Outside acquires Fastest Known Time website

BOULDER — Outside Interactive Inc., the Boulder-based creator of active and healthy lifestyle content, events and experiences, has continued to acquire companies in the active lifestyle industry with the purchase of Fastest Known Time, a website that’s recognized as the authoritative database of speed records in running, hiking and endurance sports.

In a press statement, Outside said that the pursuit of speed records has exploded worldwide with both everyday runners and professional athletes such as Kilian Jornet, Emelie Forsberg, Heather Anderson and Scott Jurek seeking to set their mark. The pandemic accelerated the trend. With many races and events canceled, athletes spent their time working on individual standards and records on iconic trails and long-distance routes.

“From 2020 to 2022, FKT saw increased activity across the entire site, with a 260% increase in tracked FKTs, a 140% increase in route attempts, a 250% increase in new profiles, and a 250% increase in pageviews. New routes and FKTs have been set in every state, province, and approximately 63 countries, from Montana to Malaysia, and athletes are going big. A new 3,041-kilometer route was just established that crosses all of France entirely on trails,” the press statement said.

“At Outside, we’re committed to inspiring people to get outdoors and fuel their active lifestyles,” said Robin Thurtson, Outside CEO. “By adding Fastest Known Time to the Outside ecosystem and integrating our advanced mapping technologies into the platform, our goal is to continue inspiring outdoor enthusiasts to push themselves to new heights.”

To that end, Outside plans to integrate the company’s own Gaia GPS technology and map layers to improve discovering FKTs, understanding the routes, and watching live tracking attempts. The website will be modernized and new capabilities added, the company said. It will expand categories of achievement to include more athletic activities.

“Without the dedication of our community, which cares for and supports our work, we couldn’t have created FKT into what it is today — an integral part of the running and hiking cultures worldwide” said Buzz Burrell, FKT co-founder. “Outside is bringing a massive amount of skill, passion, and resources — significantly improving the services and features of the website — to continue serving our large following of athletes and active participants. We have no doubt that Outside’s acquisition will take FKT to new heights.”

Burrell will serve as an adviser to the operation under Outside’s ownership. Other co-founders, Peter Bakwin and Jeff Schuler, will focus on their full-time roles outside of the company.The website can be accessed at https://fastestknowntime.com/.

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