Karl Meltzer Finishes Appalachian Trail in 54 Days

we just got the call. he's done! nuun ultrarunner karl meltzer has finished the appalachian trail in 54 days 21 hours 12 minutes. i ran about 310 miles with him from the start of his journey. i can't even wrap my mind around doing the entire 2,174 miles non stop. whoa.

karl meltzer on top of mt katahdin - right before he started

congratulations karl!

now.. head over to where's karl.com for the full scoop!

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karl relied on nuun through the journey for his electrolye replacement. i shipped two massive orders to him and he went through it all!

nuun

CNN Video on Karl

this is too cool. this piece on karl ran on cnn a couple of nights ago. this kind of thing only happens because karl has an amazing woman running his pr. nice work marit. notice the "video by matt hart". that little pentax w10 waterproof, shockproof, dustproof does a good job.

i can't even believe the haters on the where's karl.com site. yes he's behind schedule. yes the record might be out of reach. but what defines you as a person is what you do from dusk to dawn. karl is a trail runner. you, and you know who you are, are a nutless annoymous hater.

ok now i feel better.

Karl, IM Canada, Newspapers and Beach Peas

Meltzer's on the Move!

hopefully you've all been watching the drama unfold over at where's karl.com. my buddy is trying to break the appalachian trail record. after 14 days of tough terrain he came down with trench foot, and severe tendonitis. this put the whole assault in risk. after a few days off today he hit the trail again with his wife cheryl. i picture this in my mind being a nice sunny day hike with the woman he loves. what could be better? =)

good luck buddy! i'll be begging for updates on the trail at transrockies.

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Ironman Canada!

i have to wish my coaching client adrienne stedford good luck at ironman canada tomorrow (sunday!). she is one of those dream clients who always does exactly what i prescribe for her in her training plan. because of that, and all the hard work she's put in, she's going to amazingly well!

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Transrockies Run

i've been in slc hanging with marit for the last couple of days. i leave in a few hours for denver. sunday morning i pick up sean meissner, then we head to buena vista, colorado and the welcome bbq for the transrockies staged run. i talked to sean yesterday, he said "dood. i'm fit right now". sweet.

i was able to get 50mins of pain free running in yesterday. the calf wasn't an issue but it's still sore when i press on it. another couple of zero days and it should be ready for the anaerobic torture of the transrockie run. in the last update they have again lessened the mileage of the race. taking some 'junk miles' off the first two days. when i signed up for this race it was around 130 miles long. it's now down to 97 miles total for 6 days. every time they lessen the length our chances of doing well decrease - sean and i are ultrarunners. however after the fast hiking i just did on the appalachian trail this will be phenomenal 'speed work' for me and i can't wait to race!!

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Jackson Hole Newspaper

the jhole newspaper is going to do a write-up on the teton circumnavigation speed record i set (fastest known times site). here are the photos for the article.

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Beach Pea Bakery - Kittery Maine

marit found this great article on my best friends mariah & tom roberts. they run a well buttered machine. we spent the day with them in portsmouth after we got off the appalachian trail. they're cool.

Appalachian Assault - Day 1

i'm going to give a shot are recalling my adventure on the appalachian trail. 300+ miles in 8 days happened so fast. looking back now some of them have blended together. however day 1 still stands out in my mind. here is what i recall.

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41 miles of appalachian trail on day 1
(the total for the day was 45 miles w/7,739feet of vertical gain)

me checking the map before we started up katahdin
(check out the superhero arm warmers.. i'd need them)
karl and i headed out at sunrise from abol campground to climb mt katahdin. this was a slightly shorter but insanely steeper route to the summit of katahdin, which is the terminus of the appalachian trail. you get no credit for this 4 mile and 4,000ft climb as the appalachian trail starts at the top. the abol route we took up felt like a massive slide path of sharp boulders. the tough climb was made even harder by the wet conditions and the lack of coffee in the morning. by the time i got to the top (i think it was 1hr 30min) i had much respect for mt katahdin.

you can just barely see karl on our way up (i love this shot)
as we climbed i was feeling rather flat. karl was ampted to get started and pulling away fast. i kept thinking "dood, your going for the 2,174 mile appalachina trail record.. not the fastest time up mt katahdin." as we got closer to the top the rocks became wet and mossy. it was super slippery. i just stayed steady and by the top karl had slowed so i could catch up. that was my job afterall, to be an anchor to karl in the first week, and to slow this astonishingly fast 40 year old down. "3.5 miles per hour for the record".

karl meltzer on top of mount katahdin - about to run the entire appalachian trail
at the top we took a video of his start with vio camera i carried up just for that purpose. 7:08am on august 5th, 2008 karl meltzer headed south on the appalachian trail in a bold attempt to break the record. at the time i had a vague idea of just how bold this attempt was. now in hindsight after running 300+ miles of the north section i know what a monumental task this actually is.
now the down. this trail is downclimbing boulders, sharp boulders. karl always wears 1/2 fingered biking gloves when he runs for this very reason. i didn't think it was necessary - i was very wrong. so i used my arm warmers to help, which worked ok.

again on the way down i struggled to stay in contact with karl. he was moving fast, too fast in my mind. i bet when he looks back he will agree. it was dangerous terrain so a misstep could mean game over - no record. the risk wasn't worth the reward of a few extra minutes on day 1 of a 46 day run. honestly what was running through my head was what would happen if karl drops me on the first day. "do i just get in the rv and start again with him later?" i wasn't going to let that happen.. i just couldn't. by the end i caught karl and he said "i was just taking advantage of gravity". he's fast.

the amazing marit fischer - support crew extraordinaire (nice puffy!)
we're just 4 miles into the appalachian trail but we need to start eating lots now
we had 2 tabs of nuun, 2 scoops of ultragen and two egg burritos each
marit fischer and karl meltzler sr, who we just started calling senior (much to his disliking) were our support crew. marit is the superstar pr person from backcountry.com. karl senior is the most ripped 65 year old man i've ever seen.. and i have to assume the most ripped 65 year old in existence - 6 pack and all. they were there at abol campground to meet us. i still wasn't hungry but ate a lot and we were off again.

karl meltzer senior and junior checking maps
now it gets blury for me. i know i slipped on my montrail slippers, or streaks rather and was in heaven as we ran and hiked fast for another 36 miles or so. i wore montrail continental divdes for the earlier rough terrain and they turned out to be perfect.

all the day 1 flickr shots - i'm putting together the video now - and of course you can follow his current progress at where's karl.com.

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some stats nonsense:
total miles on the day - 45
total miles on AT - 41
from abol campsite to the top of katahdin at 5,267 ft via abol trail 1:40:50 with 4,000 feet of gain 4:21:10 -
katahdin to abol bridge w/285ft gain 1:40:51
katahdin to katahdin stream mile 5 2:36:19
katahdin streams to abol pines campground
7:37:10 w/3,454ft abol bridge to south nahmakanta lake

2 Days Later

this is a photo of my ankle on the bus ride from portsmouth, nh to boston’s, ma logan airport today, two days after I got off the appalachian trail with my buddy karl meltzer. i feel pretty good. but from my knees down are super puffy and swollen from the mass mileage and constant pounding of the maine section.

the lack of internet while i'm traveling back to the tetons keeping me from writing a lot, but here is a quick update…

THANK YOU karl, marit, senior, tommy and backcountry.com as a whole for making this whole adventure possible. this was hands down one of the most amazing and exhilarating experiences i’ve had in my life. it was challenging, beautiful, awe-inspiring, humbling, motivating, fun, and tough.

i was honestly sad when marit and i had to leave the backcountry.com rv. although we conquered the maine section, the adventure for karl has just begun. we left aug 8th, after the maine section and the 16.6 extra miles into Gorham, nh. it would have just been too hard to get up the next day and see karl off to run alone.

marit has done an amazing job of posting to the where's karl.com blog and now tommy has taken over crewing and blogging/updating duties. the where's karl flickr site has all my photo and vids. i'll put something together soon and update my blog with more.

one last thing – having run 300+ miles with karl meltzer in 8 days I have one thing to say about what karl is doing. say what you will about supported, unsupported speed records, etc… but what karl’d doing right now is courageous.

281 Miles of Appalachian Trail With Karl Meltzer

AT through Maine - 281 Miles
"The northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail is Katahdin, 5,267 ft. high, in Baxter State Park in central Maine. The Trail continues southwest to Monson, eventually crossing the Kennebec River, at about the Maine halfway point. Many mountains later, and after passing through the famed Mahoosuc and Grafton notches, the Trail enters New Hampshire."

"Most of the Appalachian Trail in Maine is not recommended for novice hikers; Maine's 281 miles are generally considered the most difficult of all fourteen states. Even the strongest hikers may average only one mile an hour in some parts. Other parts require grabbing onto tree roots and limbs to climb or descend, and are especially slippery and hazardous in wet weather." (link)

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i'm in new hampshire now. i ran the teton circ twice in three days, went to sleep got up at 6am and traveled for over 36hrs until i came to a stop in freedom, nh at my mother's house. my ankles and lower legs were swollen beyond belief. lots of naps but no real sleep during the basically two days of travel has me feeling pretty gross.

new hampshire is a nice, quite, peaceful place. i love coming back here.

today i'm going to kayak, swim a bit and hang out at the beach on ossipee lake with my mom, sister and two nephews. recovery with small bits of multimuscle workouts is in order for the next few days. i meet karl on sunday aug 3rd in manchester new hampshire. we'll pack the backcountry.com rv and then head up to maine the following day. we start his appalachian assault on august 5th at the top of mount katahdin. i can not wait to get running - this, my friends is going to be an epic adventure.





"live free or die"

Summer Fun Baby!

i'm currently hashing out my summer plans... here are some of my ideas:

• monday i head to bend/sisters, oregon to train with meissner. we'll hopefully also get out with rod bien and krissy as well. i'm praying for sun. this is dependant on the vw being fixed. =(
• big horn 50 - i'm not even close to in shape to run well so don't expect much, it will be perfect training for the bullet points below however.
• possibly a whole month camping and training in the wind river range (read this!) **i'd love/will need some company
• run the speedgoat 50km??
• running the entire maine section of the appalacian trail with meltzer in 6 days!
• gortex transrockies 6 day ultra through colorado with meissner!
• epic adeventures in the shire in september
• grindstone 100 miler in virginia

I Bought A One Way Ticket

yeah that's right, a one way ticket to salt lake city. i've got about a week to go, then i'll be gone for 4 months of the unknown. i'm definitely someone who does well with my things and my routine... but i think this will be an amazing experience. i am staring at the two bags i can take with me on the plane (one i'll apparently have to pay extra for now!) for the next 4 months. this is tough. one will be filled with some clothes, the other.. montrails, nathan handhelds/backpacks, nuun and clif shots! the gear bag is easily 4x the size of my clothes bag!

since taking the job with backroads i've been frantically trying to get my life in order so i can leave seattle. i need to sell a car (check out the jeep grand cherokee). sublet my condo; i've already found the most awesome law student who's needs work perfect for the exact time i'm gone. that was a big weight off my shoulders.


i've bailed on running the big horn 100 miler. my hip is still a mess anyway, and simply won't be ready. but the more obvious reason is i have no idea where i'll be guiding or if i'd have that weekend off or not. backroads doesn't tell us where we'll be until june 3rd, the second to last day of our training in salt lake city.

my end date with backroads is aug 23rd. i have to get my ass to beuna vista, colorado that day so i can have one day of rest before starting the transrockies ultra with meissner. i am soo excited about this. just need to figure out how to stay fit while leading trips. after that it's either try to meet up with meltzer late in his appalachian trail assault or run the bear 100 in logan, utah. it's the last 100 of the year that looks interesting, re; hard, trail with mass vert, more single track than dirt road, etc. i really feel like i need to run a 100 before the year is over. i'm also looking to return to the hurt 100 in hawaii this time running the 100 miler. we'll see.


with the hip injury i've been riding a lot lately and it's been really fun. the running miles all depend on how the hip feels. i've been working every other day on strength exercises, which i think are really helping. yesterday i got out with the lads, green angle, jeff, mike and tom for a great 10 miler and had NO HIP PAIN!

ok, i've got coaching work to do.. and tons of packing and loose ends to clean up.

Back from Chasing the Goat

i just got back late last night from a visit to salt lake city. i flew in on tuesday morning. the wasatch speedgoat, karl meltzer and his awesome wife cheryl were cool enough to let me stay with them. after some catching up, karl and i hit the office to discuss karl's appalachian assault and my role in that. talking about it i found myself awash with these intense feelings of anticipation ~ this is going to be soo cool! what an epic to be a part of. karl was fresh off a 47 mile day in zion, and he seemed as fresh as a daisy. the appalachian trail record is going down my friends, down.

karl lives at the foot of some amazing mtns, and even though the snow level is low for this time of year we had plenty of trail to scratch our hooves on! with my hip issues looming i wasn't sure how it would feel. well the last 4 miles hurt like hell. i made the call after this run to remove the extra insole. by my math my hip had gotten noticeably worse since using the extra lift.


thanks so much karl and cheryl for your hospitality!.. you guys are awesome and i'm soo looking forward to our adventure on the appalachian trail in august.

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day two i took my extra insole out and enjoyed the later part of the run much more than the previous day. the lift had slowly caused massive amounts of pain in my glute. we did about 13 miles with some 3,300 ft of gain near the university... and threw a quick nuun photo shoot in there too.. sweet stuff.

An August To Remember

a few days ago had a great chat with montrail ultrarunner sean meissner. during this conversation he says "hey, i know it's very close to the plain 100 miler but what about you and me running the transrockies ultra?". without looking at my calendar or much thought i said "hells yeah". i had followed this race last year. it's 125+ miles in 5 days through the colorado rockies with over 25,000 feet of climbing, sleeping in the woods in makeshift camps at night... bad ass and adventurous (watch the video). not even 24hrs went by when i received the confirmation email that montrail was sending sean and i! i'm beside myself excited right now! but then i pulled out the calendar.. oh boy, it's going to be one crazy august and september ~ i hope i can hold it together!

the plan:

• aug 5th - appalachian trail: starting on mount katahdin i'm running 47 miles a day for 6 days with karl meltzer in his attempt to break the appalachian trail speed record. i'll be joining him for the entire 281 mile section through maine.

just two weeks to recover

• aug 25-30 - transrockies ultra: 125+ miles through the colorado rockies.

just two weeks to recover

• sept 13-14 - plain 100 miler - a tough tough 100 miler in washington

Hot and Excited

this is why i'm excited ~ because 2008 is going to be HUGE (and i rarely bother with capitol letters)

• 3 Days of Syllamo - my first race of the season march 14, 15, 16. it's a 3 day staged ultra in the ozark mountains.
  day 1 - 50 km
  day 2 - 50 miles
  day 3 - 25 km
  
  this one seemed like a dream a few months ago when ultrarunner and bad ass ty draney asked me to race with him. ty paced me at my first 100 miler, the grand teton 100 in september. we became fast friends on the trail. some things worked out and i just booked my flight march 13 to rock little rock! ty and i will run each day together as a team, no further than 100 feet apart. i wonder if we can use tow ropes adventure racing style?
  
  
• hardrock 100 entry is in the mail. enough said on that one.
  


• appalachian trail record - fellow new hampshire native karl meltzer is going to try and break the 47 days, 13 hours, 31 minute record from maine to georgia (2175 miles). i will be running the 281 miles of rough appalachian trail that runs through maine with karl starting around august 5th. that means 47 miles a day for 6 days. karl said "you'll get to run home to new hampshire with me!". sweet... this will be an unreal experience.

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this is why, this is why, this is why i'm hot ~ quite possibly the worst rap lyrics ever written

because of my new montrail highlanders - tell me these aren't hot?! this is my '08 race shoe.