David Hedges is a mountain runner who has made a name for himself with top performances in races and FKTs alike. You likely know him from his incredible FKT on Nolan's 14 last year. Most recently, David set the FKT on the WURL, an incredibly gnarly FKT route outside Salt Lake City which boasts 36 extremely technical miles and over 20,000 feet of vertical. Blake Bekken and SOAR Running put out a great short video recording the effort, which you should definitely watch before listening to this ...

There are hundreds if not thousands of FKT routes out there. Outside of the very limited premier routes list on the FKT website, how are you supposed to tell which routes are the most competitive and important? That is a question that Will and Xander hope to begin to tackle with their Northeast Premier Routes project. They polled dozens of Northeast FKT athletes to figure out which routes are most important to people, and in this episode they break down the results and bring a spotlight to th...

Tara Dower is a professional ultra runner and thru-hiker who is making her third appearance on the podcast (see episodes #50 and #71). In September, Tara and her crew set the overall Fastest Known Time on the Appalachian Trail, taking six days off the women's record, five days off the southbound record, and over 13 hours off of the overall record set in 2018 by Karel Sabbe. We talk all about her record, answer listener questions, and more. Find Tara on Instagram @tara.dowerCheck out the Craft...

Scott Benerofe is a backpacker and ultra-runner based out of Vermont. Scott has some pretty insane efforts to his name, including a winter Appalachian Trail thru-hike (see episode #20). In late July, Scott went out and established a route that he calls the White Mountains Triple, which is a 100-mile linkup of the Pemi Loop, Presidential Traverse, and Mahoosuc Traverse, all on foot. The route boasts 35,000 feet of elevation gain and some of the gnarliest terrain that New England has to offer. ...

At 10am on August 28th, I set out with a group of over 30 northeast locals to attempt a supported FKT on the Vermont Long Trail. We would finish the trail 3 days, 21 hours, and 9 minutes later, taking over 7 hours of the FKT and being the first run of the Long Trail to be under 4 days. I covered a lot of my individual perspective of the run over on the Singletrack podcast, and I will cover the nuts and bolts in a detailed trip report (to be released very soon). This podcast is a little differ...

Kristian Morgan is a multi-day endurance athlete who holds the second and third fastest times on the Appalachian Trail (and the southbound FKT). This year, Kristian again returned to the AT to attempt the Northbound and overall FKT. He made it to Maine ahead of record pace but was ultimately derailed by injury. We chat with Kristian about his effort and his plans to return to the AT for a 6th attempt in 2025. You can find Kristian on social media @kristianultra. You can also find his website ...

On the heels of finishing 15th overall and 4th woman at Hardrock 100, prolific ultra-runner and backpacker Tara Dower returns to the podcast to discuss her upcoming south-bound Appalachian Trail FKT attempt, which is starting this coming Saturday, August 10th 2024. She is looking to bring together her thru-hiking experience as well as her experience setting big FKTs on trails like the Colorado Trail to take down perhaps the biggest FKT of them all.Find Tara on Instagram @tara.dower. If you wa...

Time Stamps:4:15 Keith Nadeau31:32 Mead Binhammer50:30 Lauren Gregory and Dan Curts1:42:53 Larisa Dannis MacFaddenThe Jigger Johnson Ultras are a series of races hosted by White Mountain Endurance and Aravaipa Running in the southern White Mountains. There is a 20 mile, 50 mile, and 100 mile race. Xander and I were lucky enough to get the chance to interview 5 of the 6 winners from Jigger Johnson, and we hope you enjoy!Check out the Craft Pure Trail running shoe: https://www.craftsports.us/pr...

Deanna Doane is a trail runner from Florida who has strong roots in western Maine. Over the past two years, Deanna has raced the Grafton Notch Loop twice, setting new women's FKTs both runs on this hidden gem of a competitive running route. We talk all about her effort, the Grafton Notch Loop as a whole, and more! Find Deanna on Strava and on Instagram @wandering.sunflowerCheck out the Craft Pure Trail running shoe: https://www.craftsports.us/products/mens-pure-trail-running-shoeUse code from...

Nick Fowler is a multi-day athlete based in the midwest, but who does most of his racing on FKT routes out on the west coast. Nick is best known for his 2023 self-supported FKT on the PCT, a mind-blowing effort that ran him 52 hours, 9 days, and 18 minutes. We talk a lot about this effort and why he's planning to return to the PCT in 2025. Nick turned the tables and asked me a lot of questions, so have some fun with that. Find Nick on Instagram @nick.fowler.says.hiCheck out the Craft Pure Tra...

Larsen Ojala is a mountain athlete based out of New Hampshire. Larsen has taken on multiple large projects in the Whites, including FKTs on the Double Presidential Traverse, Triple Pemi Loop, and Lodge to Dodge, as well as being the third known person to complete the White Mountains 100. Most recently, Larsen took on the New Hampshire section of the Appalachian Trail in a single push, completing the 161 miles and 56,000 feet of vertical in 3 days, 1 hour, 37 minutes. Find Larsen on Strava and...

Jack Kuenzle is a mountain athlete based out of a van. Jack and Anna DeMonte have spent the last 4-5 months living out of a van in Europe and training to go after the round rip speed record on Mont Blanc from Chamonix. They each came up just barely shy of the men's and women's overall running records, but both set incredibly stout new skiing records. Jack returns to the podcast for his 3rd appearance to discuss his effort and much more. If you want more Jack content, go check out episodes #15...

We're back baby! This week Xander and I chat with Kristian Morgan, who holds the second and third fastest times on the Appalachian Trail (and the southbound FKT). This year, Kristian is again returning to the AT to attempt the Northbound and overall FKT. We talk to Kristian extensively about his preparation, planning, and why he believes this will be the year he takes down the overall record.Check out the Craft Pure Trail running shoe: https://www.craftsports.us/products/mens-pure-trail-runni...

Dirt Dialogues are back baby and this week Xander and I are giving you spicy hot takes for the Summer 2024 trail running season. He have some of our own takes, and we go through some hot takes submitted by you all. We also do some mid-Cocodona 250 reactions.Check out the Craft Pure Trail running shoe: https://www.craftsports.us/products/mens-pure-trail-running-shoeUse code fromthebackcountry at infinitnutrition.us and hyperlitemountaingear.com for 15% off your entire orderpodcast Instagram: h...

On this weeks episode Xander and I chat about some of the upcoming races and publicly known FKT attempts going down in the summer of 2024. We cover a bunch of cool races being hosted by companies such as White Mountains Endurance, Run the Whites, Race Mozey, and Tru-Strength Athletics. There are a ton of races and efforts happening out there, and we certainly did not fit everything into one episode. We plan to cover more as the summer goes on, as well as covering specific races and FKT...

I think we might write a book by the title of this podcast. Welcome to Dirt Dialogues #2, the series where Xander Keiter and I talk anything and everything trail and ultra-running related. In this episode, we take a dive into training methods and strategies. We hope you all enjoy, and let us know what topics you'd like to see us cover in this series. Check out the Craft Pure Trail running shoe: https://www.craftsports.us/products/mens-pure-trail-running-shoe Use code fromthebackcountry at...

Welcome to a new series called Dirt Dialogues, where Xander Keiter and I talk about various topics in the trail and ultra-running scene. This week we're talking about the controversy surrounding Paul Johnson's transcontinental run. Find Paul on Instagram @pauijohnson. You can find all of the information about his run and about Team Red White and Blue (the charity Paul is raising money for) at www.pauljohnson.run Check out the Craft Pure Trail running shoe:...

Lila Gaudrault is a 21 year-old ultra-runner and nursing student based out of Maine. Lila already has a bunch of incredibly impressive efforts to her name, including 10 FKTs, multiple outright ultramarathon wins, and first place woman in the 2022 Maine Marathon. During this episode we talk about her story and training, how she's been able to make herself such a competitive ultra-runner at such a young age, and goals and upcoming efforts. Follow Lila on Strava and on Instagram...

Philip Carcia is a distance athlete, hiker, backpacker, and content creator from the White Mountains of New Hampshire. From December 22nd through December 27th, Philip and Andrew Soares set a new Winter speed record on the New Hampshire 48, finishing in 5 days, 18 hours, 58 minutes. This is part 2 and a direct continuation of our conversation from the last episode, so if you haven't already, I would recommend listening to part 1 first! Check out the Craft Pure Trail running shoe:...

Philip Carcia is a distance athlete, hiker, backpacker, and content creator from the White Mountains of New Hampshire. From December 22nd through December 27th, Philip and Andrew Soares set a new speed record on the New Hampshire 48, summiting all of the mountains in 5 days, 18 hours, 58 minutes. As usual, Philip and I went super long, so I'm splitting this episode into two. We talk all about the effort, his year in review, Winter records generally, and more. Tune in a couple weeks from now...

Billy "Wahoo" Meredith is a thru-hiker from Georgia who spent 234 days between May 2nd and December 22nd breaking the record for the Calendar Year Triple Crown (Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and Continental Divide Trail in a calendar year). On his journey he averaged 32 miles per day and backpacked about 7500 miles through every imaginable condition. It was a monumental and life-altering effort, and we talk all about it in this episode. Check out the Craft Pure Trail running shoe:...

On December 23rd, I set the Winter fastest known time on the White Mountains Hut Traverse. On this episode, Xander and I sit down to discuss this effort and Winter efforts generally. Find Xander on Instagram @xkieter2, and find the podcast on Instagram @fromthebackcountry. Send me hate mail at [email protected] Check out the Craft Pure Trail running shoe: https://www.craftsports.us/products/mens-pure-trail-running-shoe Use code fromthebackcountry at infinitnutrition.us and...

Xander is back on the pod and we're here to answer your questions! We cover a broad range of topics, from the beer mile to Ski The East to Gridding as adventure and much more. Follow the podcast on Instagram @fromthebackcountry. Follow Xander on Strava and on Instagram @xkeiter2. NH48 T-Shirt that I mentioned in the intro: https://www.crazydoes.com/ Check out the Craft Pure Trail running shoe: https://www.craftsports.us/products/mens-pure-trail-running-shoe Use code fromthebackcountry at...