[News Space=Reporter seungwon lee] Lee Ha-neul, the ambassador of Kolon Sport, a division of Kolon Industries FnC (hereafter Kolon FnC), achieved the women's FKT (Fastest Known Time) by solo hiking the approximately 780km Colorado Trail that runs through the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, USA, using a lightweight fast hiking method.

FKT is a record-breaking race to complete a trail in the fastest time, and is part of the long-distance hiking culture.

Kolon Sport has selected 12 brand ambassadors, including alpinists, polar experts, long-distance hikers, and trail runners, and is supporting their activities. Lee Ha-neul, the first Korean woman to achieve the US Triple Crown of Long-Distance Hiking, is a professional hiker. She and her husband, Yang Hee-jong, are known as "Dudububu" (a couple traveling the world on two wheels, two bikes, and two legs).

Since joining as an ambassador in 2020, she has achieved the Baekdudaegan Winter One-Time Trail with Kolon Sports, as well as two unsupported solo one-time trails on the John Muir Trail (JMT) in the United States, considered a world-renowned trail, becoming the first Korean woman to set a FKT record.

The Colorado Trail (CT) is a long-distance trail stretching approximately 780 km along the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, USA. With a peak of approximately 4,040 m (13,300 ft), it is located in a high-altitude region with an average elevation of over 3,100 m (10,000 ft), making it a challenging trail due to the associated altitude acclimatization and climate changes.

Typically, the entire race takes between one and a half months, with supplies sent in advance to villages and resorts along the way, or participants restock at a village and then return to the starting point. Participants can choose between a support team approach or an unsupported approach, where participants carry all their gear and complete the race without outside assistance.

On this Colorado Trail, Lee Ha-neul set off from the Junction Creek Trailhead in Durango, Colorado, at 5:10 a.m. local time on July 10th and arrived at the northern terminus, the Waterton Canyon Trailhead in Denver, at 6:47 a.m. on July 22nd. He completed the Colorado Trail, which covers a total distance of approximately 780 km and has a cumulative elevation gain of approximately 27,000 meters, in 289 hours and 37 minutes (12 days, 1 hour and 37 minutes).

This marks the first and shortest time for a Korean to complete the Colorado Trail in one day, and also marks the first female-supported FKT from west to east on the Colorado Trail FKT category.

This journey is particularly significant in that she persevered until the very end, giving her all under the circumstances. Initially, Lee Ha-neul embarked on the challenge unsupported, completing the race on her own. However, due to equipment issues midway through, she switched to a supported approach and continued her challenge. Her unwavering perseverance to the finish, achieving a FKT record in the women's supported category, is significant.

Lee Ha-neul, a member of Dudububu, said, "There were countless moments when I wanted to give up, but each time, I believed in myself and tried to take one more step forward. I hope that the fact that I persevered despite the difficulties and completed the race will serve as a lifelong inspiration for myself and others. Going forward, I hope to become someone who can inspire others through my adventures into nature."

A Kolon Sports official said, “The ambassadors’ challenge of finding answers on their own in a natural environment that is difficult to predict is in line with the essence of the outdoors that the brand pursues,” and added, “We plan to continue to provide various types of support so that their activities can continue in the future.”

Meanwhile, in addition to Lee Ha-neul's record-breaking achievement, current Kolon Sport ambassadors Moon Sung-wook and Woo Seok-ju are also taking on the "Great North Faces of the Alps" project, which involves climbing the six most rugged north faces of the European Alps. With no domestic climbs to date, attention is focused on whether these achievements will lead to meaningful achievements.