Snow Flurries at Storm King

Buckland Hills Trot w/ Coop

Blairstown Ride w/ Rob

Coop Trot

Morning Trails w/ Coop

This trail has been on my radar for a number of years and the FKT had been set and twice broken before this attempt.  Starting at the northern terminus, Andrew and I attacked the climbs hard and bombed the downhills even harder.  At the halfway point, we had only a 3 minute lead on the record and I knew I could not sustain the effort for another 9 miles.  The section along the west bank of Splitrock felt never-ending and the constant rock gardens continued to wear me down, but we somehow gained 5 minutes on this 5.5 mile section.  The last 4-5 miles were intense as I battled stomach issues and leg cramps, forcing me to a complete stop on several occasions, but we never took our eyes off the prize.  We ended up beating the previous FKT by just over 8 minutes.

All the credit goes to Andrew for pushing the pace from behind for most of the run, and then acting as rabbit and making me chase for the last hour or so.  Definitely could not have done this on my own, but extremely happy with the result.  This project had been in the back of my mind for several years now, so it feels good to finally put this one to rest.

Notes for future FKT attempts: there's a reason the pace is as slow as it is, as this has to be one of the rockiest trails in NJ.  There are a few sections where navigation is crucial and would be very easy go off-course. A more aggressive runner with a bigger engine could definitely shave some time off the back end of this FKT, particularly that last section through Wildcat Ridge.  Looking forward to seeing someone take down this FKT, but I don't envy the suffering that it will take.  Happy hunting!



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Benjamin Vince

Four Birds Trail FKT

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Snow Flurries at Storm King

Buckland Hills Trot w/ Coop

Blairstown Ride w/ Rob

Coop Trot

Morning Trails w/ Coop

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