{"id":18064,"date":"2017-07-17T06:03:12","date_gmt":"2017-07-17T13:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=18064"},"modified":"2018-11-11T22:23:48","modified_gmt":"2018-11-12T06:23:48","slug":"in-pursuit-of-the-fastest-known-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/run\/in-pursuit-of-the-fastest-known-time","title":{"rendered":"In Pursuit of the Fastest Known Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

The record-setting rush in Franconia Notch State Park<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just a jog has never been Ben Nephew\u2019s style. He once ran the length of Rhode Island, for fun. Between competing in ultramarathons and setting dozens of fastest known time (FKT) records all around New England, Nephew estimates he\u2019s run 70,000 miles over the course of his life\u2014roughly equivalent to three times around the equator. <\/span><\/p>\n

But the more miles he accrues, the more he realizes that traditional races aren\u2019t exactly his style. The cost, race logistics and overrun courses don\u2019t excite him. His favorite places to run\u2014on trails like New Hampshire\u2019s Franconia Ridge Loop<\/a> and the Presidential Traverse<\/a>\u2014will likely never host races. These trails not only weave through protected state and national parks with notoriously complicated event permits, but they also present logistical trickery that can deter race coordinators: exposed ridgelines with high weather variability and remote point-to-point trailheads.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, instead of shelling out dues for upcoming races on lackluster courses, Nephew scours topo maps, talks to his running buddies, and picks out routes that inspire him\u2014ones that he thinks he can run fast, faster than anyone else. Since 2009, after securing his first FKT, gunning for new trail records has absorbed the bulk of the 41-year-old’s running energy.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAll I thought was: This guy is nuts.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What Nephew is known for is downhill running. Kevin Tilton, one of Nephew\u2019s long-time running partners and former U.S. Mountain Running Team member, says that the first time they ran together on technical terrain, he noticed Nephew tearing down a crumbly, rocky section. \u201cAll I thought was: This guy is nuts.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Tilton and Nephew established their first FKTs together on the 31-mile Pemi Loop<\/a> in the White Mountains. On the uphills, Tilton led and Nephew pushed hard below. Going down, Nephew took over and Tilton scurried behind, trying desperately to keep up without smashing his knees. They tackled the whole trail like this, in tandem.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"running

Photo: Joe Azze<\/p><\/div>\n

It\u2019s been over a decade since the duo started running together. They still race with each other, though it\u2019s not always side-by-side, or even on the same days. They live a few hours apart\u2014Nephew near Boston and Tilton in central New Hampshire\u2014so they\u2019ve tapped into a competitive scheme that many top New England mountain runners, tired of the racing scene, have concocted: FKT bids. Each runner takes a turn running the same trail, times themselves, and then compares how they fare against others\u2019 bests. <\/span><\/p>\n

In New England especially, laced with thousands of miles of pristine \u201cunrace-able\u201d trails, this allows competitive runners to stay competitive without having to sacrifice the quality of their running terrain. Nephew says, \u201cIt\u2019s really hard for me to make an argument for races now… Some of these [state park trails] are so spectacular, they just can\u2019t compete with race courses.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Franconia Notch State Park caught Nephew\u2019s eye in 2012. He spied the Franconia Ridge Loop, a 9-mile trail with nearly 3,500 feet of elevation gain and high-exposure ridges. On a clear day, the sprawling treetop view from the trail\u2019s 5,260-foot Mt. Lafayette offers sweeping vistas of the White Mountains.<\/span><\/p>\n

For an FKT run, Nephew writes the record holder\u2019s split times on his water bottle. He\u2019ll sharpie figures like \u201csummit: 23 minutes\u201d so he can compare his own pace when he reaches the top. On his first Franconia FKT bid in June 2012, Nephew completed the Loop in 1\u00a0hour, 45 minutes and 50 seconds\u2014a new FKT for his resume.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many variables that a 45-second difference doesn\u2019t really mean much.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It wasn\u2019t until nearly two years later, when Tilton passed through Franconia Notch for business, that he thought, why not give it an FKT go, too?<\/span><\/p>\n

It was March and Tilton\u2019s shoes, with built-in micro spikes, dug into ice and snow as he neared Mt. Lafayette\u2019s summit. He rounded the loop, sped past Franconia\u2019s 250-year-old trees and hit the trailhead again in one hour, 45 minutes and 13 seconds.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Tilton

Kevin Tilton | Photo courtesy of Tilton<\/p><\/div>\n

He emailed Nephew a heads up\u2014he\u2019d bested him by 37 seconds.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nephew says it\u2019s \u201ckind of wild how competitive FKTs have gotten\u201d in the past few years. With more elite runners vying, the time differences have been near-negligible. Tilton agrees, \u201cThere are so many variables that a 45-second difference doesn\u2019t really mean much.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Still, with a new figure to test himself against, Nephew was psyched. Another reason he prefers FKTs is that there\u2019s no such thing as a \u201cbad race day.\u201d If the weather is bad, he\u2019ll return another time. Not feeling great? Nephew won\u2019t stress; he\u2019ll rest up and try again later.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"a

Ben Nephew | Photo: Joe Azze<\/p><\/div>\n

On September 20, 2014, Nephew wrote Tilton\u2019s record splits on his water bottle. He set out. Nearing Mt. Lafayette, he glanced at his bottle, then his watch: one hour, eight minutes. He was just over two minutes ahead of Tilton\u2019s time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nephew started the descent. He knew he\u2019d have to dig into his downhill prowess, delicately place his feet, keep his eyes glued no more than four feet in front of his toes and wield his arms left and right to maintain balance. Tilton\u2019s run in the soft spring snow had eased his descent compared to what lay before Nephew: big rocks and loose dirt. <\/span><\/p>\n

He took a swig of water and hurdled himself downhill, churning his legs, finding the subtle balance between risking a fall\u2014which would ensure he\u2019d lose to Tilton\u2014and not maximizing his potential.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nephew barreled forward. A trekking pole went flying.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It seemed to be working, at least until a quarter-mile from the trailhead. A group of hikers stood in his way. He\u2019d lucked out until that point, having the trail mostly to himself. Nephew tried to say something, and the group started to move aside. He didn\u2019t want to hit any of them. They wielded trekking poles. Thick shoes. Backpacks. Trees lined the path, awkwardly jamming the group.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nephew neared, but couldn\u2019t tell which way they were moving. His legs couldn\u2019t stop. <\/span><\/p>\n

One man started to turn around, assuming what Nephew describes as \u201ca power stance nearly four-feet wide,\u201d straddling the trail with his poles out, puncturing the dirt. <\/span><\/p>\n

Nephew barreled forward. A trekking pole went flying. Nephew thinks he may have clipped the man\u2019s arm, but he doesn\u2019t know for certain. He didn\u2019t look back. He might\u2019ve yelled sorry, but he didn\u2019t even take a full breath until 1,000 feet later at the trailhead. <\/span><\/p>\n

One hour, 44 minutes and 25 seconds. A new FKT.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The record-setting rush in Franconia Notch State Park Just a jog has never been Ben Nephew\u2019s style. He once ran the length of Rhode Island, for fun. Between competing in ultramarathons and setting dozens of fastest known time (FKT) records all around New England, Nephew estimates he\u2019s run 70,000 miles over the course of his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":18212,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[1379,1536,727,300,1528,1376,925,136],"internal-tag":[1682],"class_list":["post-18064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-run","tag-fkt","tag-franconia-notch","tag-latest-posts","tag-new-hampshire","tag-northeast","tag-running","tag-state-parks","tag-trail-running","internal-tag-pre-redirect-running"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/run\/in-pursuit-of-the-fastest-known-time","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"In Pursuit of the Fastest Known Time","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/run\/in-pursuit-of-the-fastest-known-time","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/run\/in-pursuit-of-the-fastest-known-time"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/07\/AP_BN-running-on-Franconia-Ridge_courtesy-of-Ben-Nephew.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2017\/07\/AP_BN-running-on-Franconia-Ridge_courtesy-of-Ben-Nephew.jpg?fit=1437%2C885"},"articleSection":"Run","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Michelle Flandreau"}],"creator":["Michelle Flandreau"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["fkt","franconia notch","latest posts","new hampshire","northeast","running","state parks","trail-running"],"dateCreated":"2017-07-17T13:03:12Z","datePublished":"2017-07-17T13:03:12Z","dateModified":"2018-11-12T06:23:48Z"},"rendered":"