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Sophia and Ken set out on Sunday June 20 from rainier beach with the goal of setting a mixed gender supported fkt on this Mountaineer’s sanctioned route celebrating the creative genius of the Olmsted brothers and their impact on the Seattle cityscape. To celebrate the Olmsteds’ work, they dressed as the brothers, and to fully enjoy, K&S had the goal of picnicking in as many of the parks as possible. Picnicking is a loosely defined term that frequently involved throwing out a blanket, sitting down, and quickly popping a few cherries. On the first day, after a customary skinny dip at Denny Blaine park, K&S made it to 23rd and Boyer, where they had to pause the route in order to attend a dinner celebrating Ken’s passing board exams. As this party was not publicly accessible, this meant K&S’ attempt was now in the “supported” category. The next day, after work, Sophia met Ken at 23rd and Boyer where they continued the attempt with a quick loop of volunteer park and ended the day at husky stadium. They had to truncate the day in order to return home to feed cats. The rest of the week was unfriendly to continued fkt attempts due to various preexisting commitments such as work, sleep, extended family visiting town, and weather that was deemed “too hot for walking.” On Friday June 25, they continued the extended fkt attempt hiatus to go to the peninsula where Ken spent Saturday doing a jaunt around the grand loop. It had been decided to record the fkt attempt on Ken’s watch as it has a far more sensitive gps and longer battery life than other available devices. FKT does not allow for documentation via stitched together or tampered with gpx files. Out of an abundance of caution to ensure that the fkt is not arbitrarily rejected, it was decided that the recording would not be submitted as separate consecutive tracks. Ken’s watch was paused and restarted as needed throughout the week, and so you can see that this Olmstead 50k fkt gpx track does happen to include a recording of his 35 mile walk through the Olympics. K&S apologize for any inconvenience this may cause in fkt verification. On Sunday July 27, Ken woke up in Sequim, ferried back to Seattle, and despite blistered toes and shot quads, he and Sophia completed the final 12 miles of the Olmstead 50k in costume, beginning from husky stadium.

While this fkt attempt is certainly unorthodox, it is believed that it fully complies with the spirit of fkt. There is no documented mixed gender team completion or female completion as of this date. Much like someone hiking a long trail might visit a town to resupply, take a side mission for a cool view, or take a layover day to wait out weather and let the legs rest, this fkt has reenacted these uncontroversial actions on a smaller scale. It is hoped that in documenting this attempt, others may be inspired to complete this beautiful route. Maybe one day the competition will be so fierce that a fkt on the route cannot be completed with the aid of class parties, aunts and uncles visiting, park picnics, or side missions to the Olympics - but until that day comes, may you chase this fkt with the curiosity of seeing what quirky adventures and side goals you can fit in between the start and finish.

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Ken Tharp

Olmsted parks 50k fkt!

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Segundo

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Exploring

Biking fitness ≠ running fitness

Return from the center for bicycle repair

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