We’ll all remember 2020 as the year of the COVID-19 pandemic. In running, it will be remembered as the year of the fastest known time—or FKT for short.

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If you don’t know what an FKT is, it’s exactly what it sounds like: the fastest known time on a certain route that is at least five miles long or has 500 feet of climbing. It is often compared to a Strava segment, but you can’t get a fastest known time on your neighborhood loop. FKTs are run on already-established routes of all terrains—trails, roads, beaches, mountains—ranging from single-digit mile routes up and down mountains to the 2,100 miles across the entire Appalachian Trail.

FKTs have been around for many years, though recording official times is fairly new trend for a part of the sport that has taken off in the past decade. In fact, when races went out the window with the pandemic, runners naturally transitioned to racing the clock on routes all over the world. That led to 3,054 FKT submissions on fastestknowntime.com—the keeper of official FKT times and routes—in the year 2020. This was a nearly 400-percent increase year over year.

Races will return one day, hopefully soon, but FKTs aren’t going anywhere. They are a fun way to push your limits on your own schedule, while seeing amazing parts of the country on foot.

“Any one can do this,” Buzz Burrell, an FKT legend and co-founder of fastestknowntime.com, told Runner’s World. “On pavement, beach, trails, wherever. There are routes in all 50 states and all over the world. Find one that has meaning to you and go for it.”

Are you curious about the FKT world? Here’s what you should know.

What Exactly Is an FKT?

An FKT is a fastest known time. Your goal is to get from Point A to Point B as fast as you can on a designated route. A few things differentiate it from an actual race.

First, you are not technically racing anyone else while you are running. You pick the date and start time, and you either try to beat the existing fastest known time or you run as fast as you can to set the first official fastest known time on a new route. As long as you follow the listed route and run faster than the record that exists, you can submit your FKT and your name will be listed.

Secondly, the entirety of the event is on you. That means there are no course markings or race marshals directing you where to go, no aid stations along the way, or any sort of thing you pay a registration fee for. You can have these things, if you want, but you and your crew have to set it up.

Who Can Do One?

Anyone is allowed to attempt an FKT on any trail at any time at any point in a year! You don’t have to be a professional, though pros like Rob Krar, Courtney Dauwalter, Coree Woltering, Amelia Boone, Jim Walmsley, and Karel Sabbe all have FKTs to their name.

“It isn’t about how long you can go,” Burrell said. “This is for everybody. Anyone can do this wherever it is you want to do it.”

Okay, So Pretty Much Anything Can Be an FKT, Right?

No—that’s what Strava is for. FKTs are like the Supreme Court opinion on pornography from Justice Potter Stewart: “I know it when I see it.” In the case of FKTs, the people who need to see it are Burrell and fellow fastestknowntime.com co-founder Peter Bakwin. They look at every single submission on the site and evaluate all new routes. Put simply, they’re looking for one big thing.

“It’s a little subjective, but the route has to be attractive enough so other people would want to do it,” Burrell said. “This route in your neighborhood—sorry, that’s a Strava segment. I love Strava. I have friends who work there. This is different. An FKT has meaning. Everyone who has an FKT on our site has won their race. That’s special. If you came up even a minute short, you’re not listed.”

Currently, there are more than 3,200 routes listed around the world, all of which are at least five miles long or have at least 500 feet of climbing. Not everything will qualify to be an FKT, but that doesn’t mean you can’t seek out new routes and adventures. If you want to learn more about FKT guidelines, you can find them here.

“If you see a route you want to do, you don’t have to tell us about it,” Burrell said. “Just go do it and submit it as an FKT. We’ll get it. Nothing people submit automatically goes on the site. Someone looks at it and verifies it before it’s posted.”


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How Did This All Start?

Before the gravitas of closed streets and marked courses came to the world, FKTs were pretty much what people did. People have been running routes and tracking their times forever. So, FKTs have been around as long as that has been a thing.

What has been more common in recent decades, especially the late 2000s to now, is that we’re doing a better job of keeping track of it all. A lot of that credit goes to Bakwin and Burrell. Sports like cycling, skiing, horse racing, and paddling have long had similar trackers in their sports. Running finally has its own.

Is There Only One Way to Do an FKT?

Good question. Most single-day routes are just split by gender—male, female, non-binary. It’s important to note that if you submit with that time, it has to be the fastest overall time for it to be listed.

For longer routes, there are a few different options aside from just gender. Namely, you can go supported (with a crew or some sort of outside assistance), unsupported (without any outside assistance), or self-supported (you may have as much support as you can find along the way, but nothing pre-arranged). These categories typically are only used for FKTs that take longer than six hours.

Groups or teams can complete FKTs together under any of the above three categories. However, if a team member drops, they are considered a pacer and the attempt will automatically be categorized as supported.Additional, those rarer, categories include directions, round trips, laps, ascents, and seasons. You can find more on that here.

Okay, So I’m Gonna Do One. What Do I Need to Know?

Places like the Guinness Book of World Records have very thorough certification processes that include many required documents and assets. Submitting an FKT is much simpler, which adds to its accessibility. The only thing you need to provide other than your name and some basic information is—and this is essential—the GPS data. Without it, you cannot get the FKT.

It’s the same situation if you’re submitting a new route for certification. It is subjective, but as Burrell said above, if it’s going to attract other runners, then you’ve got a pretty good chance.

“It wasn’t that long ago that GPS was considered a big ask,” Burrell said. “Nowadays, everybody has it. There’s no reason not to require it.”

Back in the early days of submitting FKTs, it mostly done by word of mouth and trust that the runner completed the run in the time they said. The advancements made with running watches having GPS trackers has made it so there isn’t much argument anymore.


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In running, it will be remembered as the year of the fastest known timeor FKT for short
In running, it will be remembered as the year of the fastest known timeor FKT for short

Is There a Mount Rushmore of FKTs?

No, not officially. However, in 2020, Burrell and Bakwin announced these were the 10 premier FKT routes in the U.S. in 2020:

Remember, a big point of FKTs is their accessibility, so if you don’t live near these routes, no big deal! Also, we feel like the Pacific Crest Trail was snubbed...

Is There a Governing Body?

Technically, there is no officially recognized organization that oversees and certifies FKTs. That’s only because they can’t legally call themselves that. The founders of fastestknowntime.com have been the sport’s unofficial certifiers and keepers of running and hiking FKTs for over a decade.

They know this part of the sport better than anyone. They’ve held countless FKTs themselves and created famous routes like the Grand Canyon’s R2R2R-alt. They’ve dedicated their lives to it, and for over a decade have volunteered their time so that there could be a place where FKT routes and times could live for everyone to see. They also have a pretty sweet podcast with many FKTers that’s worth checking out here.

What If I’m Not Fast Enough For an FKT?

That’s okay! You can still run or walk or hike an FKT route, even if you’re not going for the actual record. FKTs are supposed to be difficult. That’s why only the names of the fastest people appear on the site. There’s no ranking or top 10. Just the fastest per gender and, in some cases, supported versus unsupported. But don’t let that deter you from some of the amazing runs that exist as FKT routes. Many of them are single day treks that you should definitely look up, and you can even search ones by state or around the world that are close by or just peak your interest.

Burrell’s advice on this is simple: “Go find your own meaning on a route. It’s not like you’re getting paid anyways. Go make your own adventure. That’s the real beauty of FKTs.”

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Andrew Dawson
Are you curious about the FKT world? Heres what you should know

In running, it will be remembered as the year of the fastest known timeor FKT for short Runner’s World and Bicycling, and he specializes in writing and editing human interest pieces while also covering health, wellness, gear, and fitness for the brand. His work has previously been published in Men’s Health.