Trail conquered, but more to do for ultra-marathon runner
An ultra-marathon runner has spoken of his experiences after finally conquering a mountainous challenge.
Kristian Morgan became only the second person in the world to complete the Appalachian trail in under 45 days when he completed the trail, which runs between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, in 44 days.
The 45-year-old, who lives in Dulwich in London, but grew up in Wolverhampton, completed 50 miles per day through the oldest mountain range in the world to complete the 2,200-mile course.
It was his third attempt to complete the course after failed attempts in 2019 and 2021 and marks the latest long-distance achievement by Kristian, having won the 2016 Wolverhampton marathon and run the South West Coast Path in 10 days in 2020.
He said the achievement was a bittersweet one, having just missed the world record of his friend Karel Sabbe, who did the trail in 41 days, but said he was still delighted to have completed the trail.
He said: "It's only bittersweet as I set out to set a new record and set the second fastest time on the trail, so it's amazing that I achieved something and beat the great Scott Jurek, but I finished behind my friend Karel.
"However, I'm really delighted to have completed the trail and even after putting more than 2,000 miles on my feet, my cousin said he couldn't believe how energised I looked, which I think comes from spending two months in the woods.
"I was around just nature and trees for two months and it was such an energising experience to not be in a car or a building at all for that time."
Mr Morgan, who works as an ultra-marathon trainers, said he had trained for the trail by spending time working in northern Thailand and training up to 100 miles per week there over six months.
He said the Appalachian trail had become a mission of his since learning about his hero Scott Jurek doing it and then helping pace a friend as he did the trail, so got the impetus to do the trail from there.
He said: "I've done marathons, 50-mile runs and 100 kilometres, 100-mile and 200-mile ultra-marathons, so it helped spur me on to do something that not many people in life experience.
"It's all about shifting your mindset and is not just about the physical, but also about realising how you react to things in life, as there will be bad days on something like this, but you push yourself through them."
Mr Morgan said the next step for him was to load up his touring bike and head down to Dénia in Spain to enjoy the mountains, then begin preparing for another go at the record for the Appalachian trail.
He said: "I want to see if I can be the fastest in the world and not just rub shoulders with legends, but become one myself, and leave a legacy for people out there that you can try and fail, but never quit.
"Just accept failure as part of the journey, or you will not achieve your goals, and I want to keep going to achieve my goals and become a legend in the world of ultra-marathon running."
To find out more about Kristian's achievements and work as an ultra-marathon coach, go to instagram.com/ultrarunningcoach/
