Erin Ton has accumulated over 170 fastest known times across mountains from the Himalayas to Patagonia to the deserts of Utah. She's climbed 26 Colorado Fourteeners in high heels. And she's about to attempt the women's speed record on Aconcagua, the highest peak in South America.

But her path to becoming a professional mountain runner didn't start on the trails. It started in an Ivy League classroom, where the pressure of being a straight-A student pushed her to find new ways to cope with stress and differentiate herself.

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Growing up, Erin followed a predetermined path: straight A's, Ivy League acceptance, academic success. But once at university in upstate New York, she became the little fish in a big pond. That's when the mountains found her through weekend backpacking trips to the Adirondacks and Catskills, providing stress relief and a new outlet for excellence.

After graduating in 2020, she moved back to Colorado to finish hiking all the Fourteeners. But watching people run up and down peaks with trail vests made something click: she could see so much more if she just ran. Add Strava leaderboards to the mix, and a full-fledged FKT obsession was born.

The high heel tradition began as a celebration of finishing all the Fourteeners. Erin climbed Mount Elbert, her first fourteener, in a dress and heels as an homage. Surprisingly, the heels provided leverage on ascents, similar to skis or snowshoes.

When a reporter wrote about her Quandary Peak climb with her sister Hannah, male critics questioned whether they were putting search and rescue at risk or just seeking attention. That criticism only fueled the fire. She's now completed 26 Fourteeners in high heels, including technical peaks like Capitol and the Bells. The practice has made her more thoughtful with foot placement, skills that translate to regular running. And yes, she only wears them on the ascent, switching to trail runners at the summit.

Erin's home base in Quito sits at 9,400 feet. In Colorado, she lives in her van, sometimes sleeping at 12,000 feet for altitude training. She's used the "rip the bandaid off method" more than once, going from Tennessee's sea level to 15,000 feet at Ama Dablam base camp in a week.

Last year, guiding Tyler Andrews's expedition in Chile's Atacama Desert, she helped take clients from sea level to 6,000 meters in a week. They didn't feel good, but overcoming those mental barriers is what high-altitude mountaineering is about.

Running above 20,000 feet doesn't look like traditional running. It's not running at all, really. Your body moves through molasses while your mind screams that you should be so much further ahead. The mental barrier is often stronger than the physical limitation.

It's a humbling experience, one Erin encourages more people to explore. At those altitudes, you're forced to temper your expectations and accept that your pace will be dramatically slower than anything you'd consider acceptable at lower elevations.

This translates beyond the mountains. When voluntary suffering becomes part of your regular practice, the involuntary challenges that life throws at you don't seem as hard. If you can stay focused for 13 hours on a mountain, a four-hour work project doesn't feel daunting. If you can push through the discomfort of high altitude, everyday stressors become more manageable.

With over 170 FKTs from the Himalayas to Patagonia, Erin has found her competitive outlet. FKTs are individual, letting her choose optimal days and weather, while maintaining that competitive element. She describes them as puzzles, repeating routes to become an expert on every contour and challenge.

For those curious about FKTs, the fastest known time website offers great resources. Even if you're not competing, browsing which trails matter to local communities provides insight into what to run when visiting new places.

Mountain pursuits have taken Erin across the globe, and cultural experiences prove as valuable as athletic achievements. In Nepal's Khumbu Valley, she met Sherpas with limited resources but profound happiness, deeply connected to the earth in ways modern society has lost.

Chile's Atacama Desert surprised her most. Running through Copiapo with nice gear created uncomfortable awareness of privilege and disparity. But these experiences reveal universal truths: despite different traditions and resources, people everywhere want safety, connection, and care for loved ones.

Her advice for visitors: stay adaptable and immerse yourself in one location rather than constantly hopping around. That's why she loves FKTs; they force her to spend time understanding which trails matter to local communities.

After graduating in 2020, Erin planned one gap year before law school. Five years later, she's a professional adventurer supported by Teva and Now supplements. Those years brought doubts and comparison traps watching college friends land Wall Street jobs while she slept in her car.

What carried her through was confidence in her abilities and knowing this path would make her happiest. Real wealth isn't the fancy house with the big paycheck. It's freedom to choose how you spend your time, to pursue uncomfortable situations that force growth.

Erin is currently in Quito, Ecuador, using it as a high-altitude training base with access to Cotopaxi and Cayambe for speed efforts. It's all preparation for Aconcagua, where she'll attempt the women's speed record in about a month.

The long record on Aconcagua is historic. It starts at the nearest road, runs all the way to the 23,000-foot summit and back down, covering 40 miles with massive altitude change. Legends like Kílian Jornet and Fernanda Maciel have held this record.

On a recent morning in Ecuador, she attempted Cayambe with Tyler Andrews, Chris Fisher, and Ryan Hall. An unpredicted snowstorm buried crevasses and shut them down early. That's just part of playing in the mountains. Sometimes you roll the dice and it works out. Sometimes the mountain says not today.

The mountain will always be there. And Erin will keep coming back, whether in trail shoes or high heels, chasing the next puzzle, the next FKT, the next opportunity to explore what's possible when you push both landscape and self to their limits.

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Jon is a runner, cyclist, and podcast host from Boston, MA, who now lives in Boulder, CO. For The Long Run is aimed at exploring the why behind what keeps runners running long, strong, and motivated.

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