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—Miles, 40 Days, and 3 Showers: How Tara Dower Destroyed the Appalachian Trail Speed Record.
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.
“This isn’t my FKT,” Dower told Runner’s World on a phone call in between naps on Monday morning. “It’s not just mine because without the crew, I would not have done it.”
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 The 5 Best Hiking Shoes for 2024 and Moulin Rouge, nine 100-mile races.
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.”
To help distract her, Dower asked her pacers to talk to her about anything other than the record. Together, they shared stories of their favorite moments on the trip, including the breathtaking sunsets in Virginia and wildlife they encountered.
With one mile to go, Dower went from feeling worried to grateful—for the crew who helped guide her and the experience of doing something unprecedented.
“That last mile was pretty special,” Wilmarth said. “You could just tell she was zoned in and focused.”
For Dower, the record also signifies redemption in many ways. Seven years ago, she was eight days into her first thru-hike attempt on the Appalachian Trail when she suffered from a panic attack. A novice to long-distance hiking at the time, the former college rugby player was forced to end her hike early and confront her anxiety.
In the years that followed, she worked on understanding the condition and found ways of coping with it. Dower put more effort into building a community of friends on the trails. She also adjusted her perspective on goal setting. Instead of feeling overwhelmed with reaching the final destination, she started to set smaller benchmark goals that lead up to a big goal.
Two years later, Dower returned with her husband and completed a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail going northbound in five months and 10 days. “I really loved that experience,” she said. “I really felt like I was meant to hike the trail in 2019.”
Dower, who shares her ultra running and thru-hiking feats on her YouTube channel, announced her FKT attempt in January. In a short video, she said, “I’m all about the challenges. I always want to challenge myself … and number two, it just felt like I was being called to the trail again.”
Dower said learning from thru-hiking legends, including previous record-holder Pharr Davis, helped inspire her record attempt this summer.
She also used the Appalachian Trail FKT as a fundraising opportunity for Girls on the Run, a nonprofit organization that hosts running programs for girls around the country. Since taking off from the start at Katahdin Mountain in Maine, she’s raised over $24,000 far surpassing her goal of $20,000. (Donations are still open.)
In addition to the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail, the Appalachian Trail is considered one of the “Big 3” national scenic trails, according to the Fastest Known Time website, USATF to Elect New President Amid Budget Deficit.
The Appalachian Trail record is just the latest impressive result Dower has achieved in a steady rise through the sport. Since 2020, she’s completed nine 100-mile races and The 5 Best Hiking Shoes for 2024. In August 2023, she crushed the longstanding Colorado Trail women’s supported FKT, traversing the 567 miles from Denver to Durango in 8 days, 21 hours, and 59 minutes. In July, she finished fourth in the women’s field at the Hardrock 100 one month before beginning her long journey across the east coast on August 12.
Less than 48 hours after achieving the Appalachian Trail FKT, Dower said she hopes the team effort inspires women and girls, just as she was inspired by the women who broke barriers before her.
“I hope more women get out there,” Dower said. “It’s not about beating men, it’s about finding our true potential. And, you know, if you beat the men, that’s an extra bonus.”
Taylor Dutch is a writer and editor living in Austin, Texas, and a former NCAA track athlete who specializes in fitness, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in Runner’s World, SELF, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner.