On September 6, 2026, American Erin Ton set two new women’s supported fastest known times on Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, in a single effort.
Her round-trip time of 8 hours, 33 minutes, 42 seconds broke the previous women’s supported fastest known time (FKT) of 10 hours and six minutes, set by Fernanda Maciel by 1 hour, 32 minutes, and 18 seconds. Her ascent time of 5 hours, 47 minutes, and 50 seconds bettered the previous mark of 6 hours, 52 minutes, and 54 seconds, set by Kristina Schou Madsen by 1 hour, 5 minutes, and 4 seconds.
Erin Ton set new women’s supported FKTs for both the ascent and round-trip of Mount Kilimanjaro. Photo: Santiago Guerrero Gallegos
Located in Tanzania, Mount Kilimanjaro is a massive volcano and the highest free-standing mountain in the world at 19,341 feet (5,895 meters). It is one of the Seven Summits, the highest peaks on each of the seven continents. There are several routes that runners can take for ascent and round-trip FKT attempts on Kilimanjaro, and Ton took the Mweka Route, an out-and-back from Mweka Gate on the edge of Kilimanjaro National Park that is approximately 26 miles (42 kilometers) long with approximately 14,012 feet (4,271 meters) of elevation gain.
A Consistent Effort
Ton started from Mweka Gate at 5 a.m., spending about the first hour and a half climbing through the forest by headlamp. She says that with some insight from local guides, she chose the early start to reduce her chances of encountering trekking traffic around Mweka Camp on the descent. Guides are required on Kilimanjaro, and Ton was joined by guides Dao Kapela and Marcel Sarwatt throughout the effort.
Ton had first summited Kilimanjaro on September 3 as part of a reconnaissance trip, ascending via the Umbwe Route and descending via the Mweka Route. The trip allowed her to familiarize herself with the terrain on Mweka and provided a final dose of acclimatization before two full days of recovery. Although she had been training in Colorado and Ecuador in the two weeks prior to traveling to Tanzania, she had not been above 18,000 feet recently.
Ton running on Mount Kilimanjaro. Photo: Santiago Guerrero Gallegos
According to Ton, she hit her planned splits through Mweka, Millennium, and Barafu camps and says she felt strong until reaching Barafu, at 15,330 feet (4,673 meters). It was there that she began experiencing dizziness and nausea from the altitude. “When I became conscious of the fact that I was no longer feeling as good, I reminded myself to just not stop,” she says. “Even if I was moving slow, I had plenty of time in the bank, and moving slow but consistent is better than taking pauses.”
At Barafu Camp, Ton was joined by Kapela, who accompanied her for the remainder of the ascent. Despite the altitude symptoms, Ton reached the summit in 5 hours and 47 minutes, taking 1 hour and 5 minutes off Madsen’s previous women’s supported ascent FKT.
Ton believes there is still room to improve on the ascent record. “I do believe that I can climb the mountain faster, and I am sure that I will lower the time at some point in the future,” she says.
Ton on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro during a scouting mission. Photo courtesy of Erin Ton.
After spending a short time on the summit, Ton turned around with Maciel’s roughly three-hour descent from her previous round-trip FKT in mind. Kapela remained with her on the descent, and they were joined by Sarwatt at Barafu Camp. The three continued together to Millennium Camp, where Kapela left them, while Sarwatt continued with Ton to Mweka Gate. Ton describes Kapela as “one of the fastest downhill scree runners I have ever seen,” while Sarwatt has, in Ton’s words, “tremendous leg speed.”
“The guides I was paired with were extremely talented runners themselves, so it pushed me to get the best out of myself,” Ton says. Although she still wasn’t feeling completely back to normal from the altitude, she says the running became fun again as they reached lower elevations. “We were all hopping over rocks and cruising through the mud in unison.”
Ton returned to Mweka Gate in 8 hours, 33 minutes, and 42 seconds on the clock and was greeted with a bouquet of flowers and a finish line celebration.
Career of FKTs
Ton has made a career out of chasing FKTs — according to the Fastest Known Time website, she has now set 220 verified FKTs in countries around the world, including the U.S., Nepal, Austria, and Chile. Earlier this year, she set the women’s unsupported FKT on Aconcagua in Argentina, the highest peak in South America, and her first of the Seven Summits.
Ton on her scouting mission of Mount Kilimanjaro ahead of her FKT. Photo courtesy of Erin Ton.
“My long-term goal is to hold women’s speed records on each of the Seven Summits,” Ton says. With records on Aconcagua and Kilimanjaro now under her belt, she has five remaining. She would like to attempt Mount Vinson in Antarctica, although she says the cost of both Vinson and Mount Everest presents a significant hurdle. Ton says she potentially has plans for another of the Seven Summits before the end of the year, but isn’t ready to reveal which one.
