The original version of this story was published on iRunFar.
On September 21, 2024, Tara Dower set a new overall supported fastest known time (FKT) on the Appalachian Trail with a time of 40 days, 18 hours, and 5 minutes, to be confirmed.
The Appalachian Trail stretches 2,197 miles from Mount Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia. It travels through New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Oftentimes considered the original long-trail thru-hike, it’s an unrelenting path through the eastern U.S. The trail has 465,000 feet of elevation gain.
Dower’s mark surpasses Karel Sabbe’s previous overall and men’s supported FKT of 41 days, 7 hours, and 39 minutes, which he set in 2018, by around 13.5 hours. Previously, in 2023, Sabbe set the FKT on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT).
While Sabbe chose to complete the Appalachian route traveling northbound, Dower went southbound, leaving the summit of Mount Katahdin at 5:47 a.m. on August 12, 2024. She arrived at Springer Mountain, the trail’s southern terminus, at 11:52 p.m. on September 21. A crowd containing her crew, pacers, and other supporters met her at the finish.
Eyes on the Prize: Claiming the Appalachian Trail FKT
Dower made her intentions of going after Sabbe’s record clear before the start of this FKT attempt. She completed the rugged Maine section of the trail in a mere 6 days.
She was accompanied by crew and pacers, including Megan Wilmarth, otherwise known by her trail name of Rascal, whose official title was Crew Chief/Manager of Chaos. Her mom was also there, as was Altra teammate JP Giblin, photographer Pete Schreiner, and others.
After over 2,000 miles and 39 days on the trail, Dower notably completed the effort with a nonstop push of about 100 miles.
After finishing at Springer Mountain and becoming the fastest person to complete the trail, Dower called her FKT effort the crew’s FKT, indicating that it took the whole team to make her supported performance happen.
Dower’s effort also surpasses the men’s southbound supported FKT, set last year by Kristian Morgan at 45 days, 4 hours, and 27 minutes, as well as the women’s southbound supported FKT, set by Jennifer Pharr Davis in 2011 in 46 days, 11 hours, and 20 minutes.
Dower ran and hiked an average of almost 54 miles per day over the rugged, rocky, and rooty East Coast trail. She used the motto, “Every second counts,” to keep her moving forward and southward.
A Resume in Long-Distance Trails
Dower, whose trail name is Candy Mama, is no stranger to long-distance trails. She first attempted a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail in 2017, but stopped after only 8 days due to a panic attack. The attack forced her to confront her anxiety, and she returned to the trail in 2019. She completed the northbound thru-hike in 5 months and 10 days. In a YouTube video, she called the experience the most cherished memory in her life.
The following year, she worked as a backpacking guide for Pharr Davis, the prior women’s supported FKT holder on the Appalachian Trail. Gleaning inspiration from Pharr Davis’s incredible trail career, Dower set out in 2020 on the Mountains to Sea Trail, a 1,175-mile route from Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee, to Nags Head, North Carolina. She set the women’s supported FKT in 29 days, 8 hours, and 48 minutes.
From there, she went on to set a new women’s supported FKT on the 486-mile Colorado Trail in 8 days, 21 hours, and 59 minutes in 2023, which was subsequently bested by Nina Bridges just 3 weeks later. Dower also set an overall and women’s supported FKT on the 288-mile Benton MacKaye Trail going from Springer Mountain, Georgia, to Big Creek in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee in 2022.
She is also no stranger to ultra-racing. Dower won the 2023 Run Rabbit Run 100 Mile after placing second in 2022. She also finished fourth at the 2024 Hardrock 100.
Taking on the Appalachian Trail FKT for Girls and Women
In a YouTube video announcing her intention to chase the overall FKT earlier this year, she said, “I’m all about the challenges. I always want to challenge myself.” She also said that after having a 10-year relationship with the trail that started with her section hiking in 2014, “It felt like I was being called to the trail again.”
Dower set out with the goal to use the run to raise $20,000 for Girls on the Run. She hoped to “Inspire women and girls to go for that tough goal no matter if it’s with running or in life.” As of this reporting, Dower’s fundraiser has surpassed that goal.
