WATERBURY, Vt. — For some, a hike is just a fun weekend activity. For others, like Plainfield native and Lebanon High School graduate Tori Constantine, it is an opportunity to break a record.
Around 9:40 p.m. on Aug. 5 , Constantine set the Long Trail record for the fastest time for an unsupported trek by a female hiker: five days, 19 hours and 29 minutes.
The 29-year-old — at the time of the hike — nurse at the University of Vermont Medical Center, who now lives in Waterbury, Vt., set out on her trek in the wee hours of the morning on July 31, intending to break the record. She smashed the previous fastest known time in the female unsupported category set in 2021, which was six days, 11 hours, and 33 minutes.
“It felt surreal at first,” Constantine said, regarding accomplishing her goal. “It feels really rewarding. I worked really hard to even convince myself that this was something I could do, so then to have done it and actually know that I can do it was a pretty cool feeling.”
The Long Trail is a 272-mile route stretching from the Massachusetts and Vermont border to Canada, according to the Fastest Known Time website, which records these hikes.
“It traverses most of the largest mountains in Vermont, directly summiting or coming within 0.2 miles of summiting all five of the 4,000-foot peaks in Vermont,” the website states. “Along with towering mountains, you’ll find quiet dirt roads, pristine remote lakes and ponds, and 70+ backcountry campsites and shelters.”
As part of her unsupported attempt, the record-breaker had to carry everything she needed, such as food, sleep infrastructure, and a battery bank to charge the devices that track her attempt through GPS for the entirety of the hike, and was only able to replenish water from natural sources.
An unsupported hike differs from those that are supported and self-supported, which allow the participant to have some help along the way. A supported hiker can have pacers and other crew. While a self-supported hiker cannot have pacers, they can restock food from grocery stores, among other things.
“I would say it’s the most rugged one because if you’re out there and you realize you ran out of something, you can’t just ask someone,” Constantine said, noting she ran out of ibuprofen during the hike and could not procure any more.
Constantine first got into thru-hiking in 2020, though at the time she was not doing it for speed or records.
She hiked the Long Trail that year, and it took her two and a half weeks.
“I really just fell in love with everything about thru-hiking and hiking trails and backpacking,” said Constantine.
A year later, she embarked on the Appalachian Trail, where she spent about five and a half months hiking the entire length from Georgia to Maine.
In 2022, Constantine spent another five months hiking the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada.
“I came back from the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail), and I wanted to hike more, but it’s also a hobby where I was spending a lot of time and money living in the woods,” indicating she paused traversing the trails.
After her trail sabbatical, Constantine, who ran cross-country at Lebanon High, wanted to combine two joys — hiking and running — and competed in some trail races. But she was looking for more, which spurred her decision to train for the record-breaking Long Trail attempt.
Some of her preparation was mental, such as listening to podcasts from athletes who had accomplished similar feats to learn specific tactics. Physically, she went on long runs with friends.
Even though she was “unsupported,” Constantine, in a post on her Instagram following the accomplishment, noted that she could not have done it without the support of family and friends.
Her father, Rob Constantine, was not surprised that his daughter was able to pull off the feat, even though as a working nurse, she does not have as much free time to train as other athletes who attempt trail records.
“She sets her mind to things, and she accomplishes amazing things,” Constantine’s father said. “It’s an amazing accomplishment, but it’s not surprising for the people that really know her and her commitment and ability to just push herself when she wants to do something.”
Constantine said she “absolutely” is looking to continue her record-breaking ways in the future.
“I think it’s similar to a lot of different running things and hiking things I’ve done. Even if I tell myself going into it that it’s a one-and-done thing, you wait a few weeks after you finish, and you’re already planning your next thing,” she said.