I now have two places at fastestknowntime.com, one for the Harry Green Way and another for the Knightley Way ‘out & back’ route. Neither are fast times, having just walked the routes. The Knightley Way has been run in the one direction in well under two hours, meaning the double could be done by a capable distance runner in half or even a third of my time. One is automatically called an ‘athelete’ on the web site – I’ve done nothing to deserve the term.
The FKT web site goes back to March 2018, previously existing as a message board managed by ultrarunner Peter Bakwin and two friends from at least 2009, but has just been acquired by Outside Interactive Inc. There are over 5300 routes listed across the world with new ones being added daily, almost 200 so far this year. In the UK there are just under 1400, from the 5½ mile Langdon Hills Ridge in Essex to trails of many hundreds of miles. Let’s hope the site retains its non-commercial, amateur ethos under the new owners.
So, what can this ‘athelete’ achieve? I’ve admittedly got the bug. A few years ago I took up running briefly, reaching eight miles (13km), but stopped after I developed a cyst on the bottom of my left foot – a stress injury, perhaps.
In my 58th year, I think it’s that now-or-never moment. I’m going to run again, starting tomorrow, 17th April. My goal? One kilometer. That’s all. A continuous run of one-thousand metres. That’s my only goal. I’d like to run much, much further, but that’s just idle day-dreaming. One kilometer is all I’m after, starting tomorrow.
JONRUS.COM 