The Appalachian Trail is 2,190 miles long, stretching from Georgia to Maine. Only one in four hikers complete the trip and it normally takes five to seven months to complete. A guy named Karl, or “Speedgoat,” just did it in 45 days.
48-year-old Red Bull athlete Karl “Speedgoat” Meltzer shattered the Appalachian Trail thru-hike speed record Sunday, finishing the trail with a final time of 45 days, 22 hours and 38 minutes. He hiked 83 miles his last day, zipping up a trip in which he took approximately 4.2 million steps, burned 345,100 calories, ran 678 hours and used up 20 pairs of shoes.
Sunday’s record-setting accomplishment, in which he emerged from the trail’s southern terminus at Springer Mountain, Ga. at 3:38 a.m., also came after two previous speed record attempts on the Appalachian Trail in 2008 and 2014.
“It’s been a long journey,” Meltzer said. “I’ve been trying to get this record for eight years, and I was finally successful. It just took me three tries to do it. It’s a very special time right now, definitely a stamp on my career.”
Karl Meltzer receives a kiss after breaking the record for running the length of the Appalachian Trail on 18 September, 2016.
Meltzer began his journey at 5 a.m. on Aug. 3 from Mt. Katahdin, Maine. He averaged 47 miles per day at a pace of 3.2 miles per hour. His record-setting time beat the previous record by more than ten hours, which was set by Scott Jurek last year.
The record-setting hike had been in planning fore more than two years. Meltzer even had his own crew following him via satellite-linked SPOT tracker that reported his location every two-to-three minutes. Some followed alongside Meltzer during his trip providing him food, water, medical aid and logistical support.
“Eric Belz was the best. Karl Senior was amazing,” Meltzer said of his crew. “For the crew, enduring 46 days of this was probably harder for them than it was for me. Without them it wouldn’t have happened.”
Karl Meltzer, celebrates with his family and crew chief after breaking the record for running the length of the Appalachian Trail on 18 September, 2016. // Carl Rosen / Red Bull Content Pool
Meltzer’s diet on the trip? Everything: steak, fried chicken, ice cream, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, hamburgers, steamed vegetables, pasta, Red Bull and beer (at dinner).
Daily updates from Meltzer’s trip can be found here. A camera crew also traveled with him. A documentary will be released sometime next year.
Crew chief Eric Belz shows Karl Meltzer and his father the map for the next leg of the trail in Georgia on Karl’s attempt to break the record for running the length of the Appalachian Trail on 17 September, 2016.
The Appalachian Trail runs from Maine to Georgia stretching 2,190 miles through 14 states. It is roughly the distance between Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
“The highlight of the trail is sitting here (at the end), but it’s also the magic of the place. Just being on the trail is really a highlight,” Meltzer said.
Meltzer is among the world’s most accomplished ultrarunners and holds the record for the most career wins in 100-mile races, including five Hardrock Hundred Mile Endurance Runs and six Wasatch Front 100 Mile Endurance Runs.
Karl Meltzer arrives at the finish area to break the record for running the length of the Appalachian Trail on 18 September, 2016.
Josh Helmuth is the editor of Crave Sports.
Photos: Red Bull Content Pool
