[masraum]

Scarcely believable!

https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a62330229/tara-dower-appalachian-trail-record/

Minutes before midnight on Saturday evening, Tara Dower emerged from the forest on Springer Mountain in Blue Ridge, Georgia. Trudging through the darkness, the 31-year-old wore a headlamp to navigate the last section of the Appalachian Trail—a beacon in the homestretch of a legendary journey.

With thousands of miles behind her, Dower fell to her knees and put her hands on the finish, a bronze plaque that reads, “A footpath for those who seek fellowship with the wilderness.”

On September 21, Dower became the fastest person in history to complete the Appalachian Trail, a 2,189-mile path that traverses Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia.

The professional ultrarunner, who lives and trains in Virginia Beach, Virginia, covered the trail heading southbound in 40 days, 18 hours, and five minutes, the fastest known time (FKT), pending verification. She beat the previous overall record by 13 hours.

Prior to Dower’s trek, the fastest known time was held by Karel Sabbe. Heading northbound, the Belgian runner finished the trail in 41 days, 7 hours, and 38 minutes in 2018. Dower’s performance also returns the FKT distinction to a woman for the first time since 2015, when Scott Jurek eclipsed Jennifer Pharr Davis’ then-record by three hours, according to Outside.

While navigating notoriously difficult sections on rocky terrain with a total vertical gain of 465,000 feet, Dower ran and hiked an average of 54 miles each day with consistent support from her mom, Debby Komlo, and friend Megan Wilmarth, in addition to volunteers who paced her through different sections.

Her days began with a 3 a.m. alarm (usually from a tent close to the trail) followed by a quick breakfast. After taping blisters and sores on her feet, she set off in the dark around 3:30 a.m. For the next 17 hours or so, Dower only stopped for a couple of short breaks for meals, 90-second “dirt naps,” and pacers rotating in and out until 8:30-9:30 p.m.

Dower estimated she only ran solo for 20 percent of the time. When she did, she listened to audiobooks and movie soundtracks, like La La Land and Moulin Rouge, often singing to herself to stay awake.

Dower and her crew were so focused on time efficiency and staying close to the trail, she only took three showers throughout the entire thru-hike. Instead, they relied on baby wipes, clean clothes, and friends to help detangle her hair. “There was a time when I was itching my skin and clumps of dirt and Icy Hot were under my nails. I was like, this is really gross,” she said.

Though she got off to a strong start, Dower had to summon extra strength in the second half to match the pace set by Sabbe. On the section of the trail that hits New Jersey, Dower and her crew realized she was falling behind by 100 miles or so and decided to increase her daily mileage from 43-54 to 55-60. In tough moments, Wilmarth reminded her friend that she’s capable. “Tara is really good at doing hard things, and that’s what I would tell her this whole time,” she said.

In the last 129 miles, with the FKT well within reach, Dower didn’t even stop to sleep. That last stretch proved to be the hardest physically and mentally. “I had this huge crew that was with me that was putting everything into this, their time and money, and bodies into this effort. I was nervous I would fall and mess it up,” Dower said while describing how she bounced back from several tumbles on the trail. “I didn’t believe [the FKT] would happen until the last three miles.”