Wonderland Trail FKT: Dylan Bowman Smashes Record

Ultrarunner Dylan Bowman just set a pretty impressive FKT.

Dylan Bowman, a Boulder ultrarunner, has racked up another fastest known time. He finished the Wonderland Trail yesterday evening around 9 p.m. in 16 hours and 58 minutes, breaking the previous FKT by 1 hour and 29 minutes. With his time, he was running the trail at a pace of over 5 mph.

The Wonderland Trail is a 93-mile loop that circumnavigates Mount Rainer within Mount Rainier National Park. It has lots of technical terrain, footbridges, rock scrambles, dense forests, and over 22,000 feet of elevation gain. The trail is usually completed by hikers in 7-14 days.

Dylan began the Wonderland Trail on August 19, hoping to break the previous record-holder’s time of 18:27:42, set in 2018.

“Dylan pushed hard to get himself ahead of pace early on, sitting 50+ minutes ahead of pace 21 miles in,” Red Bull PR wrote. And the Wonderland Trail is no easy task. If you’re going for a record (read: running 93 miles), you’ve got to start and finish strong.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, many iconic trails have seen an uptick of athletes attempting FKTs.

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Wonderland Trail FKT: Dylan Bowman’s Gear

We got the chance to talk to Dylan right before he embarked on what became a successful FKT attempt. He gave us the rundown on his Wonderland Trail kit.

Nutrition/Fuel

I normally like to function on a mostly liquid diet for long, hard pushes like races and FKTs. I will have a few cans of Red Bull at various crew support stops, and will otherwise mostly subsist on high-calorie drink mix, which is extra delicious when combined with the plentiful, fresh, glacial water all over Mt. Rainier. If I get hungry, I’ll have a Bobo’s Oat Bar.

Shoes

I’ll be wearing a top-secret prototype from The North Face. It’s the most cushioned model in the totally revamped footwear product line TNF is bringing to market in early 2021. I’m really excited about these shoes.

Pack

I’ll be wearing the TNF Flight Trail Vest, which I helped develop with the brand a couple years ago. It’s the best trail running pack on the market in my opinion. I have a lot of confidence in the product.

Clothing & Accessories

• TNF Better Than Naked apparel
• Compressport compression socks
• LEKI running poles
• Suunto GPS watch
• Julbo sunglasses

Aid

My wife, Harmony, will be graciously driving around the mountain babysitting my effort. I’ll see her four times over the course of the 93 miles. She’s supported me at big races all over the world and we have our systems really dialed. The goal is always to minimize stoppage time, which Harmony is very good at.