Two Vermont runners recently ran the entire length of New England’s longest rail trail … and then turned around and did it again.
Endurance athletes Kim Lord, 45, and Ryan McKeever, 47, of South Hero, Vermont recently completed a round-trip run of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail (LVRT).
At 93 miles long, the LVRT is the longest rail trail in New England, connecting 18 Vermont towns.
According to a Facebook post by the Vermont Agency of Transportation, Lord and McKeever started their run in St. Johnsbury on Friday, August 15 at 7 a.m., turned around 93 miles later at the end of the trail in Swanton, and ended the 186-mile round trip back in St. Johnsbury 51 hours and 58 minutes later on Sunday, August 17 at 10:58 am.
They said they nicknamed their run “Journey to Oz” because they knew the weekend would require brains, heart, and courage. Trail closures due to flood damage and construction added mileage to the overall run, with the final distance recorded via a GPS watch being a total of 193.1 miles.
The runners, who are also friends, were supported with pacers and crew that ensured their navigation, safety, nutrition, and well-being.
Lord and McKeever are the first known athletes to run the full LVRT double traverse.
Along the way, they encountered owls, turkeys, frogs, turtles, racoons, and many weekend trail users.
