Michelino Sunseri refers to his presidential pardon as a surreal ending to more than a year of drama after his record-setting speed run on the Grand Teton.
"I’m like, dude, what is this? It is one of those things where you really don’t know what to think," said Sunseri. "We started busting up laughing because this whole ordeal from start to finish has been mind-numbingly infuriating and laughable."
WATCH: Michelino Sunseri reacts to presidential pardon
On Labor Day of 2024, Sunseri climbed 7,000 feet to reach the summit of the Grand Teton. He turned around and flew back down, finishing the 13-mile round trip in 2:50:50. With this time, Sunseri set a new speed record on this iconic route.
"At first I was like dang, cool," said Sunseri. "The training took four years of going up and down that peak 44 times, I think."
Sunseri's joy of accomplishment didn't last long. Fastest Known Time, which keeps the records and is owned by Outdoor Magazine, refused to acknowledge Sunseri's time because he skipped a switchback on his descent.
"When people think [of] cutting a switchback, a lot of the time you are thinking there is a really short trail that zig zags up and someone is running through bushes and flowers," said Sunseri. "This specific trail is nothing like that."
Sunseri took what is known as the Old Climber's Trail. This route has been used by speed runners since 1939. It was most recently utilized as the trail for the first women's speed run in 2022.
Fastest Known Time has flagged the people who have used this route and only acknowledges runners who have taken what is called the Modern Route.
"Some of the first recorded FKT's going up and down that mountain all used that trail," said Sunseri. "Fastest Known Time and Outside Magazine retroactively have worked to destroy this history of this mountain, and it's unfortunate."
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Dent ended up going down a huge rabbit hole doing his research and found that these speed runs have always come with controversy because they don't happen on a closed trail running course. Furthermore, these races differ from mountaineering.
Technology has changed how these runs are judged. It's easy to find varying opinions on the ethics of speed runs, both supporting Sunseri and criticizing him.
However, it was about to get worse for Sunseri as Grand Teton National Park decided to pursue criminal charges for taking the shortcut because the park doesn't consider Old Climber's Trail a trail.
Federal Code 36 CFR 2.1 B states, "The superintendent may restrict hiking or pedestrian use to a designated trail or walkway system. Leaving a trail or walkway to shortcut between portions of the same trail or walkway is prohibited."
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"I reached out to the park and I reached out to the Jenny Lake rangers to try to find a way to rectify the situation and possibly do some community service to not have to go to court over this," said Sunseri.
The Department of Justice offered a plea deal, but Sunseri who lives in Driggs, Idaho, turned that down because it came with a five-year ban from Teton National Park.
"There is no way I could take that because I live in the Tetons," said Sunseri, "I recreate in the Tetons year-round, and essentially taking a plea deal like that forces me to move out of the area. I’m a professional mountain runner, and not being able to ski and recreate in the mountains I love, I can't accept that."
So the case went to trial, and a federal judge found Sunseri guilty on Sept. 2, 2025, a year after his historic run. Sunseri received a federal class B misdemeanor with no jail time, but it came with a fine of up to $5,000 and a potential lifetime ban from the park.
However, last week he received a pardon from President Trump.
"A lot of this hasn’t made any sense from the beginning, so it is only fitting that it ends in an equally surreal and incredible way," said Sunseri.
Sunseri and the team from Fior Productions are in post-production of a documentary, "Racing the Grand Teton".
This film features its own story, where the two photographers sued the National Park after not securing a permit to film Senseri's run.
They can now use that footage after former President Biden signed the FILM Act as part of the EXPLORE Act at the end of his term.
