FKT-46 ADK HIGH PEAKS-SUPPORTED

Adirondack 46 High Peaks with support from crew.

Jan Wellford

June 24th- 27th

3D 17H 14M

Exclusive Q&A With Jan

Name: Jan Wellford

Age: 26

Residence: Keene Valley

Occupation: Mountaineer sales staff

ADKTRAILRUN: So what was your record setting time for the ADK 46? Start/Finish time? Dates?

JAN: 3 days 17 hours 14 minutes. Started Tuesday June 24th at 4:32 am, finished Friday June 27th at 9:46 pm. The previous record was 3 days 18 hours 14 minutes, by Ted Keizer (Cave Dog).

ADKTRAILRUN: Did you improve upon the style of the previous record if so how?

JAN: I started the clock at the first trailhead, rather than at the base of the first mountain (which was a lean-to 5 miles in during the previous record).

ADKTRAILRUN: What was your schedule/time line of peaks?

JAN: See CHART

COLVIN

ADKTRAILRUN: How much sleep did you get?

JAN: I slept a little over 9 hours (3, 2+, 4)

ADKTRAILRUN: Any things to declare regarding the style you completed the 46? Aids, access ect?

JAN: I had hoped to use only public trailheads, eliminating the use of private access roads from the previous records. In the end I used the private access to Allen.

ADKTRAILRUN: How long have you been training for this huge endeavor?

JAN: I have been training specifically for only two months, but started with a great foundation from a winter of backcountry skiing and a summer of long hikes and ultra trail runs in ‘07.

ADKTAILRUN: What kind of gear were you using? Shoes, packs clothes ect?

JAN:Montrail Hardrock shoes with Montrail Enduro soles (aftermarket footbeds) were by far the most important piece of gear for me-I rotated five pairs during the event.

ADKTRAILRUN: Who helped you complete the 46-speed record? Pacers/aid/moral/JC ect?

ROCKY PEAK RIDGE

JAN: I had help from an amazing group of friends who met me along the route with food and water, paced me, set up camp and encouraged me. My wife Meg was number one-she did everything and worked so hard to make it all happen. Cory Delavalle was an outstanding pacer, hiking over 60 miles in two days and keeping me going when it got tough.

Christine Bourjade, Adam Crofoot, Julia Gronski, Jenny Mugrace, Drew Haas, Jeremy Haas, Rik Jordan, Gary Koch, Steve & Yarrow Pasche, Eric Sicard, Jeremiah Reiner, Tom Haskins and Stephen Mergenthaler also helped by pacing me, meeting me with food and water, setting up a campsite and inspiring me throughout the event.

ADKTRAILRUN: What kinds of foods did you consume? What will you not eat for a long time?

JAN: Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and pretzels with dark chocolate Toblerone were constants the whole time. Dinners included pasta with sausage and red sauce, pizza and Annie’s mac & cheese. I also ate Gu, Clif Bloks, Ensure, Pringles, peanut butter filled pretzels, cookies and more. I was pretty sick of most of this food by the end of the event, but not enough that I won’t eat it again soon!

ADKTRAILRUN: What hurts?…Actually what doesn’t hurt may be easier to list?

JAN: Pretty much just the knees, but they hurt a lot. I had fairly intense knee pain for about 4 days after the event and it’s still lingering one week later. I did some easy hiking then and they feel pretty good, so I hope it’s nothing serious!

ADKTRAILRUN: Was there anytime that you doubted that you could pull this off?

JAN: I had doubts on day 2 when I was running way behind schedule, but I didn’t allow myself to consider it too much, hoping that by making some adjustments (like postponing Big Slide until day 3 and the Dix Range until day 4) I’d still be able to make it. Luckily it worked out, with only an hour to spare.

DIX #46!

ADKTRAILRUN: What was your lowest point and highest point?

JAN: The low point was forgetting to take ibuprophen or bring it with me on the way into the Santanonis and worrying that I’d have to bail because of the pain. Additional lows included getting caught in a driving rain with Cory for about 1.5 hours on the Dix Range and worrying about Hypothermia, and the hike out from Dix to the Round Pond trailhead.

Otherwise I was pretty much on a high the whole time. Even when it was tough I was having fun, feeling lucky to be out in the mountains doing what I love the most.

ADKTRAILRUN: What would you do different to better you record time?

JAN: I would try to eliminate private land by making my route more efficient. Because I was behind schedule so early on day 2 I was forced to hike some extra miles in order to make the route work. For example, it is easy to bushwhack from Dial to the Dix trail, but I wasn’t on Dial until after 9pm, so the bushwhack would have been in the dark and the Dix Range would have been very difficult because of the late hour. I hiked about 153 miles-I initially thought I could do the entire route without private land in as little as 145 if I did it properly.

ADKTRAILRUN: Any thoughts at another speed record attempt in the future? Cuz you set a pretty “soft” record.

JAN: No Comment

ADKTRAILRUN: What’s next the NH48, Long Trail, NPT, Disneyland?

JAN: Resting and healing for another week or so, and then back into running to train for a potential 100 mile ultra this fall.

ADKTRAILRUN: Thanks Jan, Anything else to say?

JAN: Thanks to everyone who helped and encouraged me–I couldn’t have done it without you. I hope others will continue to attempt to improve the style of the speed record-it can certainly be done faster and still be more pure!