How 'a mix of pain and enjoyment' is inspiring one trail runner along the Long Path to success
Kim Levinsky will be attempting to set a fastest known time for a supported woman on the 358-mile Long Path trail in July
The Long Path extends a mammoth 358-miles (576km) from just outside Albany in New York State, passing over diverse terrain that includes the heights of the Catskill Mountains to finish by going over the George Washington Bridge into Manhattan.
Described in part as “beautiful and rugged” and intersecting with the Devil’s Path trail, this hiking route takes in iconic peaks, distinctive mountains and forests.
So is there anything more logical than trying to run its entire length?
For ultra runner Kim Levinsky the only thing that made more sense was to try and do it in a fastest known time (FKT).
Kim, from North Jersey, is currently training to take on the Long Path at the start of July.
It’s an experience she said will be “a good mix of pain and enjoyment”.
Her goal is to set an FKT for a supported woman, although she hasn’t ruled out a tilt at the current overall fastest time held by Jeffrey Adams.
Adams completed the Long Path in seven days 12 hours and 18 minutes back in September 2019.
But Kim, who finished the Tahoe 200 last June, said much will depend on what she encounters on the route on any given day.
“The big question is how long it will take me,” she said. “I’m trying to figure it out right now, working with a really amazing group of friends who will be helping crew and pace.
“It would be cool to do it in around a week - seven, eight, nine days. I’ll have a better idea as the weeks go on and I’m able to get out at the weekends to check out all these sections.
“It’s hard not to think about it [breaking the overall record] but I want to finish, I want to have fun.
“So much of the long trail projects I like to do are about the journey and the time spent on it, especially doing it in the supported fashion.
“It’s really cool people go out and do it solo. I enjoy running by myself but the experience of sharing it with friends is really, really neat.”
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Kim said she is keen to “land in the middle” of really pushing herself to extremes and enjoying the experience.
“I’m not sure what that will look like,” she told the Running Tales Podcast. “It may evolve while I’m out there.
“What makes this long stuff fun is that there are so many variables. Things can go really badly but because it is so long you also have time to recover.
“Compared to a half-marathon or something, where if you go off the rails there is not that much time to come back, with multi-day efforts it really can change from day to day.”
Kim, who works as race director with Sassquad Trail Running, has plenty of experience of running on sections of the Long Path.
She told Running Tales she hoped the familiarity of some parts of the trail would help her complete the full 358-mile route.
One thing she won’t get on the ever-changing terrain is bored.
The Long Path winds through various trail systems, passing through the heart of the Catskills for about 90 miles.
“It goes on just about all the escarpment trail, half of the Devil’s Path, through some really iconic summits in the Catskills and then right after that you have to muscle through this road section and then you dip into Minnewaska State Park, which is one of the highlights of the east coast,” Kim said.
“But you also have road sections. You are going through towns, which is a cool part of this trail because it gives you opportunity to resupply at gas stations or delis along the way.
“That should make crewing a bit easier when we have these access points to meet up at.”
She said deciding where to stop to sleep was another “fun part” of the planning process.
“It will be a mix [of places]. When we are in the Catskills there are some access points, so it will be sleeping on trail.
“There are numerous lean-tos throughout the 358-miles, so it would be really nice to get into an enclosed shelter but otherwise on trail it will be some sort of bivvy.
“But it would be great to co-ordinate where to link up with crew and sleep in the crew vehicle, and maybe for one or two nights there is some luxury in a motel.
“That would be nice as I think I’m going to smell like a dead animal. It would be nice to catch a shower once or twice.”
Conquering the Long Path:
Kim told Running Tales she was inspired to take on the Long Path by ultra runner, Ken Posner.
As outlined in his book about running the route, Ken completed the Long Path in nine days, three hours and six minutes back in 2013 - then an FKT.
That experience is part of a running career that has seen Ken take on more than 100 marathons and ultra marathons, including the gruelling 295-mile Badwater Double.
The Running Tales Podcast interviewed Ken in January this year about his role as the race director of the Shawangunk Ridge Trail Run and why he has chosen to be a barefoot runner.
Kim, whose own passion for running stemmed from falling in love with the sport after signing up to do a half-marathon, said she will draw on her experience of the Tahoe 200 when taking on the Long Path.
“That was a mix of this physical suffering, but being surrounded by one of the most incredible sights in America with the alpine lake.
“It really helps keep your perspective and keep you rounded - thinking this is hard, but it is an incredible space.
“The scenery is amazing, the trails are incredible but you don’t want to sugar coat it. Whether you are trying to go fast or slow, being on trails that long is a challenge.”
But, in the mind of an ultra runner, such a challenge is reassuringly logical.
Kim is running the Long Path in aid of Bigger Than The Trail and the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference. You can sponsor her at the following links:
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