Aurélien Sanchez sets PCT speed record

Aurélien Sanchez finished the Pacific Crest Trail on July 23 in 45 days, 20 hours and 15 minutes, setting a new men’s supported fastest known time on the 2,650-mile route from Mexico to Canada, according to reports by The Inertia and iRunFar, as republished by GearJunkie. The 35-year-old French runner from Toulouse said in an interview published August 5 by The Inertia that he had been thinking seriously about the attempt for about a year. The previous mark was set in 2023 by Belgian runner Karel Sabbe. Sanchez’s time cut 16 hours and 35 minutes from that record. ### How fast did Sanchez cover the trail? Aurélien Sanchez averaged about 56 miles a day over the length of the Pacific Crest Trail, according to GearJunkie’s account of the effort. The route is generally listed at roughly 2,650 to 2,653 miles and runs from Campo, California, at the U.S.-Mexico border to Manning Provincial Park in British Columbia at the Canadian border. GearJunkie said the trail includes more than 400,000 feet of elevation gain. (theinertia.com) The Inertia reported on August 5 that Sanchez reached Canada after 45 days, 20 hours and 15 minutes. An earlier July 24 Inertia report said he needed to average around 57 miles per day to beat Sabbe’s pace and increased his daily average to 59 miles in the final weeks after falling behind schedule. (gearjunkie.com) ### Who held the previous record? Karel Sabbe set the previous men’s supported Pacific Crest Trail record in 2023 at 46 days, 12 hours and 50 minutes, according to The Inertia and GearJunkie. Sanchez beat that mark by 16 hours and 35 minutes. GearJunkie said Sabbe had taken nearly five days off the prior men’s supported record when he set his 2023 time. (theinertia.com) Fastest Known Time, which tracks trail-running records, was cited by The Inertia on July 24 as reviewing Sanchez’s GPS track and photo evidence. The August 5 Inertia interview described Sanchez as the new owner of the record. ### Why did Sanchez say he went after the PCT record now? Sanchez told The Inertia that the timing came together because he was leaving one job and had time before starting another. “I work full time,” he said, adding that it had previously been hard to get enough time away for a month-and-a-half attempt. (theinertia.com) He told the publication he had worked as an engineer in semiconductor devices for the automotive industry and was preparing to open a restaurant “in the next few months.” The Inertia reported that Sanchez first heard about the Pacific Crest Trail eight years ago when he did the John Muir Trail. He said the PCT had long felt too big to fit into his schedule. ### What kind of runner was he before this attempt? Sanchez had already built a reputation in ultrarunning before the PCT effort. (theinertia.com) GearJunkie said he set the men’s then-overall unsupported fastest known time on the John Muir Trail in 2018. The Inertia also reported that he is among the small group of finishers of the Barkley Marathons in Tennessee. Those results help explain why Sanchez told The Inertia the PCT record “was not a surprise.” He said he always believed it was possible, even though he thought his chances of failure were higher than his chances of success. ### What did he say about the run itself? The Inertia reported that Sanchez described the Pacific Crest Trail landscapes as “breathtaking” when he had time to look up from running, eating and sleeping. (gearjunkie.com) Its July 24 report said he took only a couple of showers during the trip. GearJunkie said he dealt with heat, wind, cold nights, fatigue and foot problems during the attempt. (theinertia.com) On August 5, The Inertia said Sanchez had spent much of the run prioritizing speed over the slower experience most thru-hikers seek. The publication said he sometimes ran as many as 59 miles per day. ### What comes next for the record? Fastest Known Time was still reviewing Sanchez’s documentation as of The Inertia’s July 24 report. (gearjunkie.com) The August 5 interview is the most detailed public account so far from Sanchez himself, covering his timing, motivation and route. Sanchez also said he plans to open a restaurant in the coming months after leaving his engineering job in France. (theinertia.com)