UPDATE – 8:05 PDT (from Salomon) –
DONE! 38 hrs 32 mins. Respect Kilian 6 hrs 20 mins less than the previous record hold by T2 (Tim Twietmeyer), which already was an outstanding performance!
UPDATE – 9/29 – (from Salomon) –
Dicks pass 11.30am PDT – Kilian is 30 hrs and 30 mins after he left Tahoe. He still has 60 km to go, with 208km (129 mi) behind him. He definitely has step up the pace, since he’s 30 mins behind his 40 hour timing – including one hour lost during the night and two hours of sleep.
My comments – Record is in the bag (sub 45 hrs); sub 40 schedule is on the edge. I find it interesting that he slept for 2 hours – its a different style – running harder with more rest. What I really find surprising is taking a wrong turn and losing 8 km and one hour … I would think that what his pacer is supposed to be taking care of.
Euro style sponsored adventure running comes to the States!
Kilian Jornet started the Tahoe Rim Trail this morning. He will be paced the entire distance, with full support including media. You can follow it live on the Salomon site. Adam Chase is writing the updates now that the team is Stateside, so we can tell what is actually taking place, rather than the breathless but contentless hyperbole that was coming out of France.
The goal is sub 40 hours; should be no problem if he adjusts to the dry air and stays hydrated.
A little different style than Brett’s recent JMT record. All good.
Adventure Running 
September 28, 2009 at 4:03 pm |
They will have to deal with strong winds (50-60 mph on the ridges) later today and tonight, but it should make for nice drama for the Salomon movie folks 🙂
September 29, 2009 at 11:04 pm |
Gotta say, that’s a stout run.
ajw
September 29, 2009 at 11:20 pm |
Agreed, fantastic run. Wonder if the JMT will pan out for him next time he “Goes West.”
September 30, 2009 at 7:08 am |
Good question Leor … they wanted to do the JMT this year, but lacked organization (they didn’t realize they needed permits!). Kilian is possibly the best mountain runner in the world, and Salomon will provide all the support imaginable, which seems like a can’t-lose combo, but they made logistical mistakes on the TRT, which is a far simpler and more accessible trail than the JMT. If the pacers focused more on navigating and making sure he had fresh headlamp batteries, and less on penning inane blog posts, he could have been cut another hour. 😉
September 30, 2009 at 8:01 pm |
Hey Buzz,
I’m just back from Tahoe as part of Kilian’s support crew. Regarding the JMT project, it wasn’t a question of not knowing we needed a permit, but simply the fact that the permit has been refused for a very understandable reason/ the administration doesn’t want the JMT to become a performance playground.
We totally respect that…
Ah, and thank you for your respectful opinion on our “inane blog posts”. Just for you to know, Kilian made 1 mistake during the night which, you’re right, costed him 1 hour. One mistake on 165 miles… Very poor navigation performance indeed!
That being said, we are very grateful to you guys for the job you’re doing to promote the sport, and for your post on Kilian
JYC
September 30, 2009 at 8:31 pm |
Jean-Yves: thank you for your very gracious and informative comment! Really appreciate hearing from someone who was there.
I sure hope you all come back for the JMT! When applying for a permit, you don’t have to tell them you’re trying to set a record … 🙂
Having raced in Europe and here, the styles are very different and I appreciate both. In Europe, the support and attention is incredible; those were some of the best running experiences of my life. Here, not only is there no support, but public land officials hate anything associated with competitive activity. I wish our government would learn from the approach you use over there.
On the other hand, we have wilderness, and you basically, don’t. I like our wilderness.
Both styles are good. Experiencing other cultures and mountains is good. Again, please come back and give it a go (and apply for those permits early)!
October 20, 2009 at 6:08 pm |
Buzz,
The pacer who got Kilian lost – that would be me – was not penning inane blog posts during the run. Heck, I still have yet to blog about the whole experience (but hopefully that will change soon). As I told Kilian and everyone else who was there supporting him, I take full responsibility for us getting lost. Period. And the crappy headlamp batteries definitely should never have been an issue. It’s totally lame and again, I take responsibility for not checking those before running with him.
Being part of Kilian’s crew was an epic experience – probably one of my top-3 running experiences to date. I definitely agree that Kilian is possibly the best mountain runner in the world. Running with him was simply amazing.
Thanks for following us along and for reporting here on Sportiva’s Adventure Running blog!
June 20, 2011 at 2:32 am |
great run