an attempt to break an fastest known time (FKT). The ATC does not have any recognized speed records, which you are correct in being worlds apart.
Anish is a class act all the way - her self supported record is The Record.
Teej
"[ATers] represent three percent of our use and about twenty percent of our effort," retired Baxter Park Director Jensen Bissell.
yeah for the self-supported record
I think hiker respect self supported more.
JPD got great respect from hikers for her supported thru....because she was first and foremost a hiker...as well as a great human being.
I dont think that respect is automatically extended to professional ultra athletes. They need to earn it IF they want it. Someone recently did a poor job at earning it, or maybe they just blew it at the end.
Then again, it doesnt matter what anyone else thinks either, except that FKT are granted review by peers. The average hiker is not those peers, the other FKT attempters are.
We aint nothing but spectators, But we ARE the ones they want to sell the book deal to.
I bought JPDs books
I bought Matt Kirks
I would buy one by Anish
I wouldnt buy the ultra runners...UNLESS they carried a pack. But a whole larger group of runners would, that wouldnt buy the above.
Last edited by MuddyWaters; 12-22-2015 at 12:36.
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