That averages out a little more than 2 marathons per day for 40 days straight. Amazing!

https://www.foxnews.com/travel...st-known-time-record

By Brittany Kasko | Fox News
Published October 13, 2024 4:00am EDT

A woman recently ran the entire length of the Appalachian Trail, beating the fastest known time by 13 hours.

Tara Dower, a 31-year-old professional runner, recently ran the roughly 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail on the East Coast in about 40 days.

The woman from Boulder, Colorado, told Fox News Digital she had previously hiked the trail but not nearly as fast.

"In 2019, I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in five months and 10 days, and then, from there, I wanted to get into the fastest known time attempts to go faster on trails," she said.

This time around, Dower decided she wanted to beat the fastest known time to complete the Appalachian Trail, which had been roughly 41 days and seven hours, she said.

Having been a runner her entire life, Dower said she was already in great shape prior to the attempt, but this effort was a challenge.

"It was 40 days, and there’s just so much to experience out there," she said. "There [were] really hard days where I couldn’t stop crying."

Dower said she ran roughly 75-80% of the trail with a pacer, so she wasn’t alone the entire time, but she said many times she struggled mentally.

"I was just sleep-deprived, and sometimes I’d have little hallucinations that would come into play," she said. She said she also tripped and fell many times throughout the journey.

The 2,189-mile route stretches through Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia.

The path typically takes a thru-hiker about five to seven months to complete, according to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.

Her mom and her crew chief were by her side to make sure she was fed and taken care of throughout.

Dower said she would sometimes run seven to 10 miles alone before seeing someone at a road.

"I viewed myself as the race car, and the crew was the pit crew," she said. "So, they’re maintaining me, fueling me, doing whatever is needed to keep me going."

Dower tried to consume about 300 calories an hour while running, anything from energy gummies to Goldfish crackers, pretzels or wraps.

At every road crossing, Dower would drink a protein shake within a few minutes while continuing to walk before starting to run the trail again.

"Maine and New Hampshire were really difficult," she said. "The terrain out in the Northeast is pretty rugged and technical … and that makes it even harder when you’re in New Hampshire [and] it’s these rocks, literal boulders you have to climb up."

After 40 days, 18 hours and five minutes, Dower completed the Appalachian Trail in record time.

Although she and her crew knew she was going to beat the record, Dower said she wouldn’t let herself believe it until the last three miles.

"I didn’t let myself believe that I was going to get the FKT until like 3 miles out because I was falling so much and so often — and very violently — that I thought that at any moment I could fall and bust my kneecap or dislocate my shoulder somehow and not be able to continue," she said.

As for how she’s recovering, Dower said she’s been dealing with a bit of brain fog and a glute injury.

"What’s next is eating more ice cream and sleeping more," she said.

Before Dower's accomplishment, Karel Sabbe held the fastest known time running the Appalachian Trail in 41 days, 7 hours and 38 minutes in 2018, according to outsideonline.com, an online magazine that reports on outdoor news and adventures.

I have been on the AT. Certainly impressive.

I did 60 miles in 4 days on the stretch in TN and NC about half the miles in each State. It was all mountains of course and I thought I was some sort of super hero. What that lady did is amazing !

Whenever I see things like this, or people crossing the ocean in an inner tube, roller skating around the world etc etc... I think "Another person without a job" or "another bored trust fund baby".

quote:

professional runner,

Good to see she's supporting herself. I wish she'd quit goofing off though and get back to work. Have you tried hiring a good professional runner lately? They're harder to find than a good auto mechanic.

quote:

That averages out a little more than 2 marathons per day for 40 days straight. Amazing!

On rough terrain, up and down mountains! Amazing indeed!

This rates up there with the running exploits I've read about Dean Karnazes, such as:

50 marathons in 50 consecutive days in 50 states
350 miles in 80 hrs, 45 min

quote:

Originally posted by Genorogers:
I did 60 miles in 4 days on the stretch in TN and NC about half the miles in each State. It was all mountains of course and I thought I was some sort of super hero. What that lady did is amazing !

Yes, and you did it without having/hiring a "pacer" and having support staff at every road crossing.

If she has any sort of orienteering skills, she should get an invite to The Barkley.

Hell, if she doesn't she should focus on adding those to her skillset over next 6 months, and then go.

quote:

Originally posted by Blackmore:
Yes, and you did it without having/hiring a "pacer" and having support staff at every road crossing.

You say that like this somehow diminishes that lady's accomplishment. You do know a "pacer" isn't a 4-wheeler you get to ride on, right?

While amazing, I wonder how she’ll feel about it when she’s 60 and her body is destroyed. To each their own, I guess. I hate running and only do it so I don’t get fat and die.

quote:

Originally posted by Georgeair:
If she has any sort of orienteering skills, she should get an invite to The Barkley.

Hell, if she doesn't she should focus on adding those to her skillset over next 6 months, and then go.

quote:

Originally posted by Blackmore:
Yes, and you did it without having/hiring a "pacer" and having support staff at every road crossing.

You say that like this somehow diminishes that lady's accomplishment. You do know a "pacer" isn't a 4-wheeler you get to ride on, right?

I know da!!ed well what a pacer is.

As someone who has hiked the rocky summits of northern New England for 6 decades and worked maintaining the AT, making it a quest to beat someone else rather than simply enjoying the experience of being in the mountains just isn't consistent with the ethic I grew up with.

The corollary to "no good deed goes unpunished" is "no accomplishment goes uncriticized".

Always some people who are fun to be around at parties. Not!

I'm a runner simply for my health, and to stay in shape for hiking. I'd much rather hike the AT slow, and with a pack, and soak in the experience. That doesn't change the fact that what she did is impressive, though. I couldn't run a marathon on flat ground, much less two per day in the mountains for 40 days straight!

To each their own, but I'd be perfectly happy to share the trail with somebody like her. Based on her speed, our encounter would only be fleeting anyway, and it definitely beats playing leapfrog all day with some douchebag blaring music from his Bluetooth speaker!

Trail running continues to grow in popularity.

For those wanting to know, she's a pro athlete for Altra, one of the leading brands for trail hike/run activities.

No surprise the Altra Lone Peak was in her rotating quiver of shoes used.

As a teen I lived in western NC and the AT ran less than a mile from my house. As a scout we did Wayah Bald to Winding Stair in Franklin. (Maybe 10 miles) no way would I have run the whole thing.