American trail runner sets unique FKT in dinosaur costume

An American trail runner named Tayte Pollmann recently completed a brutal FKT (fastest known time) in Colorado on a route known as the Manitou Incline. This climb is just 1.7K long, but it features more than 600m of elevation gain from start to finish. Running up the Manitou Incline is an incredibly tough challenge, but Pollmann decided to make it even more difficult by completing the run in an inflatable dinosaur costume. He covered the route in 26 minutes.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CN5VT6eHiXH/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Pollmann hasn’t been awarded an official FKT (the route record stands at an impressive 17 minutes, 45 seconds), but fastestknowntime.com still gave him a shoutout for his unique run on the Manitou Incline. The route is near Manitou Springs, Colo., which is the site of the Pikes Peak Marathon. The Incline goes up Pikes Peak, following a path with wooden steps that used to be a mountainside rail track. The rail bed was washed out in a rock slide in the 1990s, and ever since then the trail has been a favourite of hikers and runners.

RELATED: Molly Seidel runs 34:33 10K dressed in a turkey suit

According to fastestknowntime.com, a pro triathlete named Mark Fretta claims to have the FKT on the route with a 16:42 run, but many people doubt he deserves the record. This is in part due to the fact that he was busted for doping in 2010 (although his ban came a few years after his 2006 Manitou Incline run) and also because there’s no proof that he started and finished at the right spots. Because of this controversy, fastestknowntime.com has listed the FKT as 17:45.

Thankfully, there is no controversy surrounding Pollmann’s run, and whether it’s made official or not, his result will go down as the fastest result on the Manitou Incline in a dinosaur costume. This is funny enough, but Pollmann reportedly decided to do this on a whim, randomly announcing to his friends that he would give the run a try.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CElH55lHbRc/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Tackling a run like the Manitou Incline because of a spur-of-the-moment decision probably isn’t something that would end well for most people, but Pollmann, a professional trail runner who has completed many gruelling races in his career, made it work.

RELATED: Badger costume brings smiles at Badger Mountain Challenge

Perhaps the most entertaining part of his run is the fact that he did so on a busy day on the trail, and in a short video clip from his run, Pollmann can be seen trucking up the mountain while hikers get out of his way. Pollmann’s run was well-documented, so he’s had no issue convincing people he actually did it. Those hikers, though, might have a tough time getting their friends to believe them when they say, “I saw a dinosaur on the trail today, I swear.”