About

=Beyond Insanity?!?!= //An Intro to the SB6K Challenge by Matt Kirk (11/09)//

Ted “[|Cave Dog]” Keizer became the first known person to link all forty 6,000+ ft. peaks in the southern Appalachians by foot in the summer of 2003. He dubbed this 300-mile trek the South Beyond Insanity Ultramarathon in reference to the Carolina Mountain Club’s [|South Beyond 6000] program.

Several months prior to his record-setting traverse, I spoke to him on the phone about his upcoming visit to the Southern Appalachians. I had completed a couple long-distance hikes, just gotten into running ultras and was dreaming up a possible run on all the peaks. I don’t know how much help I was to him, but he definitely helped inspire me.

Cave Dog politely declined my offer to join him on his full attempt. Maybe I should’ve done more research on his incredible track record. I really had no idea of what he was about to do…

To put it in perspective, Cave Dog traversed the South Beyond 6000 in less than half the time I estimated it would take: **4 days, 23 hours and 28 minutes!**!! He has thus permanently altered my sense of space and time.

To me, this record seems untouchable: 60+ miles per day over rugged terrain, at times completely off-trail… Forget about it!

I did forget about my dream until a team of three strong runners took on the challenge in the summer of 2009. [|Rebekah, Jenny and Anne] reawakened a desire within me to venture off the beaten path.

I intend to challenge Cave Dog’s record. Although I’m still nowhere near his level, after seven years of experiences, maybe I’m a little closer. With the help of my friends and family and a little luck, who knows? My supported attempt will start some time in late-May to mid-June 2010. I plan to have a crew to help me. If you are interested in being a part, please contact me. Also, I welcome company on training runs.

This wikispace has been set up to document the attempt.