If you want to set a fastest known time on the 817-mile Arizona Trail, you have to start fast. At least, that’s what both Nick Fowler and Georgia Porter proved this fall.

　　On October 28, they independently set out from the Utah-Arizona border and started their trek south with the goal of setting a record. While Fowler was traveling in a self-supported style and Porter enlisted a crew, the two shared numerous commonalities beyond the same start date, chosen to capitalize on the ideal fall weather.

　　Each exceeded record-setting pace over the first few days on the Kaibab Plateau. Both ended up sleep deprived, with immense foot pain, and practically hobbling to the finish line at the U.S.-Mexico border. And both completed their attempt with a record: Fowler with a self-supported Arizona Trail FKT of 12 days, 17 hours, and 33 minutes—the overall record on the trail. And Porter with a women’s supported Arizona Trail FKT of 16 days, 22 hours, and 6 minutes.

　　But dig into their approaches, and it’s clear that even with similar goals in mind, no two FKT setters think alike.

　　A Rough Start Fowler didn’t run or sleep much in the lead-up to his FKT attempt. Since setting the self-supported FKT on the Pacific Crest Trail last summer, Fowler had his sights set on Arizona. He had already done the AZT in 30 days in the spring of 2023, prior to his PCT attempt. He knew he wanted to shoot for the record in the fall, and started working out what he’d have to do to achieve it. But in early September, less than two months before Fowler’s attempt, a new priority came into his life: Canyon, his new son.

　　“My training program was calf raises in the kitchen while holding my son,” Fowler says. “And then when I go in the living room, holding my son, I would do single leg squats.”

　　With a new baby in tow, Fowler didn’t get in quite as many pre-trail miles as he’d hoped. A couple weeks before starting the AZT, he headed out to Arkansas for an attempt at a 70-mile day on the Ozark Highlands Trail, but “it absolutely kicked my butt 43 miles in.” Nonetheless, he showed up to the Utah-Arizona border and set out feeling confident that his training from the summer, which included an FKT on the 425-mile Oregon Coast Trail, would carry him through.

　　“By day two, I was puking my guts out crossing the Grand Canyon, curled up in the fetal position, being passed by hikers in flip-flops, and I slowed down to two-hour miles,” Fowler says. “And I quit.”

　　About 100 miles in, on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, Fowler turned off his tracker. He caught a hitch to Flagstaff, feeling defeated. But after a night of rest, he realized all was not lost.

　　“I was like, maybe I can still do this,” Fowler says. “Everything’s already in place. I’m already here. And if I’m spending time away from Canyon, it’s gotta be something.”

　　RELATED: A Guide to Running The Grand Canyon