4A
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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2020
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APPEAL TRIBUNE
ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME
Eugene woman sets
speed record on Oregon
Pacific Crest Trail to
celebrate her mother
Supported, female
Emily Halnon: 7 days, 19 hours, 23
minutes (Aug. 9, 2020)
Lindsey Ulrich: 9 days, 13 hours, 39
minutes (Aug. 5, 2020)
Zach Urness
Salem Statesman Journal
Danielle Snyder: 9 days, 15 hours, 8
minutes (Aug. 31, 2019)
USA TODAY NETWORK
When Emily Halnon’s mother died of
cancer earlier this year, she decided to
honor her memory by trying something
big.
She chose one of Oregon’s most gru-
eling challenges.
In the early morning darkness of Aug.
1, the 34-year-old Eugene resident laced
up her shoes at the Oregon-California
border and stepped onto the Pacific Crest
Trail.
Then she started running.
Over the next week, Halnon ran up
mountains and down river valleys,
through a frigid thunderstorm and boil-
ing temperatures, felt her shins ache and
feet swell up on 20-hour days in remote
wilderness.
When she reached the Washington
border on Aug. 9, Halnon had set a new
speed record for the Oregon section of the
PCT: 455 miles in 7 days, 19 hours and 23
minutes.
That’s averaging 57 miles per day.
The supported speed record — mean-
ing she was helped by a team along the
way — is the fastest among both men and
women, and the fastest overall, accord-
ing to the website Fastest Known Time,
the best metric for tracking trail times.
In the process, Halnon raised $32,000
for the Brave Like Gabe foundation,
which funds rare cancer research.
“It was a celebration of my mom — she
was my fuel,” Halnon said. “There have
been days when the grief is crushing.
Channeling myself into this, into some-
thing that would make her proud and
that felt like it mattered, was my way of
working through it.”
But the run was also about fun. Hal-
non was supported by a team of friends
who invented romance stories to keep
her smiling, threw impromptu dance
parties on the trail and created a wilder-
ness spa one night near Diamond Peak.
“There was a lot of singing and danc-
ing and laughing — Emily has fun with
the process,” said Eric Schuman, a close
friend and social studies teacher at North
Eugene High School. “But she's also very
tough, very driven. When things are diffi-
cult, she can dig deep.”
“Emily is a badass,” said Danielle Sny-
der, who previously held the women's
speed record on the Oregon PCT. “She
can be laid-back and goofy. But in the
end, she’s a badass.”
Distance running comes in the
family
Emily Halnon was inspired by her
mother.
Growing up in Vermont, Andrea Hal-
non modeled how to be an athlete and
runner even in later years.
"She had a health scare when I was a
teenager and that motivated her to start
being more physically active," Emily Hal-
non said.
It started with walking 5 kilometer
races. Then running them. Next came 10
kilometer races and a half marathon. The
year Andrea Halnon turned 50, she ran
her first marathon. Not finished, she
learned to swim so she could complete a
triathlon at 60.
The mother inspired her daughter.
The duo ran their first marathon together
on Emily's 23rd birthday.
“She beat me by 20 minutes,” Emily
said.
The first time Emily visited Oregon
was to run the Eugene marathon. But it
was trail running in the Pacific Northwest
that brought her in Oregon for good,
where she started running major dis-
tance, including five 100-mile ultrama-
rathons. Her mom supported her every
step.
“The joke with my friends was how
many times she would post on Facebook
during those races,” Emily Halnon said.
“It was usually about 18 times per race."
Andrea Halnon was diagnosed with a
rare form of uterine cancer in December
of 2018 at 65 years old.
“When that first round of chemo didn't
work, her oncologist had terrifyingly few
options to offer her,” Emily Halnon wrote
on Instagram. “One of them was giving
up, something my tenacious mother
would never do. But dealing with rare
cancer often means running out of op-
tions. And my mom ran out of treatment
options within months of her diagnosis.”
Andrea Halnon fought for 13 months,
still riding her bike, walking and staying
active amid chemotherapy.
“The way she fought was extraordi-
nary,” Emily Halnon said.
Andrea Halnon died in January. But
her toughness lived on through her
daughter.
Inspiring more female athletes
The idea of establishing speed records
in the outdoors isn’t a new idea, but its
appeal has grown over the past decade.
In a time when every blank spot on the
map has been filled, and every mountain
route climbed, doing adventures in the
fastest known time — known as an FKT
Fastest known times on
Oregon Pacific Crest
Trail
Supported, male
Scott Loughney and Yassine
Diboun: 8 days, 12 hours, 5 minutes
(July 25, 2016)
Self-supported, male
Brian Donnelly: 7 days, 22 hours, 37
minutes (Aug. 17, 2013)
Sprint to the finish, and huge
amount of money for rare cancer
research
Emily Halnon, 35, of Eugene, set a speed record on the Oregon section of the
Pacific Crest Trail. PHOTO BY JON MEYERS
themselves.
Emily Halnon had been considering
running the Oregon PCT since 2015, but
once her mom passed, she decided she’d
shoot for the FKT.
One of the first people she reached out
to was Snyder, who’d set the women’s
speed record in 2019. Snyder responded
with enthusiasm.
“I work with women to be bold and
step into their own, and it was really ex-
citing to have Emily go for it,” said Snyder,
who finished the Oregon PCT in 9 days
and 15 hours. “Trail running draws a lot
more males than females, especially for
FKTs. Encouraging more women to go for
them is about more than a record.”
To prepare, Halnon upped her train-
ing. Having already finished multiple
100-mile races, so was building from a
strong foundation. She ran the Timber-
line Trail and climbed Hardesty Moun-
tain three times in one day to prepare.
“In a lot of ways, I’ve been training for
this for eight years,” she said.
How to prove a record
Part of the FTK isn’t just accomplish-
ing it, but being able to prove the record.
As speed records become popularized,
some records have proved to be fraudu-
lent. The bar is high for proving a FKT, es-
pecially on a high profile route like the
Oregon PCT.
Halnon signed up for a Garmin In
Reach that allowed people to track her, a
blue dot on the map, from a computer
screen. In addition to time-stamped pic-
tures, she got a second GPS device — a
watch — that took a computerized track
she could submit.
“There’s not a governing body for
FKTs,” she said. “But the process is pretty
rigorous."
ness, sleeping 2 to 5 hours and getting up
before dawn to do it again.
Her feet swelled up a half size and
shins ached. The mental willingness to
keep going meant Halnon’s running part-
ners also had to keep things fun. They
danced, played Taylor Swift music and
made up romance novellas.
The best day on the PCT: hog dogs,
friends and Diamond Peak
There were a lot of difficult days on the
trail, but the highlight was day four — 48
miles from Windigo Pass to Charlton
Lake.
The run brought her through emerald
lakes and below Diamond Peak, and was
close enough to Eugene that her friends
threw a mini trail party.
After 22 miles, she stopped for a break
and was surprised when her friend Eric
Schuman brought her a hot dog, French
fries and ice-cold Powerade from Dairy
Queen.
“It was so perfect,” she said. “I’d been
fantasizing about a cold beverage for
miles and love hot dogs."
That night, after passing the 200-mile
mark, she ran into camp in daylight for
the first and only time — and she was no-
where near alone.
“My Eugene running friends have
showed up in force,” she wrote on
Instagram. “They meet me 3 miles up the
trail to run me in hooting and hollering, to
a beautiful lakeshore set up with a grill,
coolers, a fireside massage and friends!
Everything a girl could dream of greeting
her halfway through this PCT run.
“I am ready to head back out onto the
trail with recharged legs and a fuller heart
and soul.”
She would need that boost. The
weather had changed and would bring
the biggest challenge yet.
The run and her team
On Aug. 1, Halnon headed to the PCT
on the Oregon-California border. It was
dark when she began running, but that
would become a common theme.
Her pace was straightforward: run
strong and steady on flat, downhill or
slightly uphill terrain, while moving to a
“strong hike” for steep climbs.
Earlier that week she’d announced her
attempt on Instagram, adding that she
would be raising money for rare cancer
research. She had modest expectations
— maybe $4,500.
“I waffled on the fundraising part of it
in the middle of a pandemic,” she said.
“But I just decided, if people have to
means to give, great. If not, that’s under-
standable.”
Halnon’s attempt was for a “support-
ed” record — as opposed to a self-sup-
ported record. It means she had a team
that helped, and it turned the effort into a
communal undertaking with friends
helping and running with her.
Halnon’s boyfriend Ian and dog Dilly
met her at many trail crossing for sup-
plies and tune-ups, sock changes and a
rest breaks.
The challenge of eating and
romance novels
The first two days spanned a massive
area, taking her from California all the
way to Crater Lake National Park — a to-
tal of 131.5 miles.
And it became clear what a big chal-
lenge might be: eating.
“Every half hour I’d say, ‘time to eat
again,’ and she just hated that,” said Sny-
der, who ran with Halnon on the second
day. “When you’re running like this, your
body stops processing food as well. You
feel crappy and don’t want to eat. It
makes you feel tired and nauseous.
“I’d say: ‘I don’t care what you say, you
have to eat. If you don’t, you won’t make it
through the day, let alone to Washing-
ton.’”
Far from the cliché of Cliff Bars and Gu
Energy packets, Halnon and many ultra
runners opt for tastier fare: Cheetos,
gummy worms, Swedish fish, rice crispy
treats and Fritos. At stops, she ate quesa-
dillas and instant mash potatoes.
The days were long. She averaged 16 to
The worst day: thunderstorm and
darkenss across Mount Jefferson
Day six was one Halnon had been
waiting for the entire trip: 59 miles from
McKenzie Pass to Brietenbush Lake,
across the Three Sisters and Mount Jef-
ferson wilderness areas, the most scenic
stretch of the PCT in Oregon.
But the weather had turned against
her. A cool thunderstorm blew in, bring-
ing high winds, little visibility and rain
that became a winter mix at high eleva-
tions.
“Records aren’t supposed to be easy,”
she said.
From McKenzie Pass she ran across
the slick lava rock in a thin rain jacket
that wasn’t nearly warm enough, then
across exposed ridgelines.
“It was wet for 14 hours, but the winds
on the high ridges were most dramatic,”
said Schuman, who ran with her that day.
“There were times when we were almost
getting blown over. There were no other
people on the trail that day, but we
passed a ton of tents that looked really
warm and cozy.”
As darkness fell, Halnon and Schu-
man reached a pit stop at Woodpecker
Ridge.
“I shiver through changing clothes
and burrow into a sleeping bag with hot
ramen,” she wrote, adding that she fell
asleep. “I could stay here forever. Warm
and not moving.”
One problem: to keep on pace, she had
to complete another 10 miles to Breiten-
bush Lake.
“I reluctantly stand up and groggily
start moving,” she wrote. “The next 10
miles are an unending torture chamber of
running. Violent river crossings. Icy
snow fields. Rocky trails that are hard to
follow and travel. Harsh cold again.”
They stumbled into camp at 4:30 a.m.
Just a few hours later, she had to wake
up again.
“I was totally broken the next morn-
ing,” Schuman said. “But she woke up at
7:30 a.m. Honestly, watching her get out
on the trail was one of the most incredible
accomplishments I’ve ever seen.”
Indeed, Halnon ran another 53 miles
from Breitenbush Lake to Barlow Pass
near Mount Hood on day seven, finishing
at 2 a.m.
Halnon posted on Instagram through-
out the trip, and gradually saw the
amount of money she was raising tick
upward, all the way to $14,000.
“What I heard from a lot of people was
that in the middle of this darkness, the
pandemic and everything else, a lot of
people were looking for something posi-
tive to follow and be part of,” Halnon said.
“The run gave them a way to do it.”
The morning of her final day on the
trail, she posted: "I'm going for the overall
(fastest known time). Can you help me
get there with donations to @bravelike-
gabe?”
To get the fastest known time overall,
she needed to finish the final 57 miles by
3:30 a.m.
“I thought: ‘I can do this, but this day
needs to go well,’” she said.
Normally, Halnon said she doesn’t
look at her phone during runs. But this
time, she kept checking in because the
amount of money raised began to rise
quickly.
“I’d get service, press refresh, and see
thousands more dollars coming in,” she
said. “And I thought: this is why I’m out
here.”
But her shin, which had hurt for days,
was throbbing. Luckily, Joe Uhan, a
physical therapist from Eugene, was
along to help at the next stop.
“People spring into action when I ar-
rive and I'm on Joe's table, his fingers dig-
ging magic into my shin, while Lucy
spoon-feeds me ramen,” Halnon wrote.
“Ian reads me comments people have left
about why they're donating. I am a pud-
dle on Joe's table. Cancer has touched
and challenged so many lives. And so
many people are inspired by my mom.”
The final stretch
The final push was not easy.
Hanlon was doing well time-wise, but
the Bridge of the Gods at Washington's
border felt as far away as Australia as she
entered the rocky, uneven terrain of the
Columbia Gorge.
“I thought about my mom a lot,” she
wrote as darkness fell. “I push as hard as I
can, which doesn't amount to much
speed or grace at mile 446. But I am emp-
tying myself out for this run.”
Finally, she saw headlights in the dis-
tance. Excited hollers. Then the outline of
the bridge.
“I hit the bridge surrounded by a tidal
wave of love,” she wrote. “The Washing-
ton sign cracks me like an egg. I feel so
strong and so raw as I finally stop running
after 7 days and 19 hours and 23 minutes.”
The final push raised the total over
$30,000, which has increased to
$32,000. All the money will all be donat-
ed to Brave Like Gabe for rare cancer re-
search, Halnon said.
After the run, Halnon spent a lot of
time sleeping and eating. And thinking
about her mom.
Fastest known times on Oregon
Pacific Crest Trail
Supported, female
Emily Halnon: 7 days, 19 hours, 23
minutes (Aug. 9, 2020)
Lindsey Ulrich: 9 days, 13 hours, 39
minutes (Aug. 5, 2020)
Danielle Snyder: 9 days, 15 hours, 8
minutes (Aug. 31, 2019)
Supported, male
Scott Loughney and Yassine Diboun: 8
days, 12 hours, 5 minutes (July 25, 2016)
Self-supported, male
Brian Donnelly: 7 days, 22 hours, 37
minutes (Aug. 17, 2013)
Emily Halnon's record, day by day
Day one: California border to Keno
Access Road, 61.5 miles / 8,900 feet of el-
evation gain
Day two: Keno Access Road to Crater
Lake National Park, 70 miles / 9,300 feet
Day three: Crater Lake to Windigo
Pass, 58 miles / 6,700 feet
Day four: Windigo Pass to Charlton
Lake, 48 miles / 6,400 feet
Day five: Charlton Lake to McKenzie
Pass, 57 miles / 6,800 feet
Day six: McKenzie Pass to Brieten-
bush Lake, 59 miles / 8,800 feet
Day seven: Brietenbush Lake to Bar-
low Pass, 53 miles / 5,700 feet
Day eight: Barlow Pass to Bridge of
the Gods, 57 miles / 8,500 feet
Total: 463.5 miles* / 61,100 feet of