Around 5 a.m. on Tuesday, October 17, French ultrarunner Fran莽ois D鈥橦aene arrived at the northernmost point of the John Muir Trail just two days, 19 hours, and 26 minutes after departing from the trail鈥檚 southern terminus. In doing so, the 31-year-old set a new supported Fastest Known Time聽on the iconic trail that traverses eastern California鈥檚 Sierra Mountains. His effort shattered of three days, seven hours, and 36 minutes.聽
D鈥橦aene began on Saturday morning at the base of 14,505-foot Mount Whitney and聽continued聽north to聽Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley. In total, the trail climbs more than 47,000 vertical feet, and winds through extremely remote sections of Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Yosemite National Parks. D鈥橦aene was gifted with clear, cool fall conditions for all three days鈥攁 rarity given the height and exposure of the JMT that often results in extreme heat鈥攁nd team of Salomon crew members who met him at various points along the trail with food, water, supplies, and a bed for temporary naps.聽
The聽record-setting run comes just over a month and half after D鈥橦aene won the prestigious and highly competitive Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc鈥攁 103-mile race with over 30,000 feet of elevation gain鈥攆or the third time.聽Over the last five years, D鈥橦aene has established himself as one of the world鈥檚 most dominant mountain runners. 鈥淗e鈥檚 the best in the world at anything over 50 miles,鈥 says聽, a North Face ultrarunner聽who had previously set the record in 2013.聽鈥淚鈥檓 not surprised that he crushed it.鈥
The John Muir Trail tops the bucket list for many ambitious ultraunners due to the combination of its relatively manageable distance聽and challenging, high-alpine conditions. The trail has聽a rich history of notable FKT record-setters over the past 15 years, including elite runners Peter Bakwin, Hal聽Koerner, Brett Maune, and Wolfe. With D鈥橦aene鈥檚 most recent dominance, it may be some time until we see a new name at the top of that list.