[at-l] AT speed records

[Linda Patton]

For those who care:
Karl Meltzer's pursuit of the Appalachian Trail speed record ended Monday morning... 
reached Springer's summit at 4:20 a.m., completing a quest that began at 7:08 a.m. 
Aug. 5 from atop Maine's Mount Katahdin.  …Meltzer failed to break the unofficial 
trail speed record held by Andrew Thompson of Lyme, he hiked and jogged 2,174 
miles … in 54 days, 21 hours and 12 minutes... Thompson hiked the trail in 47 days, 
13 hours and 31 minutes in 2005.  Karl Meltzer, … posted the fourth-fastest time 
ever for an Appalachian Trail hike.

In order, the fastest finishers:
Andrew Thompson: 47 days 13 hours 31 minutes (2005)
Pete Palmer: 48 days 20 hours 11 minutes (1999)
David Horton: 52 days 9 hours (1991)
Karl Meltzer: 54 days 21 hours 12 minutes
Scott Grierson: 55 days 20 hours 34 minutes (1991)
Jennifer Pharr Davis: 57 days 8 hours 35 minutes (2008)

~~ eArThworm