There are no handrails on the Manitou Incline. There are no lane markings, no painted kerbs, no visual cues of any kind to tell you where the next railway-tie step begins or where the mountain edge falls away. For most runners, that is challenge enough. For Kyle Coon, it is simply the starting point.

On 7th September 2025, the totally blind American athlete stood at the foot of one of Colorado's most brutal ascents, a near-vertical slab of reclaimed railway track that climbs roughly 610 metres in under a mile, with an average gradient of 45 per cent and sections that tip past 68. He had a running vest loaded with his own fluid, two trekking poles in his hands, and beside him, the voice of Brandon Stapanowich, the man who holds the record for the most Incline ascents completed in 24 hours. That voice would be Coon's eyes for every single step.

The Incline demands everything. Seasoned mountain runners describe the sensation of its steepest pitches as climbing a ladder whilst your lungs are on fire. The railway ties, uneven and worn, demand constant attention from feet that must read the terrain in fractions of a second. Coon's feet did exactly that, guided not by sight but by feel, by the tap of poles on wood and stone, and by Stapanowich's calm, precise verbal instructions cutting through the thin Colorado air.

Coon had not set out to chase a record. He settled into a steady, measured rhythm, trusting the process, trusting his guide, trusting his body. Step by deliberate step, he moved upward through the mountain's unrelenting pitch. And then, 38 minutes and 27 seconds after leaving the bottom, he topped out.

That time now stands as a Fastest Known Time for a blind para athlete on the Manitou Incline ascent, completed in supported style. It is a mark set not through recklessness but through composure, precision and an athlete's deep understanding of his own capabilities. Coon himself seems almost impatient with it already, signing off his record report with a grin embedded in the words: "Hopefully this time gets shattered soon."

It is that spirit, as much as the time on the clock, that makes this achievement remarkable. Kyle Coon did not climb the Manitou Incline despite his blindness. He climbed it as a blind athlete, on his own terms, carrying his own kit, setting his own pace, and leaving a mark on the mountain for the next person to chase.