Runner Uses Playlist Featuring Phish, Grateful Dead & Strangefolk To Help Set Appalachian Trail Record

This past Sunday Utah resident Karl Meltzer finally finished a run down the Appalachian Trail, when he reached Georgia’s Springer Mountain. Meltzer completed the 2,189-mile trek in just under 46 days which makes him the record holder for quickest time to finish the Appalachian Trail. Karl recently spoke with Trail Runner about his feat and revealed a jam band-heavy playlist helped him complete his run.

“There was a lot of Grateful Dead, but not the studio stuff – the stuff where they really get jamming for a long time,” Meltzer told the magazine. “I had some Strange Folk (sic), a little Phish. I like that jam stuff.” Karl averaged around 47 miles and 15 hours of running each day to cover the trail between Maine and Georgia. The runner passed the time by “rocking out, unless he had a pacer or crew member to talk to” as per Trail Runner.

The 48-year-old Meltzer was the third man in the past five years to break the record. Back in 2010, when Complex asked him about the music he listens to when he runs the new record-holder said, “Mostly jam-band music: Widespread Panic, Leftover Salmon, and Phish. Music like that with an upbeat tempo. Generally I turn it off to quiet down sometimes.” Check out a playlist Karl put together for a Jango station back in 2012:

[Hat Tip – Live For Live Music]