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New Yorker sets 50K FKT around Manhattan

David Kilgore circumnavigated Manhattan in a little over three hours to beat the route record by 20 minutes

Photo by: Instagram/davidkilgore

A runner from the Bronx in New York City named David Kilgore recently ran all the way around Manhattan, finishing the 50K route in 3:22:31. This result smashed the fastest known time (FKT) on the route, which is called the Manhattan Loop, beating the previous record by close to 20 minutes. This is Kilgore’s second FKT on the loop, as he ran the self-supported record around Manhattan in 2020 (while this time he ran unsupported). 

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A cruise around the block 

Kilgore completed his run (which he referred to as “another cruise around the block” on his Strava page) on January 25. While he had experience on the Manhattan Loop going into this FKT attempt, it might not have helped too much. Firstly, as already mentioned, this run was unsupported, compared to his self-supported run in 2020.

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Running self-supported means that, while Kilgore couldn’t accept outside help from anyone (meaning he couldn’t have a support crew following him to give him food, water and anything else he might have needed), he was able to load up on food and water throughout the run, which he did at several stores along the route. An unsupported run means he couldn’t get any kind of help, whether it be from other people, through stashes he set up around the loop for himself or in stores. 

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Secondly, Kilgore ran his previous FKT on the Manhattan Loop last August. As he wrote in his post-run report on fastestknowntime.com, it was an “incredibly humid day in the city.” His run on January 25 was much colder than his last shot at the route, and in his more recent post-run report, he noted that it was pretty chilly when he first got going. After a while, the temperature rose a bit, and he wrote that it “warmed up to a nice day on the Westside Highway and East River.” 

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Despite running unsupported this time around, Kilgore crushed his Manhattan Loop PB of 3:43:32. His new unsupported FKT of 3:22:31 beat the previous route record of 3:41:46, which a runner named Mitchell Vogel set in late November 2020. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CFPY_pBnwUQ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Nothing new 

Kilgore is likely thrilled with his new FKT, but he’s no stranger to fast results. In addition to his two Manhattan Loop FKTs, he has six other route records on fastestknowntime.com. He has also found success on the race course, and in 2018, he ran to a third-place finish at the USATF 50K Trail Championships. The following year, he represented the U.S. at the Trail World Championships. 

RELATED: Why distance doesn’t matter when it comes to FKTs

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