Two-time Barkley Marathons finisher John Kelly has smashed the Lengthy Path FKT by way of Vermont’s Inexperienced Mountains by greater than seven hours, ending the difficult 440-km course in 4 days, 4 hours, 25 minutes and 50 seconds.
The 38-year-old native of Morgan County, Tenn., set out on the path June 28 close to the Vermont-Quebec border and accomplished his run south to the state line with Massachusetts on Monday. Ben Feinson, who ran the earlier FKT in July 2021, performed a vital position within the toppling of his personal file as a member of Kelly’s help crew. Feinson accompanied Kelly in the course of the first few sections of the Lengthy Path, which incorporates greater than 20,000 metres of elevation acquire.
In a social media submit on the eve of his try, Kelly wrote that he was “excited to discover a ravishing space & spend time with some nice individuals.”
With this newest feat, Kelly provides to a formidable resume of ultrarunning achievements. In 2018, Kelly ran the AT 4 State Problem—a 67-km phase of the Appalachian Path that touches into Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia—in 6:39:51, setting the FKT for a supported run. Later that 12 months he ran the unsupported FKT for the Smokies Problem Journey Run, a 115-km part of the Appalachian Path on the North Carolina-Tennessee border.
In 2017, Kelly was the only real finisher of the Barkley Marathons, the infamously brutal 160-km ultramarathon held in Tennessee’s Frozen Head State Park every spring. This March, Kelly completed the Barkley a second time, finishing the race between winner Aurélien Sanchez and third-place finisher Karel Sabbe.
In 2020 and once more in 2021, Kelly ran the FKT on the Pennine Manner, a 420-km route extending from the Scottish village of Kirk Yetholm right down to the English city of Edale. Main as much as his profitable file try in Vermont this previous week, Kelly contrasted the Pennine Manner course with that of the Lengthy Path. “I’ve spent numerous time on the Pennine Manner the previous few years, which has comparable distance, can be recognized for mud, and is the U.Ok.’s oldest nationwide path much like the Lengthy Path being America’s oldest long-distance path (it offered inspiration for the Appalachian Path, which it merges with in the direction of the tip),” wrote Kelly.
“The similarities finish on the elevation profile, although, with the Lengthy Path having twice as a lot climbing & descent. In a little bit of a contradiction, I’ll be hoping it’s not overly moist, muddy, or humid, whereas additionally hoping that wildfire smoke stays away.”
