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A local ultrarunner just shattered the Wildwood Trail out-and-back record by about half an hour, with a time of just over eight hours.
On July 1, Ajay Hanspal, 26, ran from the Vietnam Memorial in Forest Park to the end of trail at Newberry Road in Northwest Portland (about 30 miles) and then back again. The effort is called a Wildwood End-to-End-to-End, or E2E2E, in trail runner-speak. Hanspal covered the 60-plus miles in 8 hours, 4 minutes.
The previous record was held by trail runner Matt Spear in a 2020 attempt that clocked in at 8 hours, 29 minutes. Unlike Spear, Hanspal ran a supported effort, meaning that he had a crew of five pacers and people to help support him with nutrition, hydration or any medical care necessary. During the attempt, Hanspal tripped and fell once and also rolled his ankle around mile 32.
“It’s still a bit black and blue, but no serious harm done, I believe,” he says.
Hanspal is originally from the United Kingdom and has lived in Northwest Portland since October. He is a former Royal Marine and came to trail running during rehabilitation from a traumatic brain injury while in the service in 2018.
“Running probably saved my life,” Hanspal says. “What started as rehab and running away from so much turned into a passion, a career and a way to reconnect with who I was post-brain injury.”
Two other Pacific Northwest records have caught his eye: the Pacific Crest Trail and the “Triple D” in the Columbia River Gorge, which involves climbing Devils Rest, Mount Defiance and Dog Mountain. He ran the Hood to Coast last summer as part of a traditional team of 12. It was his first relay race.
“If I did it again,” he says, “I’d prefer to run the whole thing myself.”
