Kate Kelleghan & Becca Droz Set the Naked Edge Speed Record

Kate Kelleghan and Becca Droz have set a new women's speed record on The Naked Edge in Eldorado Canyon. On October 27th, the pair climbed the six pitch 11b classic in only 36:26, bridge to bridge. Cutting 42 seconds off of the previous record, they reclaimed the female record.

The Naked Edge has drawn fast climbers for decades. Layton Kor and Rick Horn made the first integral ascent in 1964, and Jim Erickson and Duncan Ferguson freed it seven years later. Lynn Hill, Beth Bennett and Jean Dempsey made the first all-female ascent in 1978.

The modern speed era began in 2012, when Stefan Griebel and Jason Wells went bridge to bridge in under an hour. Brad Gobright, Scott Bennett and others then chipped the time down year after year. Ben Wilbur and John Ebers ran it in 24:14 in May 2020, and Joe Kennedy and Stefan Griebel set the current overall record of 22:44 in October 2022.

The women's record has its own story. Kate and Becca first set it in 2021 at 37:40. In March 2025, Kate returned with Laura Pineau and lowered it to 37:08, as COROS covered at the time. Now she and Droz have taken it back.

"It feels like the climb was made for it," Kate said. "Between bolts, anchors, fixed gear and a naturally plumb line, you can achieve a wonderful flow state on thoughtfully difficult sequences and romp through moderate terrain. It makes an excellent pre-work or evening jaunt up a tower that would usually take hours."

A speed record is won in the details, and you can't fix what you don't measure. Kate and Becca timed every training lap on their COROS APEX 4s and broke the route into three parts: the approach, the climb and the descent. Each split showed where time was leaking.

"Using COROS to track splits was a game changer," Becca said. "We could finally see how long the approach, the climb and the descent were taking, and where we had room to cut time."

The Naked Edge starts with a full sprint from the bridge, then turns into a free-solo scramble to the base of the route. By timing the approach lap after lap, the team learned how hard to push and where to save energy, metering their pace so they arrived at the first pitch fast but ready to climb. Those seconds came off the clock before the rope ever came out.

On the wall, the team used Adventure Journal to record every move of the route. Detailed voice notes and photos, broken down by pitch, captured the holds, cruxes, protection and the sequences that link them. With each pitch documented, they could rehearse the moves until the route became a choreographed dance on the wall.

The record doesn't stop at the summit. After topping out, the team still has to run down and back to the bridge. Timing their descent splits with COROS helped them track their pace on the way down, refine their movements and sequences, and cut time from the final leg.

For Kate, the partnership is what makes this record matter. "This particular record with Becca is special because we were the team that started the whole thing for the women's record," she said. "Becca has been one of my oldest and most trustworthy partners for climbing big, hard, scary or committing routes in Colorado. As one of my best friends, I can't think of a better person to keep pushing my own limits and our potential as a team."

The pair dialed in their systems over a season of fun laps, then went fast as soon as everything clicked. "This goal really felt full circle for our community and our friendship," Kate said.

Both think there is more time to find. "We know we can go faster, but travel plans, weather and sickness prevented us from giving it another attempt this season," Becca said. "I'm satisfied to have the women's record back in our hands."

Kate, as usual, is already looking ahead. "I don't think this is the end of the speed record saga just yet."