RUN/Outside Online (December 10, 2024) by David Gleisner

If you want to set a fastest known time on the 817-mile Arizona Trail, you have to start fast. At least, that’s what both Nick Fowler and Georgia Porter proved this fall.

On October 28, they independently set out from the Utah-Arizona border and started their trek south with the goal of setting a record. While Fowler was traveling in a self-supported style and Porter enlisted a crew, the two shared numerous commonalities beyond the same start date, chosen to capitalize on the ideal fall weather.

Each exceeded record-setting pace over the first few days on the Kaibab Plateau. Both ended up sleep deprived, with immense foot pain, and practically hobbling to the finish line at the U.S.-Mexico border. And both completed their attempt with a record: Fowler with a self-supported Arizona Trail FKT of 12 days, 17 hours, and 33 minutes—the overall record on the trail. And Porter with a women’s supported Arizona Trail FKT of 16 days, 22 hours, and 6 minutes.

But dig into their approaches, and it’s clear that even with similar goals in mind, no two FKT setters think alike.

A Rough Start

Fowler didn’t run or sleep much in the lead-up to his FKT attempt. Since setting the self-supported FKT on the Pacific Crest Trail last summer, Fowler had his sights set on Arizona. He had already done the AZT in 30 days in the spring of 2023, prior to his PCT attempt. He knew he wanted to shoot for the record in the fall, and started working out what he’d have to do to achieve it. But in early September, less than two months before Fowler’s attempt, a new priority came into his life: Canyon, his new son.

“My training program was calf raises in the kitchen while holding my son,” Fowler says. “And then when I go in the living room, holding my son, I would do single leg squats.”

With a new baby in tow, Fowler didn’t get in quite as many pre-trail miles as he’d hoped. A couple weeks before starting the AZT, he headed out to Arkansas for an attempt at a 70-mile day on the Ozark Highlands Trail, but “it absolutely kicked my butt 43 miles in.” Nonetheless, he showed up to the Utah-Arizona border and set out feeling confident that his training from the summer, which included an FKT on the 425-mile Oregon Coast Trail, would carry him through.

“By day two, I was puking my guts out crossing the Grand Canyon, curled up in the fetal position, being passed by hikers in flip-flops, and I slowed down to two-hour miles,” Fowler says. “And I quit.”

About 100 miles in, on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, Fowler turned off his tracker. He caught a hitch to Flagstaff, feeling defeated. But after a night of rest, he realized all was not lost.

“I was like, maybe I can still do this,” Fowler says. “Everything’s already in place. I’m already here. And if I’m spending time away from Canyon, it’s gotta be something.”

Running in Her Backyard

As Fowler was making his way back to the start, Porter was rallying her crew for her own FKT attempt.

The 36-year-old ultrarunner had two 100-milers under her belt from 2023, including a win at Colorado’s High Lonesome 100. And she was ready for more.

“I think I was just craving adventure,” Porter says. “The full spectrum of highs, lows, challenges, victories, the whole thing.”

From her home in Flagstaff, Porter had already ventured onto sections of the AZT, so choosing her backyard trail for an FKT attempt seemed like a natural choice. Before she started running in her mid-20s, Porter did a lot of backpacking. She had a fascination with long trails and big adventures. But in contrast to the self-supported style favored by thru-hikers like Fowler, Porter found her stride alongside a team.

“It was really fun to have a crew and to share this experience with a group of people,” Porter says. “It ended up being probably the most enjoyable part of my experience, to share it with this incredible group of humans.”

After scouting parts of the trail in the brutal heat of July and August, Porter felt she had a good grasp on what she would need for her attempt. She set off from the northern terminus feeling confident, aiming for Joe “Stringbean” McConaughy’s supported record of 13 days, 3 hours, 21 minutes, which would require 63 miles per day.

“Day one Georgia, I don’t know her anymore. I’ve since died and been reborn a few times,” Porter says. “Looking back, I was really naive running the pace I was running. But it was really exciting. I felt amazing that first day. And it was clear, especially in the first week, there was so much to learn on the go for both me and the crew.”

 

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