Sarah Keyes and Alyssa Godesky Race to the FKT on the 46 Adirondack High Peaks
By Chase Parnell — August 20, 2020
It’s about time I show some love to the beast coasters. Based in Oregon, I can’t help but be more attuned to the happenings in the Rockies and the Pacific Northwest, but that doesn’t mean I’m not blown away by what happens east of the Mississippi. When this story hit my radar, I knew it was a perfect one to spotlight two incredible athletes but also an incredible mountain range that doesn’t always get the credit it deserves. Growing up, I spent my middle school years in Rochester, New York and vividly remember our trip out to see the Adirondacks. Catch them in the fall and there might not be a more beautiful place in this country.
On Monday, August 17, 2020, Sarah Keyes & Alyssa Godesky began their fastest known time (FKT) attempt on the 46 Adirondack High Peaks in upstate New York. But they didn’t start together as a team. Why? Because this is also a race.
All told, they will run/hike/crawl roughly 200 miles with 65,000 feet of vertical gain in a matter of three to four days. To date, there are no official FKTs by women on this route (although it was reported here that two women completed all 46 peaks in 6d 22h 4m).
After becoming acquaintances and learning that they each wanted to make a run at this FKT, they decided to make a bit of a race out of it. They started from different trailheads, knowing that the first to finish all 46 would win and be credited with the heralded FKT.
This is the first I’ve heard of two top level elite athletes racing to a FKT. But before we get into what happened out there, let me add some context to the characters and objective at hand.
What are the 46 Adirondack High Peaks?
All 46 High Peaks are located in New York’s Essex and Franklin counties, in and around the High Peaks Wilderness Area in the northeastern region of the Adirondack Park. In 1927, Russell Carson claimed there were 46 4,000+ foot peaks in the Adirondacks, and while it was later proven that some were actually under 4,000 feet, the 46 grouped by Carson remain the most coveted peaks to bag. Some spend a lifetime to become a “46er.” Some, like Sarah and Alyssa, will achieve this in a handful of days. More info here.
Prior to the start, Sarah wrote up a cool tribute to the women who went before her, including a spotlight on Grace Hudowalski, who was the first women to summit all 46 High Peaks in 1937.
The Adirondack 46 have all the elements to make this an acclaim-worthy FKT: the history, cluster of peaks, the 4,000 foot threshold, and the regional respect for the the objective.
Who is Sara Keyes?
Sarah runs for La Sportiva and Julbo, she’s a coach and part-time nurse, she’s 35 years old and is a a true local, hailing from Saranac Lake, New York, which is just to the north of the High Peaks Wilderness. She was 2nd place behind only Amanda Basham at the 2018 UROC 100k, she won the Ultra-Trail Harricana of Canada, she ran sub-24 at Cascade Crest 100, and is a Western States finisher. She got into running later in life, her passion for it grew out of a love of wilderness and solitude, not competition. Sarah has five FKTs listed on the fastest known time website, but all were single day efforts. She’s taking on a big one here!
Here’s a cool 2 min short film made by La Sportiva that gives a nice flavor of what Sarah is all about!
Who is Alyssa Godesky?
If you had to place a bet on who was going to get the record before this run, you’re probably going to go with Alyssa. She has a bit more of the pedigree, she’s a full time triathlete/runner/endurance athlete for Smashfest Queen and Nuun Hydration, and she has more experience on multi-day efforts. Alyssa, 35, lives in Charlottesville, VA and has the current FKT on the Vermont Long Trail, which she set in 2018. Nikki Kimball (previous record holder) put this iconic trail on the map for us west coast ultra runners in the film, Finding Traction. Alyssa seems to have jumped in and out of the competitive ultra running scene over the last decade or so but has some accomplished results. She finished 2nd at HURT100, 3rd at JFK50, and 2nd at Old Dominion 100, but it’s been some years since she had a high finish at a more competitive ultra race.
What is the format and style of this attempt?
Both Sarah and Alyssa are going after the supported FKT meaning they will have crew along the way that will shuttle them to different trailheads, feed them, run with them, and offer any other form of support or help they might need.
There is no official start or finishing area for the Adirondack 46 so your creativity and logistics prowess certainly come into play. The only requirement is that you start at a trailhead, summit all 46, and end at a trailhead. The best line between all the peaks is likely very individual with many factors to consider. In this case, Alyssa started with the Seward Range while Sarah started at the Allen Mountain trailhead.
**RESULT (Aug. 20, 2020): Alyssa Godesky is the OFFICIAL Female Supported FKT holder on the 46 Adirondack High Peaks
Alyssa inched ahead of Sarah at the very beginning of the effort and decided to operate on less sleep, which she used to her advantage to distance herself and secure the FKT. After 24 hours, Alyssa had summited 10 peaks to Sarah’s 8. After 48 hours, Alyssa had 22 peaks to Sarah’s 21. After three and a half days, Alyssa was down to 30 miles left with 10,000 feet of climbing compared to Sarah’s 34 miles with 13,000 feet of climbing. While there was definitely a gap throughout, Alyssa was leading only by a slight margin for most of the FKT. She couldn’t afford to mess around in the slightest with Sarah nipping at her heels. Here are more detailed updates throughout.
In the end, Alyssa summited all 46 High Peaks in 3 days, 16 hours, 16 minutes. This is a massive accomplishment and another incredible feather in her cap. She now holds both the Long Trail and 46er FKTs. Impressive.
I will update this post once Sarah completes her 46 (8/21/20 update: Sarah finished in 4d 13h 39m!) but no matter what, both of these ladies put on a real show. I don’t think most people can truly wrap their heads around how brutal of an undertaking this sort of thing is. Running through the night in a 100 mile race is one thing, but back to back to back days with limited sleep on extremely rugged terrain is something else altogether.
A huge congrats to both ladies for getting this done. They’ve thrown down the gauntlet, now who’s next?!
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Rochester? Never knew!!! We have a great organization here http://www.trailsroc.org check it out – Thanks for talking beast coast!!!
Nice! Well, I lived in Webster actually. Spry Middle School alum. I was a punk skater with green hair though then, sooooo. Miss the finger lakes too. Still have family there.
So cool – We host a race right there – the Webster Trail Classic 10 mile loop – If you are ever around, hit me up and we can get the course in together