Again, but Faster: “Running” the Long Trail


If I were to tell you that I plan to hike the Long Trail again, you probably wouldn’t be overly excited. You’d see the announcement, smile, and remember that you left a candle burning at home 3 hours ago. So, I’m not going to tell you that.

I’m telling you that I plan to attempt the unsupported fastest known time on the Long Trail.

Are you excited now?

I am. I’ve been excited about it for MONTHS, but I hesitated to put this news out to the internet because I am also scared sh*tless. This is going to HURT, like, a lot, and there’s a very good chance that I’ll fail. The Long Trail is notorious as the toughest long trail in the country. It gains 67,000 feet throughout 272 miles, and I’ll have to do it in less than 6.5 days. I don’t know if I am that fast or capable of hiking that far for that many days.

I just think it would be fun to find out.

Due to the nature of this attempt, I won’t be blogging while I’m on the trail. Instead, you’ll see a few posts beforehand and a few posts afterward. The best way to follow along will be through the Garmin Live Tracking link. Here’s the catch; you’ll only get the link if you’re subscribed to email updates. I’ll send it out one full day ahead of when I decide to start. So if you want to know where I am at all times, you’ll have to become one of my loyal subjects, while the rest of the plebs follow on Instagram. Muahaha!

Before you knew what I’m attempting, some of you expressed a desire to come and help me out somehow. PLEASE DON’T. The live tracking is NOT an invitation to come to find me and bring me food. I will have to rudely decline and keep hiking. I am choosing to go unsupported because I believe that it leaves the least amount of impact on our trails. If you come to find me while I’m hiking, it will defeat that purpose and invalidate my attempt. I would be happy to see any familiar faces at the finish line, should I make it that far.

That being said, let’s do the damn thing.