On May 18, 2026, Deanna Doane set a new women’s unsupported fastest known time on the Smokies Challenge Adventure Run, running the 70-mile route (112 kilometers) across Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 17:44:34. She improved on Sarah Hansel’s previous time of 19:21:47 by 97 minutes.
Deanne Doane at the start of the Smokies Challenge Adventure Run. All photos courtesy of Deanna Doane.
A new addition to the list of premier fastest known time (FKT) routes, the Smokies Challenge Adventure Run (SCAR) follows the Appalachian Trail between Davenport Gap to Fontana Dam, hugging the border between North Carolina and Tennessee, and taking in more than 18,000 feet of elevation gain on technical trail along the way. The route is characterized by its remoteness, and there are only two places to abandon an effort along the way. According to Doane, “It is what I would consider the East Coast equivalent of [a Grand Canyon] rim-to-rim-to-rim.”
Doane appreciating the sunrise while setting a women’s supported FKT on the 70-mile Smokies Challenge Adventure Run route.
Doane started her run at 5:22 a.m., covering the initial five-mile and 3,000-foot climb in the dark. She writes in her run recap that the area had experienced an exceptionally dry spring season, and her planned water sources were either barely flowing or completely dry. She wrote, “I went into this attempt knowing the risks and challenges of collecting water.” After a nearly three-quarter-day adventure that included three bear encounters, Doane reached Fontana Dam over her initial 17-hour goal, but with a significant gap on the previous FKT.
Doane is no stranger to FKT efforts of various lengths. She holds the women’s supported FKTs on the 1,500-mile Florida Trail with a time of 19 days, 12 hours, 13 minutes, as well as on the 62-mile Lake 2 Ocean Trail, also in Florida. Doane also has supported FKTs on the 30-mile Big Cypress section of the Florida Trail and the 39-mile Grafton Notch Loop in Maine.
Doane takes a well-deserved rest at the finish of the Smokies Challenge Adventure Run.
The SCAR route has a rich history amongst ultrarunners, dating back to 1988, when Vicki Johnson, who’d won the masters division of Western States 100 in 1985 and 1986 — placing third both times — used the route as a training run. The route has seen more frequent FKT attempts in the past decade.
