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Outside Interactive, Inc. Acquires Fastest Known Time

Published March 11, 2022

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Navigation and UX Improvements to Come, Along with New Membership Features

BOULDER, Colo.– Outside Interactive, Inc. the world’s leading creator of active and healthy lifestyle content, events, and experiences, today announced the acquisition of Fastest Known Time (FKT), a rapidly growing website that’s widely recognized as the authoritative governor and database of speed records in running, hiking, and endurance sports.

The pursuit of FKTs has exploded across the globe, inspiring everyone from everyday runners to pro athletes like Kilian Jornet, Emelie Forsberg, Heather Anderson, and Scott Jurek. The trend started many decades before the pandemic, and interest and activity has accelerated over the last two years. With many in-person races and events canceled, coupled with an increased interest in the outdoors, many endurance athletes challenged themselves by attempting to set new standards for completing 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.

To build on FKT’s success in growing a passionate and diverse community, 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.
  • Modernize the website to improve the UX across all FKT features.
  • Add new capabilities and benefits to further the site’s offerings.
  • Expand the available categories of FKT achievements, making the site more inclusive to a greater variety of athletes.
  • Look to add future benefits for Outside+ members related to FKT.

“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.”

“Without the dedication of our community who care for and support 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.”

To support FKT’s success, Outside is investing in additional staff to uphold the governance and record keeping at the heart of this organization while also investing in the backend infrastructure to improve the user experience.

Outside also plans to continue partnering with the regional editors who have been instrumental to FKT’s growth. FKT’s original founder, Buzz Burrell, will continue to serve as an advisor to FKT, and co-founders Peter Bakwin and Jeff Schuler look forward to focusing on their full-time roles outside of the company.

To research the best routes, who did them, and how fast, visit: https://fastestknowntime.com/. For more information on Outside Interactive, Inc. and to discover new content from more than 30+ brands, please visit outsideinc.com.

About Outside Interactive, Inc.

Outside is the premier destination for active lifestyle enthusiasts and home to leading brands in the endurance sports, outdoor, and healthy living spaces. Each month, Outside reaches 80 million of the most active consumers in the world across its 30+ media, digital, and technology platforms, creating an experience for both longtime adventurers and those just getting started. Outside believes life is best spent outdoors, experiencing healthy, connected, and fulfilling lives. Outside’s membership offering, Outside+, bundles best-in-class storytelling, meal plans, gear reviews, online courses, discounted event access, mapping, and more. Learn more at outsideinc.com.