Episode 22: Renee Jacobs and the First Female FKT for the Sierra High Route

by Nikki Parnell — August 28, 2020

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We have our first returning guest this week! In Episode 8 we talked with Renee Jacobs back in May about her Fastest Known Time (FKT) on the California 14ers last year and now she’s gone out and done it again! Different route, different challenges, but same endeavor of going after a fast time on a hard, multi-day adventure. Renee, just last week, set a high bar on the 195-mile Sierra High Route, establishing the first female FKT in 4 days 23 hours and 53 minutes. Many women have attempted it, but none have finished it and submitted their effort to the FKT database.

It sounds like the kind of route that can chew you up and spit you out. About half of the route is on trail… which means half of it is off trail! Renee describes scrambling up boulders bigger than her sprinter van – using hands and feet to make for a “full body experience” to finish this kind of journey. Luckily for Renee, she is a great navigator and is knowledgeable with tools like CALTOPO (a backcountry mapping system created by her husband). So happy she was able to plan this out, prepare like the engineer that she is, and complete this huge accomplishment!

Even though she’s the ONLY woman that has a time on this route, her time is impressively close to the fastest male time of 4 days 3 hours and 36 minutes held by David Ayala (as of August 7th, 2020). When she saw the list of men who’d completed the route, she thought, “There should be a woman on this page” and she really wanted her time to start with the number FOUR, signifying a time under 5 days like the leading men. She sprinted her heart out down thousands of feet of trail to make sure that happened. 

Renee talks about the preparation – which is intense to say the least – plus the added changes to plans and permits and support teams because of COVID-19 (sheesh – nightmare!). But she handled all of this gracefully, persevered through this technical side of an FKT, and mastered the art of getting in significant training miles with her son in the stroller because child care went out the window this year! She describes the Sierra High Route and how it goes above and beyond the John Muir Trail and is way less populated.

Renee shares some of her mental tricks that she used to protect her head space and keep positive throughout this experience. She had a mantra of “Do now right” — not focusing on how she might have messed up an hour ago but focusing on doing NOW as best as she could. She also focused on her breath, with a 3 – 2 breathing technique of three steps inhale, 2 steps exhale which helped her stay calm and in a relaxed moving meditative state. Throughout the days she would check in with herself in regards to her posture and gait and would continually ask herself if she could be going a little faster in that moment? Her inReach device was a useful tool for getting messages from loved ones that reminded her of why she was out there doing this and she had music to listen to when she was feeling low. She also experienced flow states (a major runner’s high) that made her experience all the more meaningful and a support crew that provided great solace.     

An FKT for Renee is a really big goal and helps her pursue incremental improvements in herself and her performance. It’s a chance to learn and grow. We loved hearing about this adventure and wish you all could see her smile as she talks and laughs like Stef and I could — it’s so contagious!

The fact that she is still out there inspiring other women and particularly moms to keep doing their thing, keep setting goals and embracing challenges, is truly amazing. She says to all moms, “Don’t give up! It’s hard but it’s possible!” And she reminds us that not all FKTs are this involved — there are other routes, many short and doable, so go find your own challenge to undertake!!

To give this episode a listen, click the link below! You can also search “Run Hard Mom Hard” wherever you get your podcasts. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast and share with anyone who needs this kind of inspiration!

Show Notes:

Find Renee’s FKT on fastestknowntime.com

CALTOPO mapping system.

Renee used an InReach Device to stay connected with family.

We mention the book “Roar” by Stacy Sims

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