“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!”
― Hunter S. Thompson
I had full intentions of going after the overall AT record in the beginning of my FKT attempt. When the crew and I were hit with bad weather in Maine and New Hampshire I fell behind. I wasn't confident in my ability to catch up but luckily I had a crew that believed in me and pushed me to my limits. After we made it through the White Mountains Team Chump Change began to figure out what it would take to get caught up. Everyday we nickle and dimed our way back. It was difficult. Sometimes I would cry and beg Rascal for less miles that day but she knew I could do it and never let up. I began to believe in my own abilities as we consistently hit 56, 57, 58, 59 and even 60 mile days. Below is an interesting mid attempt stat from Warren Doyle on daily averages.
"After her first ten days, she was about 100 miles behind Karel.
Tara - first ten days 42.7 mpd average
Karel - first ten days 54.4 mpd average
The next 26 days:
Tara - 56.4 mpd average
Karel - 53.3 mpd average"
I'm so thankful for the crew and the AT community. It is impossible to name all the pacers, crew, and friends that came out to help with this FKT. Every single one was crucial to this FKT. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I would estimate we had around 50-60 people join us. Special thanks to Rascal, Mom, Christine, Iceman, Pete, Seth, Chris, Scott, Reese, Arlee, Karl, JP, Keagan, Rafa, Fresh Grounds, Amy & Steve, Grace, Kenny Powers, Hunter, Warren Doyle, Max, Dream Catcher, Liz, Abigail, Matador & Heather, Flipper, and Gazelle.
I had two forms of tracking. On September 3rd at around 4pm I lost power in my tracker. Luckily, I also had my COROS Vertix tracking my progress down the trail If you visit my Strava you can find that activity in full. This is an important lesson in why two forms of tracking is important. We ran into a couple detours during our time on the Appalachian Trail as well. I have video proof of every single detour we encountered.
What an adventure!
Daily Strava Tracking: https://www.strava.com/athletes/29013353
Instagram: Tara Dower : https://www.instagram.com/tara.dower/?hl=en Chump Change : https://www.instagram.com/chumpchangefkt/?hl=en
Comments
FKT of the Year - easy choice (but not easy for her!). Tara exhibited the complete package: 1) Athletic Fitness (4th at HR100 3 weeks prior); 2) Relentless Forward Motion (on multi-day efforts, never forget the tortoise/hare story!); 3) Super tough person (40 days of getting up at 3am - yowza!) 4) Crew, logistics, and plan were as dialed and determined as the runner. And lastly, Tara is a local who grew up on the AT - all the better!