Ultra runner Georgia Porter has claimed a new speed record on the 800-mile Arizona Trail just four days after Nick Fowler set a new Fastest Known Time on the same trail.
Posting on Instagram yesterday, the Flagstaff-based runner writes that she completed an "unofficial FKT" – because her data still needs to be reviewed – when she ran the trail in 16 days, 22 hours and 6 minutes, which works out to an average of 48 miles per day.
If her time is ratified by the FKT website, it shaves 13 hours off the previous record, set by Helen Galerakis in 2019.
Porter live-shared her journey on Garmin, which reveals that like Fowler, she chose to run southbound on the trail which covers 100,000 feet of elevation gain and crosses the Grand Canyon and Saguaro National Park.
She also had a team posting for her on Instagram, which reveals she covered a whopping 58 miles on day one, ran from the north to south rim of the Grand Canyon on day two and shed some tears on day three. She later ran through her hometown and enjoyed a massage on day five, while on day six she "found a new relationship with pain".
Adding to the excitement, her team managed to lose her Instagram login and had to set up a new account to continue to narrate her journey, where we learned she had encountered a rattlesnake on day 12 but emerged unscathed and found victory four days later.
"Georgia Adventure Porter (yes that is her middle name) experienced a multitude of trials, tribulations, the 5 stages of grief (at least 30+ times)," writes her team, summing up her journey with the following:
"Achey feet (like so achey), exhaustion, giggles, sleep deprivation, smiles, tears, ridiculous trail talks with all her pacers, so many tortilla wrapped foods, chilly mornings, hot days, multiple “The best meals ever had” and a journey inside of herself that is hard for anyone but her to capture with words."
If her time is confirmed, Porter will hold the new female FKT for a supported effort, which means she enlisted the helps of others for supplies and gear. The female self-supported effort is currently held by Katie Brown who ran the trail in in 17 days, 19 hours and 52 minutes in 2022. Earlier this year, Porter placed second in the Black Canyon 60k and in 2023 she won the High Lonesome 100 Mile and came fourth at Run Rabbit Run.
