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March 18, 2020 3 min read 19 Comments
While most of the nation is practicing social distancing away from large social gatherings, Kogalla athlete, Candice Burt is taking those measures to a whole other level — by running 800 miles in the Arizona desert with the help of a small support crew.
On March 15, at approximately 9:50 a.m., Burt began her attempt at setting the fastest known time (FKT) for the Arizona National Scenic Trail. The current female FKT for the trail is held by Helen Galerakis with a time of 17 days, 11 hours, 3 minutes, and was set going north to south on Nov 3, 2019. The overall FKT is held by Josh Perry, who set it October 2019, completing the distance in 14 days, 12 hours and 21 minutes. Burt has set a goal to complete the trail running south to north in under 14 days, which would clear the field on both the male and female sides.
The 800-mile trail begins on the Mexico/Arizona border, and moves north toward Utah, traversing the entire north-south length of Arizona. The trail moves through parts of the Huachuca, Santa Rita, and Rincon Mountains, making for some steep and technical terrain. But it isn’t just the rocky terrain, desert conditions or long miles that will make this attempt a challenge. With 14 days, also comes nearly as many nights. And in order to complete the distance in the goal time, Burt will have to spend many of those dark, night hours on the move.
Like many ultra distance athletes, the night hasn’t always been a friend to Burt. In 2012, after her first Wonderland Trail FKT run, she experienced a very scary time during the night that left her not only frightened, but traumatized for years.
“When I ran the Wonderland route solo in 2012, I had several animal encounters, all in the same 4-hour window of time,” she said. “I saw two bears and two mountain lions. It was all on the climb up from White River, at night. Having never encountered mountain lions and being alone with no way to defend myself, it was an extremely frightening and life changing encounter. Not only did I feel stronger for having gotten through the situation, I was also left traumatized, and for years after that was scared when running alone at night.”
Thankfully, Burt has had several more positive experiences running through the night since that time, that have allowed her to not only embrace the darkness, but to use it to her advantage in running successes.
The ultrarunner, who is also the race director and owner of Destination Trail races, has many FKT’s under her belt, including the following:
With two nights already in on the Arizona Trail, Burt is on track to get her goal with the help of her Kogalla Ultra Trail Light for what she says is “lighting up the night.”
Burt’s FKT attempt is in an effort to fundraise for Girls on the run in AZ, and the Arizona Trail Association. Updates to her progress can be found on her Instagram page @runcandicerun. You can also follow Candice via her live tracking page.
May 01, 2020
Wow, what an adventure
April 30, 2020
Wow !! Amazing ! - Coming across those animals at night & by herself - Candice is one tough cookie & a strong woman !!! May you continue to do what you love and break FKTs.
April 30, 2020
Amazing! I’ll be following along and look forward to hearing about the adventure when she’s done.
April 30, 2020
Awesome! I can’t imagine running the entire AZT, I’m hoping to bike pack it this fall.
April 30, 2020
Not easy running technical trails in the daylight. Quite a challenge wih terrain, weather AND a deadline. Good luck.
April 30, 2020
800 mile FKT; get after it!
April 30, 2020
Fight the dark and continue to press on
April 29, 2020
Inspiring
April 29, 2020
That light is a game changer! What a beast of a runner!
April 29, 2020
I can’t even fathom doing this!
April 29, 2020
That would be an amazing trail to run!
April 29, 2020
Quite the epic adventures – very inspiring
April 29, 2020
Candice, your determination inspires me to achieve my goals! I wish you break many record FKT in the future!
April 29, 2020
Amazing, 800 miles! You can do it!
April 29, 2020
NICE!
April 29, 2020
Candice Burt is very brave. Mountain lions and bears on a running course would be scary!
April 29, 2020
Interesting vid. The nighttime stuff is particularly interesting.
March 20, 2020
YOU are amazing and what an incredible undertaking! Stay strong Candice! We are all cheering for you!
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Peter Filipowicz
May 02, 2020
Very cool! Motivating! Woooo!