When Jamieson Hatt set the inaugural unsupported Bruce Path FKT (quickest recognized time) in 2022, he knew his benchmark wouldn’t stand endlessly. His mark of 14 days, 5 hours and 20 minutes on the gruelling 900-kilometre trek from Tobermory to Queenston, Ont., was lowered a yr and a half later by Canadian ultrarunner Cody Taylor, who shaved off 5 hours.
Hatt was proud to see the report progress, however the concept of getting it again by no means absolutely left his thoughts. “There was part of me that knew I may do lots higher,” Hatt advised Canadian Working. “My objective [in 2022] was simply to complete.”
He deliberate a second try for early Might 2025, however two days earlier than his begin date, his father, Ken, died all of a sudden. “It got here as a shock—I believed my dad was in good well being,” says Hatt. “I knew I needed to put the Bruce Path away for some time and assist my household.”
Within the weeks that adopted, the 45-year-old stepped away from the game. However with time, he realized what his dad would have needed. “There’s nothing he would’ve needed greater than for me to be on the market coaching and doing the factor I like to do,” Hatt displays. “A couple of weeks later, after finishing a yard extremely, I knew what I needed to do.”
The second try
With Hatt’s window narrowing, he selected to tackle the Bruce once more in late August. “There are execs and cons to doing it this late,” he says. “The warmth and vegetation are robust: a lot of tall grass, morning dew, every little thing continually soaked. However the upside was that I may pack mild. My base weight was simply 6.25 lb. (2.8 kg), and I didn’t want a lot cold-weather gear.”
If you’re working and climbing for greater than per week, battle is inevitable. On the second day, it drizzled nonstop, leaving Hatt’s toes soaked. “By the third evening, I questioned if I’d even be capable of proceed. I known as my spouse, and he or she advised me, ‘You by no means decide at evening.’”
The subsequent morning, he pushed ahead, leaning on his easy mantra: preserve displaying up. “That was the turning level,” he says.
Reaching the report
On Aug. 30, Hatt reached the southern terminus in Queenston, Ont., in 12 days, 11 hours and 38 minutes, smashing Taylor’s unsupported Bruce Path FKT by a day and a half.
“It’s cool to get a great time, however what I’m most pleased with is overcoming adversity and making it by means of,” Hatt says. Whereas he imagined the feelings of ending, he stated he by no means let himself get too far forward of himself. With greater than 60 FKTs now to his title, he is aware of these challenges might be 50/50 at greatest—one clip of a rock, or root, and it might be over.
The unsupported fashion is taken into account the purest (and infrequently most revered) type of FKTing: athletes should carry every little thing from the beginning, with no resupply or exterior support, relying solely on pure water sources.
Hatt says he’s not sure what problem lies forward, or whether or not he’ll deal with the Bruce Path once more, however the factor that’s saved him working for the previous 27 years is the drive to take one step additional.
