Sadly, early on day 6, after 169 miles of progress, I had to abort my unsupported FKT attempt on the Sheltowee Trace. I’ll post a full write-up here later, but I’ll give some of the details and reasons why.

Large sections of the Trace were still underwater from the highest-ever-recorded flood level on the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River, and this made it very difficult to make progress. I was still able to average about 31 trail miles a day, but my effort level was far too high for that “low” number of miles. I repeatedly had to bushwhack through cliffs and the trail itself was covered in flood debris, making most miles a real battle. I hadn’t planned for this, and I believe my electrolytes were running a little too low. The extra effort combined with my low electrolytes, I believe, contributed to the real reason that I had to quit:

Rhabdomyolysis

At about noon on day 6, my urine was a sickly brown color. I felt fine to continue, but I Googled to confirm my suspicion of what the brown urine meant. It’s a major sign of Rhabdomyolysis, which can be caused by extreme exercise. The muscles start to fall apart, releasing toxic components into the blood, which can then overwhelm the kidneys and in some cases cause kidney damage or failure if allowed to continue. I decided not to allow it to continue. It was a pretty easy decision at that point, as the trip had been the hardest of my life and a fifteen hour struggle every day. I wish I had been able to continue, but I’m glad I made the decision to quit at that point.

My wife and her parents were able to drive out to pick me up, and I was at home half a day later, eating iced cream and pizza.

My brown urine stopped as soon as I did, and now, a few days later, I have no further symptoms of Rhabdo, so I believe I caught it early enough and I’m in the clear. Thanks so much to everyone who supported me and helped me out on this journey. It was a great experience!