Kilian on the TRT

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.

Kilian Jornet – Tahoe Rim Trail

Earlier I reported that Kilian Jornet was planning to go for the fabled John Muir Trail record. He is one of the best mountain runners in the world, so that was big news. I suggested that he had the talent to crush the existing record, but his planning was questionable.

The latter turned out to be the case … his team discovered that in the US, access to public land is not guaranteed, and athletic achievement is not encouraged as it is in Europe. You can’t say, “Hey, I’ve trained for this for months, I going to see how fast I can run this, now can I please have a permit?” Not only will this not work, but it will probably backfire.

In short, they couldn’t get a permit to run the John Muir Trail. So they’re going to try the Tahoe Rim Trail instead.

The website describing this effort is so over-the-top and filled with hype, that it’s impossible to figure out what he’s actually doing. However, sources say he’s going to start early this Monday morning. As in all his runs, he will have massive support from his sponsor Solomon, including pacers, and probably a video crew. The current record is 45 hrs 45 mins set by Tim Twietmeyer in 2005; he should be able take a minimum of 5 full hours off that. Hopefully, this will be practice for a JMT run next year.

Stay tuned.