re: Dale Sanders, 91, reclaims record as oldest hiker to complete the Appalachian Trail

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Never hiked it (for any real distance) so this may be a dumb question, but is there just a single trail that runs the entire distance? Or is there multiple trails from start to finish? Easily marked as to not get bad lost?

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Long continuous trail than can be sectioned off
It is maintained overall by the App Trail Conservancy, but in fact by individual trail clubs managing miles long sections at a time

The trail clubs will cut back over growth, clear paths after storms, reroute if needed (also why the total distance can change each year), and paint the white blazes (rectangle markers) along the trail. And there are also signs at major points, but mostly the blazes are used to make sure you stay on trail

Shelters and tent sites are available along the way

You can thru hike, completed in 1 year, overall order doesn't really matter as long as it is done in that year, but there are some places like the white mountains in New Hampshire (mainly mt Washington) where you do not want to hike if it is bad weather. A lot of times people will skip it in bad weather and go do a couple other sections, then go back when it is clear. You can usually find a hostel that will keep your bag, loan you a smaller back and then shuttle you to a section for you to walk back to the hostel if you wanted to stay off trail for a couple nights

Section hike is doing a section at a time over the years

A lash (long arse section hike) is a long section hike where you might go out for 3 weeks, a month, or 2 months, however long and do a large section covering a few hundred miles