The allure of long trails is undeniable – the ultimate test of one’s ability to endure while covering distances unimaginable to most. But were were curious. Have women established many FKT times on these long challenges? How do women stack up over all when they do? Here’s what we found:
Of the 55 long FKTs (routes over 600 miles long, counting variations), 37 don’t have any women’s times (67 percent). Four are held by women outright (seven percent), including the grand daddy of all hiking loops – the Triple Crown (PCT, Continental Divide and Appalachian trails) by Heather Anderson. Two are held by mixed gender teams (three percent). 17 routes (31%) have no FKT holder whatsoever.
If you find a route with no posted women’s time that you want to go after, you will still need to research Strava (though it is unlikely you will find any records for long trails such as these there) and use Google to see if there are any known times out there. Just because there is no posted women’s time does not mean that one does not exist!
For those of you who enjoy the challenge of the long trails, there are certainly some opportunities to establish some women’s FKTs. Go get after it!
| Route Name | Country | Distance in Miles | Overall FKT Holder | Variation | Time | Posted women's FKT? | Women's Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Triple Crown Thru Hiking USA | USA | 7,944 | Heather Anderson | Standard | 251d 20h 10m 0s | Yes | 251d 20h 10m 0s |
| Great Western Loop | USA | 6,900 | Jeff Garmire | Standard | 208d 15h0m 0s | No | |
| North Country Trail | USA | 4,600 | Ryan Bunting + Dana Burkett | Standard | 186d 9h 38m21s | ||
| Transcanada | Canada | 4,446 | Dave Proctor | Standard | 67d 10h27m 0s | No | |
| X-Country | Australia | 3,122 | No | ||||
| East Coast Greenway | USA | 3,000 | Shan Riggs | Standard | 77d 7h0m 0s | No | |
| Continental Divide Trail | USA | 2,975 | Jeff Garmire | Standard | 79d 23h 57m0s | No | |
| Pacific Crest Trail | USA | 2,592 | Timothy Olson | South to North | 51d 16h 55m 0s | Yes | 60d 17h 12m 0s |
| Pacific Crest Trail | USA | 2,592 | Scott Williamson | North to South | 64d 11h 19m 0s | No | |
| Pacific Crest Trail | USA | 2,592 | Scott Williamson | Yo-yo | 191d 1h 20m 0s | Yes | 195d 0h 0m 0s |
| Pacific Crest Trail | USA | 2,592 | Justin Lichter + Shawn Forry | Winter | 132d 0h 0m0s | No | |
| Run Around Poland | Poland | 2,484 | Artur Kujawinski | Standard | 69d 3h30m 0s | No | |
| Appalachian Trail | USA | 2,189 | Karel Sabbe | Northbound | 41d 7h39m 0s | Yes | 51d 16h 30m 0s |
| Appalachian Trail | USA | 2,189 | Karl Meltzer | Southbound | 45d 22h38m 0s | Yes | 46d 11h 20m 0s |
| Te Araroa | New Zealand | 1,863 | George Henderson | Standard | 49d 14h27m 0s | Yes | 57d 12h16m 0s |
| River Danube Sea to Source | Germany | 1,840 | No | ||||
| Norge på langs (nordryggen) | Norway | 1,685 | No | ||||
| Baja Divide | Mexico | 1,670 | No | ||||
| NPL - North Cape to Lindesnes | Norway | 1,615 | Simen Holvik | Standard | 25d 15h 20m 0s | No | |
| Via Alpina, Red Trail | Slovenia Italy Austria Germany Liechtenstein Switzerland France Monaco | 1,550 | Karel Sabbe | 30d 8h 40m0s | No | ||
| GR5 intégral | Netherlands Belgium Luxembourg France | 1,366 | Mickaël Berthon | Standard | 29d 22h39m 0s | No | |
| Trans-Sweden | Sweden | 1,336 | Roxen Roxvret | Standard | 23d 17h50m 0s | No | |
| GR34 | France | 1,307 | Jérémy Desdouets | Standard | 27d 11h35m 0s | No | |
| Mormon Pioneer Trail (IL, IA, NE, WY, UT) | USA | 1,297 | No | ||||
| Around the Czechia | Czech Republic | 1,254 | No | ||||
| E1 - Germany | Germany | 1,169 | No | ||||
| Lake Michigan Circumnavigation (MI, WI, IN, IL) | USA | 1,104 | No | ||||
| Florida Trail (FL) | USA | 1,100 | Sean Blanton | Standard | 22d 7h28m 0s | Yes | 31d 4h38m 0s |
| Florida Trail (FL) | USA | 1,100 | Amy Ansbaugh | Via WesternCorridor | 45d 17h37m 0s | Yes | 45d 17h37m 0s |
| Rocky Mountains Slam (CO, WY, MT) | USA | 1,030 | Eric Gilbertson | Standard | 60d 9h 20m 0s | Yes | |
| Great Smoky Mountains National Park 900 (NC, TN) | USA | 900 | Nancy East + Chris Ford | Standard | 29d 10h 12m0s | No | |
| Idaho Centennial Trail (ID) | USA | 887 | No | ||||
| Munros Round | United Kingdom | 883 | Donnie Campbell | Open course, self powered | 31d 23h 2m 0s | No | |
| Wales Coast Path | United Kingdom | 870 | Rhys Jenkins | Standard | 20d 10h36m 0s | Yes | 24d 0h 0m 0s |
| Icelandic Ring Road | Iceland | 864 | No | ||||
| Trans-Texas (TX) | USA | 850 | Don Muchow | Any route | 27d 8h36m 0s | No | |
| JOGLE / LEJOG | United Kingdom | 826 | Dan Lawson | LEJOG | 9d 21h14m 2s | Yes | 12d 0h30m 14s |
| JOGLE / LEJOG | United Kingdom | 826 | Sharon Gayter | JOGLE | 12d 11h6m 7s | Yes | 12d 11h6m 7s |
| JOGLE / LEJOG | United Kingdom | 826 | Rhys Jenkins | JOGLE + 3Summits | 23d 7h19m 0s | No | |
| Ice Age Trail (WI) | USA | 823 | Coree Woltering | Standard | 21d 13h35m 0s | Yes | 21d 18h7m 0s |
| Arizona Trail (AZ) | USA | 817 | Joe "Stringbean" McConaughy | Standard | 13d 3h 21m 0s | Yes | 17d 11h3m 0s |
| GR3: Along the Loire | France | 808 | No | ||||
| Great Divide Trail (AB & BC) | Canada | 745 | No | ||||
| Great Divide Trail (AB & BC) | Canada | 745 | No | ||||
| International Appalachian Trail - Maine, NB, QC | USA, Canada | 745 | No | ||||
| Shikoku Pilgrimage | Japan | 683 | Léonie van den Haak | Standard | 14d 10h 29m 0s | Yes | 14d 10h 29m 0s |
| South West Coast Path | United Kingdom | 630 | Dave Phillips | Wholeroute - one way | 10d 8h 24m44s | Yes | 18d 14h 42m42s |
| South West Coast Path | United Kingdom | 630 | Andy Imms | Jurassic Coast - one way | 1d 7h 13m 56s | No | |
| Ireland Way | Ireland | 628 | Ludwig Öst | Standard | 24d 8h20m 15s | No | |
| Via Francigena Italiana | Italy | 625 | No | ||||
| GTA - Grande Traversata delle Alpi | Italy | 621 | No | ||||
| Trans-Tennessee (TN) | USA | 621 | No | ||||
| Bibbulmun Track (WA) | Australia | 616 | Shane Johnstone | Standard | 11d 7h 8m 0s | Yes | 10d 17h 57m 0s |
| Monarch's Way | United Kingdom | 615 | Vic Izzy Owens | Standard | 13d 13h38m 0s | Yes | 13d 13h38m 0s |
| From Lowest To Highest | Germany | 614 | Annie Voigt | Standard | 26d 3h26m 57s | Yes | 26d 3h26m 57s |