About

Mercury on the Run is a blog chronicling Liz Derstine’s wild adventures and poignant thoughts on running and life. Subscribe for weekly stories in your inbox.

About Liz

Liz Derstine, trail name “Mercury”, is a distance runner, hiker, writer, and musician residing in Greater Boston, MA. She holds the fastest known times for women on the Appalachian Trail (supported, northbound), Vermont’s Long Trail (self-supported), and Pinhoti Trail (self-supported). Liz is also a classical pianist, songwriter/composer, and has toured all over the globe as a keyboardist and singer. She is currently pursuing a Master of Music at Longy School of Music of Bard College. Learn more about Liz at lizderstine.com.

Liz is a proud ambassador for New England-based running brand Tracksmith. Tracksmith honors the Amateur Spirit upon which the sport was founded and champions the Running Class – the non-professional yet competitive runners dedicated to the pursuit of personal excellence. Use Liz’s referral link to take $50 off your first Tracksmith purchase.

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Fastest Known Times:

Appalachian Trail – Women’s Supported, Northbound (2020)
2,193 miles / 515,000ft elevation gain / 51 days, 16 hours, 30 minutes

Long Trail – Women’s Self-Supported (2022)
272 miles / 66,000ft elevation gain / 6 days, 8 hours, 12 minutes

Pinhoti Trail – Women’s Self-Supported (2022)
348.6 miles / 50,000ft elevation gain / 7 days, 18 hrs, 22 minutes

SCAR (Smokies Challenge Adventure Run) – Women’s Supported (2021)
72 miles / 18,660ft elevation gain / 18:27:07

Forest Park Nasties | Tour de Nasty – Overall Self-Supported (2020)
67.5 miles / 13,500ft elevation gain / 13:58:05

Wildwood Trail | Out and Back – Women’s Unsupported (2020)
60.4 miles / 6,600ft elevation gain / 11:53:43

Kings Mt. – Elk Mt. Loop – Women’s Unsupported (2020)
10.8 miles / 3,700ft elevation gain / 2:27:47

Personal Records / Achievements

2022 Across the Years Last Person Standing – DNF / 4th to last overall / 104 laps / 108.96 miles

2022 JFK 50 Mile – 7:36:54, 9th place

2022 Hagg Mud 50K – 4:34:11, 1st place

2021 Promise Land 50K – 5:51:56, 6th place

2021 Hellgate 100K – 13:57:49, 4th place

2019 Hellgate 100K – 14:18:47, 4th place, ultramarathon debut

2020 Houston Marathon – 2:51:34

2019 Holiday Half Marathon – 1:22:43

2018 – Tenacious 10K – 36:44

2018 – Carlsbad 5000 – 18:01

Appletree Half Marathon Course Record (1:24:50, 2019)

13-time Boston Marathon qualifier

3x Fastest Known Time of the Week (Appalachian Trail 2020, SCAR 2021, Pinhoti Trail 2022)

2021 Fastest Known Time of the Year top ten nominee (Smokies Challenge Adventure Run)

2022 #5 Women’s Fastest Known Time of the Year (Long Trail, self-supported)

Get in touch by using the contact form below, or by sending snail mail to the following address:

Liz Derstine
27 Garden St
Cambridge, MA 02138