One day, Danielle Snyder was browsing Fastest Known Times (FKTs) on the web and found that the female-to-male ratio of attempts was approximately 300 to 2,000. She decided she needed to do something to encourage other females to try something beyond their beliefs, and this ‘something’ was going to start with her. So on August 22, she set out to complete the women’s supported FKT of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in Oregon state.

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On August 31, nine days, 15 hours, and eight minutes later, Snyder finished 734K (456 miles). Although the PCT sees thousands of thru hikers each year, Snyder was unaware of female attempts for a fast time on the trail in Oregon. Yassine Diboun and Scott Loughney currently have the men’s supported FKT on the Oregon PCT in eight days, 12 hours, and five minutes. Brian Donnelly is recorded to have the men’s unsupported time in seven days, 22 hours, and 37 minutes.

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When we asked Snyder how she prepared for such a feat she laughed saying “there is really no way to prepare for it. I had no idea. I learned a lot.” Snyder has 100-mile and ultrarunning experience on her running resume, but had never run alone for that distance before. Still, she kept the big ‘why’ in the front of her mind and kept pushing through the discomfort and the unknown.

“Courage isn’t just in success, but in the vulnerability of the attempt,” believes Snyder. She continues to promote and encourage people to pursue big goals and dreams, which will hopefully result in more female representation in the FKT culture.

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