Making the Long Trail Short

For most people, hiking the Long Trail is about a month-long expedition. If you really hustle, maybe you can cut it down to three weeks or so. But later this week, ultrarunner Nikki Kimball is going to try to run the 273-mile trail in four days. Kimball, who now lives in Montana, grew up in Vermont. She hopes to break the current record of 4 days, 12 hours, and 46 minutes, which was set by Jonathan Basham in 2009. To do that, she'll need to average about 4.5 miles per hour for four and a half days straight. Apparently Kimball does not observe the expected hike times listed in the Green Mountain Club's guide to the Long Trail. A documentary about the attempt is being filmed and will air on PBS in 2013. The trailer appears above.