When Nick Fowler started his record-setting fastest known time (FKT) run of the Arizona Trail, it’s safe to say that his condition was far from perfect. Fowler and his wife welcomed their first child, Canyon, at the end of September. So, he was sleep-deprived and way behind on training.
He first embarked on the trail on Oct. 24, ran over 100 miles, and then got so sick he had to bail. He rested for just 2 days. Then, he returned to the Arizona Trail once again.
This time — despite continuing hunger and fatigue from his previous attempt — Fowler shrugged off the pain. He ran multiple 20-mile stretches on just 2L of water. Discomfort from his chafed skin was so bad he hiked naked in the early morning darkness just for some relief. Halfway through the journey, his quilt got soaked and never completely dried, leaving him shivering under a wet blanket during the freezing nights.
But 12 days, 17 hours, and 33 minutes after he started, Fowler had logged one of the most incredible records in his already impressive career as an endurance runner. His record has been officially confirmed by fastestknowntime.com.
He calls the experience “amazing” and “beautiful.” In an interview with GearJunkie last week, it became clear that Fowler truly loves being outside — even in circumstances that would be agonizing to almost anyone else.
And while he’s already set FKTs on trails even longer than this one, Fowler thinks he may have reached a new level of ability this time around. In less than 2 weeks on the trail, he covered 64 miles a day, on average.
That includes 3 days of 70 or more miles of Arizona’s constantly changing terrain, with temperatures ranging from blistering hot to freezing cold and sections with 1,000 feet of elevation gain every mile.
Sound tough? It is. But for Fowler, “it was an absolute blast.”
Arizona Trail FKT: Nick Fowler’s Desert Record
Andrew McLemore (GearJunkie): So you finished the 817-mile Arizona Trail on Nov. 9. Today is Nov. 22. How are you feeling?
Nick Fowler: I’m still hurting, but it’s getting better. It’s probably gonna take me longer to recover from this one than it took me to hike it. Actually, it already has been.
This has hurt my feet more than anything I’ve ever done before. On Day 6, my down quilt got soaked and never dried. And it was freezing most days. I was off my feet for 3 to 4 hours of sleep each day during the second half. Imagine sleeping outside when it’s freezing with a wet blanket on you. So, there were some moments, but it was an absolute blast. Â
What attracted you to this trail at this point in your career?
I had thru-hiked it slowly in March 2023. It was a gorgeous trail with beautiful sunrises and sunsets. The scenery changes constantly because of the diverse geography in Arizona. It’s too pretty of a trail not to do an FKT on it. I thought it deserved something epic, so I was brainstorming about it over the last couple of years.
Why did you decide on this time of year?
The spring has too much snow built up from the winter. I think it’s definitely a fall trail; I was trying to maximize the weather window. I do better in the cold than in the heat. It went from 95 degrees to freezing super fast. I almost thought I lost my weather window, but I guess it turned out OK.
You had a bit of a rough time on your first attempt at this, right? Can you tell us about that?
Yeah, it was awful and so embarrassing. I went into this very unsure. My son was born in September, but this had been in the plans since 2023. And then we found out my wife was pregnant earlier this year. But my wife is so supportive and told me to go ahead anyway. But I still didn’t want to leave unless I knew she was 100% OK. Then, the baby was born, and I was not training properly, and I was sleep-deprived.
I started on [October 24] and bailed on the evening of the 25th. Ended up curled up in the fetal position on the Grand Canyon. I was completely depleted from puking my guts out. I was just focused on surviving.
Then, I rested for 2 days, and I restarted on the 28th. Imagine doing a 100-miler, resting for 2 days, and then doing an 800-miler. I think I got too low on calories. If you’re not fueling properly, you can get sick. I wasn’t hydrating.
Because I had just run 100 miles, I was way hungrier. At the end of Day 2, on my successful attempt, I was at 143 miles. I was averaging 70 miles a day at first. I was not planning on that; it just happened.
How does 70 miles a day ‘just happen’?
I was running more than I was expecting. I had an epiphany on Day 2. I’m running more than I was planning, but I realized that if you’re tired but you just keep running no matter what, you cover more ground.
Do you feel like you have reached a new level with your endurance ability?
I feel like I’m improving. And I feel like I am getting better every single time. I finally came to a realization on this one that when your feet hurt bad enough, it hurts less to run than to walk. ‘Cause there’s less contact on the ground with your feet. I know that sounds crazy, but you just have to trust me.
How do you structure your days to cover 70 miles daily?
So, the first 300 miles are the easiest part of the entire trail. My original goal was to do 62 miles a day. I wake up at 3 a.m. and hopefully get done by 10:30 p.m.
Eventually, I was moving from 3 a.m. until midnight, moving 3 to 5 mph most of the time. Eventually, I was just doing 3 mph. I have a pretty good habit of eating every hour on the hour. I was so hungry on Day 9 that I was eating 600 calories an hour. As for water, I got really dehydrated. I often did 20-mile stretches on 2L of water.Â
That’s not a lot of water …
Yeah, but you go faster. When I finished, it took me over 24 hours to pee — that’s how dehydrated I was.
How was your body doing?
In the middle of the day, you kind of forget your pain. But at night and in the morning, the first couple of miles are pretty awful. The second night, at mile 143, I was in so much pain I probably got less than 3 hours of sleep. I only took four ibuprofen a day to protect my kidneys. And I remembered thinking, “I need to get more meds; this is awful.”
Do you have any rituals for taking care of your body after these epic days?
Not really. Or not on this one, anyway. In my mindset, 800 miles is not long enough to take time for soaking [my legs in cold water]. In my mind, this is short, and I don’t have time to take off for anything.
I have a nightly routine for FKTs, where I take vitamins and protein shakes during the last mile. So they’re already going into effect by the time I stop for the night.
Then I stretch for 5 minutes and massage my feet for 5 minutes. But I don’t think I stretched or massaged every night on this one. I was just so tired. I was just like, “I have to go to sleep.”
You’ve also set FKTs on the Pacific Crest Trail, Oregon Coast Trail, and Ozark Trail. How does this compare to your other record-setting trail runs?
One, I’m getting better. I’m trying to improve. But also, in my mind, 800 miles is long enough to be epic and fun, but short enough that you can go balls to the wall.
Also, I love deserts. All the cacti and different animals. It’s a very inspiring and beautiful trail. Some parts of the trail are flat, so you can really move, but there are also climbs with 1,000 feet of elevation gain per mile. It’s a unique trail.
It was an amazing experience. I had an absolute blast out there, despite how miserable it may have sounded at times. The “suck” is part of what makes it so awesome.
I saw on Instagram you lost your hat from your PCT record. What happened? What other gear was really important to you during this challenge?
I was so distraught about that. It was the hat I wore on the PCT. I have a strong emotional connection to that trail. I was so tired that I was crying because I lost my hat. And I also really needed it. The Arizona sun was baking me, so I had to finish the last 400 miles with no sun protection. That was the most special piece of gear to me.
Congratulations on having your baby in September. How are you thinking about juggling fatherhood with your outdoor adventures?
I can’t wait to get him lost outside. One full wall of the baby room is a climbing wall.
So, the hope is that Canyon learns to climb before he walks?
100%!
What else would you like people to know?
I wrote a book called Itch: A Pacific Northwest Trail Story. It’s about my first FKT. I had no idea what I was doing, but I fell in love with FKTs. That’s when I realized this is what I want to do. There’s something so cool about experiencing multiple different environments within 24 hours … I just love being outside.
