Photos: Running 453 Miles of the Pacific Crest Trail in Record Time

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Photos: Running 453 Miles of the Pacific Crest Trail in Record Time

From July 16-24, Yassine Diboun and Scott Loughney successfully ran and hiked 453 miles along the Pacific Crest Trail, crossing the entire state of Oregon from the Oregon/California border to the Oregon/Washington border with help from a tireless support crew. In the process, they raised money for three charities and set a new supported fastest known time (FKT) on the route of eight days, 12 hours and 5 minutes, beating the previous record of eight days and 19 hours held by Joe McConaughy. (They originally aimed to beat the self-supported FKT of 7 days and 22 hours set by Brian Donnelly in 2013, but had to quickly adjust to the new goal in the final days of the run.)

Along with Diboun and Loughney, fellow runner Travis Liles who had set out with them on Day 1 of the run had to call it quits on Day 4 after covering 215 miles on the PCT. Tendonitis had developed on the top of his foot and ankle, making it excruciatingly painful for him to even maneuver his foot up or down. “It was a very crushing feeling to drop,” Liles says. “However, I knew there was still work to be done so I gave myself a moment to let it all sink in, accept that my role of a runner was gone, and then I turned my attention to making sure we set Yassine and Scott up for success from that point forward.”

Recapping the entire experience, Diboun wrote on his Facebook, “(It) almost broke us down physically, mentally and emotionally. We constantly had to rally and lift our spirits as we traversed rugged terrain, snow, vicious mosquitos, lots of trees blocking the trail, and we dealt with the worst sleep deprivation I’ve ever experienced. I cried almost every day on the trail. And yet it was such a cleansing and primal experience. This adventure taught us so much, brought so many people together for a great cause and challenged us to the brink that it will likely take a long time to process it all.”

Check out the day-by-day photo diary of their adventure below and read more about the run and the story of how it came together here.

Photos: Chris Low

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Day 0

The night before the start of their FKT attempt, Yassine and Travis pack and prep in their hotel room in Ashland, Ore.

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Day 1

Yassine (right) gives a pep talk to Scott (middle) and Travis reminding them that they are ready and the FKT attempt starts now at the Oregon/California border of the PCT.

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Day 3

Scott, Yassine and Travis run the Crater Lake rim trail with pacer Mike.

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Day 4

Scott, Yassine, and Travis run through a huge field of grey, dead trees just south of Windigo Pass.

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Day 4

Travis leads Yassine and Scott into the Summit Lake aid stop. At the end of Day 4, Travis makes the decision to drop out due to an injury.

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Day 5

At Elk Lake, Yassine has his coffee and a leg massage by Karen Peterson, the resident medical consultant.

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Day 5

At their next support stop, Charleton Lake, Scott cools himself off.

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Day 5

Yassine leads Scott and pacer Jason Eads on the way into McKenzie Pass.

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Day 5

Yassine leads Scott and pacer Jason Eads on the way into McKenzie Pass.

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Day 6

During some crew down time, Travis uses the half-mile PCT app and does some math. He writes notes on his arm so he can show Scott and Yassine in a very simple manner what they will need to do in order to get the FKT.

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Day 7

After a long hard night out on the trail, Yassine and Scott needed sleep. At 3:30 a.m. they made it to the trailer for aid and sleep. They knew the overall FKT was out of reach and decided to sleep for a few hours and shoot for the supported FKT. They ran into the Timberline Lodge parking lot that evening for some food and a short rest before heading out to Lolo Pass.

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Day 7

In the Timberline Lodge parking lot, Yassine celebrates the fact that they have made it this far, to Portland's backyard, Mount Hood. They found a wig out on the trail that turned out to belong to a friend who was there to see them.

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Day 7

During their Timberline Lodge rest stop, Scott reclines with a blanket before his brother Devin gets to work on his feet.

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Day 8

At Lolo Pass Devin carries Scott on his back from the trailer to the station where he will prepare his feet for their last day.

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Day 8

Devin inspecting Scott's foot. Scott had such bad blisters that Devin became his personal foot mender.

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Day 8

In the final hours of the effort, Yassine leads Scott and their pacer (Devin) down the hill and into Cascade Locks.

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Day 8

At the finish, Yassine goes in for a hug with current overall FKT holder Brian Donnelly. Yassine first attempted the FKT with Donnelly in 2013 but had to drop due to an injury.

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