A fastest known time (FKT) is the
speed record
A speed record is a world record for speed by a person, animal, or vehicle. The function of speed record is to record the speed of moving animate objects such as humans, animals or vehicles.
Overall speed record
Overall speed record is the recor ...
for a running or hiking route. Unlike most endurance sports competitions such as
marathon world records, FKTs are self-organized and done alone or in small groups. FKTs are most popular on long
trails
A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. The ...
suitable for
thru-hiking
Thru-hiking, or through-hiking, is the act of hiking an established end-to-end trail or long-distance trail with continuous footsteps.
In the United States, the term is most commonly associated with the Appalachian Trail (AT), the Pacific Cres ...
or
ultramarathon
An ultramarathon, also called ultra distance or ultra running, is any footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of . Various distances are raced competitively, from the shortest common ultramarathon of to over . 50k and 100k are bot ...
trail running
Trail running is a sport-activity which combines running, and, where there are steep gradients, hiking, that is run "on any unpaved surface". It is similar to both mountain and fell running (also known as hill running). Mountain running may, h ...
such as the
Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tr ...
, the
Pennine Way
The Pennine Way is a National Trail in England, with a small section in Scotland. The trail stretches for from Edale, in the northern Derbyshire Peak District, north through the Yorkshire Dales and Northumberland National Park and ends at Kir ...
,
and the
John Muir Trail
The John Muir Trail (JMT) (Northern Paiute language, Paiute: Nüümü Poyo, ''N-ue-mue Poh-yo'') is a long-distance trail in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, passing through Yosemite National Park, Yosemite, ...
.
History
Informal, unverified speed records have long existed on named trails, but the invention of handheld
GPS
The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...
devices, such as
GPS watches or
personal locator beacons, made it significantly easier and more reliable to collect and compare fastest times on a route even in the
backcountry
In the United States, a backcountry or backwater is a geographical area that is remote, undeveloped, isolated, or difficult to access.
Terminology Backcountry and wilderness within United States national parks
The National Park Service (NPS) ...
. The modern FKT movement has been cataloged on a tracking website, fastestknowntime.com, founded by outdoor enthusiasts Pete Bakwin and
Buzz Burrell
Buzz Burrell (b. October 1951) is an American ultrarunner, outdoor athlete, and businessman. Burrell began trail running and ultramarathons during the infancy of the sport in America during the late 1960s and early '70s at events such as the Pike ...
, who coined the term FKT in the year 2000.
FKT popularity exploded most recently due to trail races being cancelled due to the
COVID 19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.
While there is no governing body for certifying FKTs, the site acts as an informal arbiter, sometimes requiring additional certification like photographs and pre-announcing your intent to attempt a record.
In March 2022, fastestknowntime.com was sold to Outside Inc., the parent company of
Outside magazine
''Outside'' is an American company and magazine focused on the outdoors. The first issue of ''Outside'' was published in September 1977.
History
Outside founders were Jann Wenner (the first editor in chief), William Randolph Hearst III (its first ...
and other outdoor media companies.
FKT categories
fastestknowntime.com tracks records in three styles:
* "Unsupported" athletes must carry all of their supplies, except for water from naturally occurring sources.
* "Self-supported" athletes are allowed any support that is equally available to all people. For example, sleeping at a hotel is allowed, but sleeping at a friend's house is not.
* "Supported" athletes are allowed support of any kind except physical assistance in moving.
See also
*
Peak bagging
Peak bagging or hill bagging is an activity in which hikers, climbers, and mountaineers attempt to reach a collection of summits, published in the form of a list. This activity has been popularized around the world, with lists such as 100 Peaks ...
*
List of fastest known times for Pyrenees routes and summits This is a list of fastest known times for Pyrenees routes and summits.
Background
The Fastest Known Time A fastest known time (FKT) is the speed record for a running or hiking route. Unlike most endurance sports competitions such as marathon worl ...
References
External links
fastestknowntime.com the canonical list of FKTs
Hiking
Mountain running
World record databases
Trail running
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fastest_Known_Time