An Interview With Tara Dower on Her Appalachian Path FKT – iRunFar

On September 21, 2024, Tara Dower set a brand new total supported quickest recognized time (FKT) on the two,197-mile Appalachian Path, breaking not solely the previous girls’s report but in addition the boys’s. Her time of 40 days, 18 hours, and 6 minutes had her averaging just below 54 miles a day on the East Coast path recognized for its mud, rocks, and roots. No stranger to lengthy path FKTs, with a number of to her title, Dower can also be an completed ultrarunner, having received the Run Rabbit Run 100 Mile in 2023 and positioned fourth at Hardrock 100 earlier this summer time. She’s one of many few ultrarunners who has efficiently built-in lengthy path FKTs and shorter race efforts right into a single summer time.

In an in-depth telephone interview six days after her end, Dower talks extensively about how her effort unfolded, how beneficial her crew was to her success, the ladies who’ve acted as her position fashions, and the way she desires to encourage different girls to set large objectives. The transcript of this interview has been gently edited for readability.

Tara began this effort with the purpose of elevating $20,000 for the nonprofit Ladies on the Run. As this text is revealed, she’s practically doubled that. You’ll be able to nonetheless donate to her fundraiser.

Be taught extra about Tara’s run in our information article about her FKT.

iRunFar: Hello. Tara, how are you?

Dower: Good. I really feel drained. I miss the path. Particularly with being again right here in Virginia and positively lacking all the things.

iRunFar: You grew to become totally normalized for path life; your physique and thoughts tailored to it.

Dower: And being across the crew all the time, having any individual round the entire time. Lots of people within the thru-hiking neighborhood discuss a post-trail despair. I positively really feel that, “I want I used to be again there.” Not doing as many miles, although. [laughs]

iRunFar: That’s an amazing place to begin this interview; you set the purpose beforehand of setting an total supported FKT. This required you to hike and run a median of about 54 miles daily, till it’s achieved. You had an amazing position mannequin in Jennifer Pharr Davis being a girls’s chief within the thru-hiking neighborhood and a previous total supported Appalachian Path FKT holder. I’d like to learn the way you determined to go for the general FKT.

Dower: I used to be empowered to set such a lofty purpose due to the ladies position fashions I’ve had. I’ve been so fortunate to have girls who’ve come earlier than me. I imply, even going again to Ann Trason, and even additional. Those that I take essentially the most inspiration from have been Jen Pharr Davis, Courtney Dauwalter, and Heather Anderson. They path blazed, and that’s given me — and I do know plenty of different girls — confidence to go for these robust objectives and to even take into account them potential.

I feel wrapping my head round that, it’s simply this blind confidence. I do know, clearly, I’ve an understanding of the Appalachian Path, and I’ve plenty of expertise on the path, in addition to endurance races and endurance feats. However I feel it takes a bit of greater than that, particularly with such a protracted report, something might occur. I wasn’t 100% assured. I’m not going on the market, “I’ll set the report.” I do know Karel Sabbe [the men’s supported Appalachian Trail FKT holder and prior holder of the overall supported FKT] went on the market like, “I’m gonna’ set the report it doesn’t matter what.” I didn’t have that confidence.

It was because of my crew that I made it by way of and made it in that point. I ran it, however I didn’t do quite a bit in addition to working. They did all the things. They did all of the logistics — my mother and Rascal [Megan Wilmarth, whose trail name is Rascal]. Rascal is the Supervisor of Chaos, as she likes to say. They had been those with the grasp plan to get me to the tip, and for lots of it, I type of misplaced autonomy. I didn’t make any decisions for myself. I didn’t select what I used to be going to eat or what number of miles I used to be going to do. I might beg Rascal for one or two fewer miles in a day, and typically she would entertain that, however nothing was as much as me. I didn’t make any selections.

iRunFar: iRunFar readers are extra aware of the crewing facet at an ultramarathon the place it’s over in six hours, 12 hours, or 30 hours, versus 40 days. Would you name it really a multi-pronged effort the place each prongs carry the identical quantity of weight to make a report occur? Crew in ultrarunning offers important help however not as strongly as I feel you’re inferring right here.

Dower: I might name it a crew effort throughout. With out them, none of this may have been potential. I can see myself in a 100-mile race; if one thing occurred to the place the crew couldn’t meet me, I might in all probability survive off the help station meals and possibly simply grit it to the tip. That wouldn’t be gratifying. I want the crew, and I want the pacers throughout a 100-mile race, and I admire all their assist as a result of they assist me get there far more effectively. However, for this kind of lengthy, supported report, it’s only potential to do it with a crew, particularly the general report.

I imply, I didn’t have full confidence that I might do it. I simply knew I ought to go on the market and check out my finest. When it acquired robust and after we had been behind, if it was as much as me, I’d in all probability be like, “All proper, we tried.” We had been 100-something miles behind at one level, and Rascal didn’t bat a watch. She was like, “It’s okay. We’ll get again there. We’ll make a plan.” And that’s precisely what she did. She put miles on my schedule that I used to be very intimidated by, and he or she instructed me, “I do know you are able to do it, however I want you to know that you are able to do it,” and I didn’t imagine it for the longest time. However day after day, I used to be doing 58s and 60s and 57s [miles per day], and I used to be like, “That is potential.”

iRunFar: I like the way you’re concerning each the bodily help {that a} crew provides and that psychological help along with your self-belief system.

Dower: Yeah. They conjured the proper phrases to get me to the tip. They stored me fed effectively, which helped my temper and in addition helped me bodily. They simply stored the temper gentle and straightforward, which made it easy to get pleasure from it extra. It’s a crew effort, 100%. I do know that sounds foolish once I say, “I simply ran,” however they did all the things else.

iRunFar: That’s superb. To backtrack, the individuals who observe you on iRunFar know you most by way of your extremely exploits, however you have got plenty of thru-hiking expertise. Are you able to place this expertise for iRunFar readers? I feel it’s in all probability each extremely abilities and your expertise with lengthy trails that got here collectively.

Dower: Truthfully, my total path profession began with the Appalachian Path. After I was a freshman in faculty, I watched a documentary referred to as “The Appalachian Path” by “Nationwide Geographic,” and I made a purpose to thru-hike it after I graduated. I had run the mile and cross nation in highschool, and I used to be good, however I didn’t need to go off and do something nice with it. It was simply an gratifying expertise. I like working lengthy distances.

So in 2017 I began my thru-hike, and I made about 80 miles. I had an nervousness assault at Bly Hole and acquired off the path. It was type of a traumatic expertise, having a panic assault within the woods on my own. I had a migraine, and I couldn’t get my breath below management. After two years of engaged on my nervousness and attending to a spot the place I felt wholesome once more, I went again out and thru-hiked the path in 5 months and 10 days, and it was one of the best expertise. I made so many associates. That’s the place I met Rascal in Pennsylvania, and that began our total friendship, and my friendship with so many different individuals.

I used to be entrenched on this neighborhood, too, and in order that’s one other facet of this. I’ve met them throughout all my exploits on the Appalachian Path. All of them simply got here collectively for this report, so I’m grateful for them.

I wished to do one other thru-hike and thought in regards to the Mountains to Sea Path, which is 1,175 miles throughout North Carolina. Then COVID-19 occurred in 2020, and I made a decision I wished to do it in a much less impactful method. I used to be working for Jen Pharr Davis as a backpacking information and hostel caretaker, and he or she impressed me to go for the FKT. So I did it with a bit of quarantine crew, and we simply traveled down the path. I set the FKT on that, and that started all the things. I knew that Diane Van Deren was a 100-mile athlete and a The North Face athlete. She set the report earlier than me, and I used to be like, “Okay, if she will be able to do 100-mile races, possibly I might do 100-mile races.” And that’s the place the ultramarathon obsession began.

iRunFar: We are able to blame/thank Diane Van Deren?

Dower: She began all of it. I simply felt like possibly this could possibly be my subsequent problem. A 12 months later, I did my first 100 miler, and I went from there. I actually cherished the 100-mile distance and by no means appeared again. I might say the Appalachian Path began all of it.

iRunFar: You efficiently cross forwards and backwards between working ultras and doing these longer FKT efforts. That is in contrast to a number of ultrarunners who’ve come earlier than you, the place they take up lengthy path mountain climbing after ultrarunning to attempt one thing totally different. You’re integrating them.

Dower: For certain. It’s a purpose of mine to do an extended path yearly. I might say a 20o-plus-mile path yearly. It may be an FKT or a thru-hike. I need to see what number of trails I can get.

iRunFar: I assume, that’s a examine mark for this 12 months. [laughs]

Dower: Yeah, I feel we’re good for this 12 months. [laughs]

iRunFar: I’m questioning if we will parse out your effort a bit of bit. I do know 40 days is a very long time to summarize in a single interview, however the path itself has segments. In case you can break it into segments, how does your thoughts digest all of it?

Dower: Yeah, I might say southern Maine and New Hampshire had been essentially the most difficult elements of the path. It’s simply actually troublesome. The whole Appalachian Path, they don’t imagine in switchbacks, however there, it’s even worse. It’s simply relentless rocks. I struggled by way of there, fell behind on report tempo, and was fully exhausted. I might say one of the best phrase to explain that part was simply demoralized. Additionally, the climate wasn’t good, making going quicker on these trails even tougher. Even simply three miles per hour is troublesome; two miles an hour was just about what I used to be sitting at. I might say the Northeast was actually troublesome.

Then you definately get into Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, and it’s flowy. However then in Pennsylvania and New York, you get these rocky parts that break up the circulation and make it onerous to maintain a stable tempo. It may not be loopy mountains, nevertheless it’s rocky and onerous to maintain a stable tempo. I used to be capable of make up a while on this part. We realized in that space that I must put down some big-mile days to catch as much as Karel Sabbe’s report tempo. And that’s the belief, and I wasn’t fairly assured in my talents then. So I might say I used to be simply discovering, “What is feasible? What can I do?”

Then you definately get into Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia, which will get actually flowy. And a few sections are troublesome, some fairly gnarly mountains just like the Priest and Three Ridges, nevertheless it’s fairly flowy, and we will make up plenty of time in that space. Virginia is one in all my favourite states, too.

Then we acquired into Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia. And that’s the place we had been pushing fairly onerous, and you would odor the barn. However, for me, I by no means allowed myself to even get to the purpose of pondering I might get the report and even come near the report. It wasn’t till three miles out that I stated, “Oh, this can be a chance.” That’s why once I completed and noticed the response, I wasn’t, like, making ready myself. After I noticed a response. I used to be like, “Gosh, that is intense.” I didn’t even put together myself for the report.

iRunFar: You talked in regards to the Northeast having the psychological challenges after which entering into the bodily challenges of placing in a number of further miles each day to get again on report tempo. After which, what’s it in ultras, you odor the barn after mile 90 or mile 95 in a 100-mile race? However was it every week of beginning to odor the barn if it’s a 40-day effort?

Dower: Yeah. I simply knew the tip was coming, it doesn’t matter what. I knew it was going to finish. I don’t suppose I knew, “I’m gonna’ be the quickest time,” however I knew, “It’s coming to an finish it doesn’t matter what.”

iRunFar: Talking of accidents, did you are feeling issues approaching at any time?

Dower: I had a good hamstring by way of Pennsylvania and the Shenandoah mountains. We needed to stretch that out a bunch. I had some Achilles ache in southern New Hampshire and Vermont. It’s quite common for people who find themselves doing the Appalachian Path FKT to get shin splints, and I feel I satisfied myself a few instances I used to be getting shin splints, however it could go away.

Apart from that, I simply fell quite a bit, and it was actually violent. I’m simply clumsy. I had plenty of falls that had been terrifying. I used to be at all times satisfied on these falls, I might break my kneecap or dislocate my shoulder, and it could all be over. My job was so easy. All I needed to do was run and eat. My crew is doing all of those different issues, and I used to be anxious that I might smash my half on this by falling as soon as. I simply acquired reduce up and bruised however by no means acquired critically injured throughout a fall.

iRunFar: To shut out your FKT effort, you probably did a remaining nonstop push of round 100 miles? What was that like?

Dower: It was 129 miles and 43 hours.

iRunFar: Wow. That has grow to be a reasonably customary characteristic of those lengthy path velocity efforts, is that individuals got down to run X miles per day, after which end out with this large, remaining effort on the order of 100 miles. In your case, nearly 130 miles. What’s it prefer to set out on one thing that’s by itself an extremely on the finish of a month-long extremely?

Dower: Yeah, it’s humorous. I considered that one once I completed 30 miles in that push. I acquired to the 100 miles to the tip, and I checked out my time, and I used to be like, “Okay, that is Hardrock. It’s a 100-mile race, and I’ve a 48-hour cutoff,” so I might simply have a look at it like that and simply end.

Nevertheless it’s fully totally different as a result of the tempo is a lot slower, and all the things and everybody is concentrated on you. When in a race, it’s like you may go into the background a bit extra and discover that internal encouragement. I used to be inspired by everybody there, however everybody’s so targeted on you. They’re all simply saying, “Good job, Tara. You are able to do it. You bought this.”

iRunFar: Ultrarunners, path runners, and thru-hikers are all fairly humble beings. They’re individuals who similar to to be out on trails or roads for a very long time and inside their heads or with their associates. What was it prefer to have a lot consideration coming to some extent, you as you might be in that remaining push, watching your tracker, seeing you on the path, and following your end?

Dower: Yeah, I ended up popping out of the Smoky Mountains — I feel it’s three or three-and-a-half, 4 days earlier than the tip — and I deleted Instagram, Fb, and all social media off my telephone. So I wasn’t even that. There have been lots of people at Neels Hole recording me. I bear in mind feeling a bit of overwhelmed with that.

Fortunately, my crew, they’re nice, and we simply have enjoyable collectively. When the main focus was on me, I tended to deflect and attempt to be like, “However have a look at Rascal! Take a look at all the things she’s doing. She simply paced me for, I don’t even know what number of miles she paced me total, nevertheless it was a lot within the final 43 hours. And have a look at JP Giblin, who paced me for the final 30 miles of all the factor. Or have a look at Hunter Leininger, who paced me in a single day and hand-fed me all the method.”

I are inclined to deflect, as a result of I hate to say that is my FKT. I want I might placed on the Quickest Recognized Time web site, that the report was set by Staff Chump Change. That was a giant focus of mine earlier than. I wished to lean closely on the crew facet and make jobs. So my job was, we stated, race automobile or runner. After which Rascal is Crew Chief/Supervisor of Chaos; just about, she’s the boss. My mother was Camp Mother. She does laundry and this and that. We made very clear jobs and tried to encourage as a lot as potential, “This can be a crew effort.” Lengthy story brief, I attempted to deflect and be, “Take a look at all these nice individuals over right here.”

iRunFar: You make a extremely good level, and possibly the parents on the Quickest Recognized Time web site are listening. Perhaps sooner or later, there could possibly be alternatives to determine the crews which might be part of these lengthy, supported FKTs. As you stated, there are such a lot of various things that they’re dealing with. And the distinction between unsupported and supported FKTs — they’re two totally different sports activities. You’re by your self within the unsupported effort, and it’s actually a crew within the supported effort.

Dower: Yeah, it’s within the title. There are some FKTs you would in all probability get away with, I imply you might be supported, nevertheless it’s not as vital. However I genuinely imagine in these lengthy, supported FKTs, the crew is all the things.

iRunFar: Your story on iRunFar is the most well-liked information story within the final two years. I count on that you’re getting an unlimited quantity of consideration. You made it clear that you just had been doing this to elevate cash for the nonprofit Ladies on the Run and to attempt to unfold confidence amongst girls athletes. You have got an enormous platform to do this proper now, with tons of of 1000’s of individuals listening. What do you need to say?

Dower: I’m no scientist, however I imagine girls have this particular reward of endurance that we haven’t absolutely tapped into but. I feel we’ve made big strides in that path. With Ann Trason and again, additional than her, these girls have been constructing on prime of one another simply seeing what is feasible, and it’s thrilling to suppose we’re scratching the floor at this level. I’m inspired to see, earlier than I did this FKT, all the ladies pushing the boundaries and all of those course information happening in ultramarathons. So simply with Katie Schide, issues are getting loopy for girls in endurance, and I’m so excited to see what is going to occur.

However I feel, going out right here, a giant purpose of mine was to encourage and encourage. It’s troublesome for me to say, “I’m inspiring girls.” I don’t know why. I’ve to recover from that, nevertheless it was a giant purpose of mine to point out girls that we will get these total information.

I’ve heard that the longer the gap, the extra even the taking part in area for the genders, and that’s simply thrilling for me. It’s not about beating the boys, however it’s about discovering our true potential. And there may be that benchmark with males, what they’ve achieved in historical past, and it’s thrilling to see us constructing as much as that and seeing what girls are able to.

I hope that extra girls exit and try this robust purpose. It doesn’t should be in working or endurance efforts, however I’m actually excited to see extra girls go after that Appalachian Path FKT and see how we will decrease that bar. So, I’m hoping that I encourage extra girls to go for that report or go for a run and see how far they’ll go.

Additionally, Ladies on the Run, I partnered with them for a purpose, to have a direct affect on these communities of younger women. I bear in mind being a younger woman and nearly having this sense of, “I can do something,” after seeing Mia Hamm. “I need to be a professional soccer participant like Mia Hamm.” I’ve benefited tremendously from girls position fashions, and I hope to provide again in that method and present those that issues are potential. It’s a cool time to be in endurance sports activities as a girl.

iRunFar: You understand the Appalachian Path higher than anyone else at this precise second. You had been simply on it, and also you simply did it in a really condensed interval. So you have got consumed all of it not too long ago, and what do you suppose? Down the street 5 years, 10 years, 15 years. What is feasible for a lady on the Appalachian Path?

Dower: That’s an amazing query. I do not know, however let’s see. Let me perform a little math right here. [laughs, pulls out calculator]

Okay, so I feel 37 days is feasible. That could be very aggressive. However I didn’t know, after New York, New Jersey, the place Rascal stated to me, “We’re bumping up the mileage.” So, at that time, I’m doing 57s, 58s, 59s, 60s [miles per day], and just about back-to-back, over and over. We had been relentless. After I acquired to that time, I didn’t suppose that was potential in any respect, however we did it, and I did it with the encouragement of my crew. However who is aware of, 59-, 60-mile days, that could possibly be potential, particularly 15 or 20 years down the road. But additionally, I’m no scientist.

iRunFar: I feel these things is equal elements science and instinct, and you’ve got plenty of instinct for this. Moreover, there isn’t a science for half these things proper now. Congratulations, Tara. I do know at some point you’re going to really feel snug saying that you just encourage individuals as a result of that’s already a reality. You encourage me, and you’ve got impressed many.

Dower: Thanks. I admire that.