On Thursday Lael Wilcox set a new FKT (Fastest Known Time) on the famous Arizona Trail Route. Now the AZT boast 827 miles thanks to new sections that race director John Schilling added. Lael completed her ITT of the route in 9 days, 8 hours, and 23 minutes, besting the previous FKT set by Nate Ginzton who came in at 9d, 10h, 23m.
Shortly after she finished a post was made on the official AZT instagram account that stated “Lael’s time will be noted, but not recognized as the record” for violating rules regarding Media Crews and Visitations. The comments section of the post quickly turned nasty reminiscent of the 2019 Tour Divide.
I wish I could say that her ITT sparked a discussion about the rules surrounding self supported bikepacking races, but instead most people where quick to make assumptions and cast aspersions before Lael and Rue could even dust themselves off after a massive effort in the desert. To me this was the saddest part. It’s fine to have opinions and disagree, but the manner its being conducted online is toxic, narrow minded, and damaging to our sport and community.
On today’s episode we address a lot of the issues brought up online and actually give Lael and Rue and chance to weight in. I know the internet already has this all figured out, but I think it’s still worth a listen:)
Food for Thought
In 2019 Lachlan Morton set an FKT on the Kokopelli trail. There was a media crew documenting it that was paid for by sponsors and his father and brother were on course at multiple points. Where was the outcry? I read through all the comments I could find and didn’t see a single mention of a media car or familial support.
In 2020 Kurt Refsnider, Kait Boyle, and Lael Wilcox all went out to attempt their own ITT FKT attempt. There was a media team (that included Rue). Again, there was not a peep on the internet about the validity of this attempt.
Having media covering these types of efforts isn’t new. It could easily be argued that the film Ride the Divide by Mike Dion in 2010 is one of the most important factors in propelling bikepacking to where it is now.
I’m not sharing these to call out any of these athletes or their efforts, but there is clearly a double standard that exists and I hope this can start a larger conversation about how to address these situations going forward. What we have now isn’t working and it’s damaging to our sport and community as a whole.
I can already foresee many messages coming my way using words like Nuance, Ambiguity, and Context, and I agree those are very important. My question is why didn’t we extend the same level of respect and courtesy to Lael and Rue (and team)?
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