Crewing a Fastest Known Time: An Overall Pipedream on the Appalachian Trail

There was never a question in my mind that Tara Maire Dower was going to make it to the end of this fastest known time attempt one way or another. I did not quite know how she was going to make it to Springer Mountain in central Georgia when we were still in northern New Hampshire and starting to fall behind on mileage already. Yet still, I had a small fiery feeling deep inside my body that she and our crew were going to hike, run, and crawl our way to the end and make history one way or another. The early days were dark and the tempo of the trail was not favorable to someone wanting to move as fast as possible along the rocky terrain. Mix in New England's fair share of rain, mud, and strange temperatures throughout our time in the White Mountains, and the daily fight seemed pointless. However, not only did Tara adapt to her role as a racecar and keep going every single day fighting for the miles, but myself and the crew found a way to keep moving forward as well. As crew chief, I took on the role of being a leader for such a wild endeavor while keeping the runner, Tara, who is also my best friend, in the best possible shape when it came to her physical and mental well being. I quickly learned that focusing on a few main essentials was going to be vital for any inkling of success. Over the 40 days we spent on the Appalachian Trail, we obsessed over foot care, fuel, fatigue management, fortitude, and glitter. Not to mention the one hundred other logistics that come with crew stops, vehicle navigation, pacer coordination, bee stings, and smelly piles of laundry!

Vermont's green mountains allowed us to experience the sunshine and trail community we so desperately needed to pull us out of the hole we had been trying to emerge from since southern Maine. Richmond trail runners graced us with their presence and positivity as well as fresh supplies of food, socks, and more quart sized zip lock bags! Even though the next 1800 miles were filled with unknowns, we focused on what we could control and worked to become a well-oiled machine throughout the mid-atlantic states. So, what exactly does a day in the life of an FKT attempt look like? Well, our days followed a loose structure of constant change with a good amount of stress and a sprinkle of joy:

Wakeup

Alarms go off at 3 am and Tara begins to prepare her feet for the day while I hand feed her breakfast. Either her morning pacer will ensure that their vest is packed or Debbie, Tara's mom, will check that Tara's vest has all the necessities in it before we send her off for the first section of the day. The crew would then decide if they have time for a quick nap before driving off to the first stop or if they will drive to the trail crossing first, before laying their heads down for another 45 minutes or so. The remainder of the day consisted of an average of six crew stops while Tara ran 55-60 miles, ending with a massive feeding and as much foot care as possible before passing out for hopefully a full five hours of uninterrupted sleep.

Crew Stops

The first goal of all crew stops was to get to the next location, “safely yet efficiently.” If you ask anyone on the crew, I was somewhat of a risky driver when it came to speed, sharp turns, rocky backcountry roads, and the volume of my music. BUT never once did I encounter a vehicle mishap nor did I miss Tara getting there before me, so I would like folks to know that I am a great driver! Upon arrival, we would unload the chair, table, water jug, trash can, and medical kit (lovingly known as the “oh shit kit”), prepare a caloric meal, count out the next sections snack calories, and try to guess what else Tara had on her mind that she would want in addition to all of this. Most of the time it would be a new pair of socks, a change of shoes, or simply a cold Coke a cola. Our setup would be as close to the trail, if not directly on the trail, and often looked like “trail magic,” to other hikers to which we would have to explain that we were simply there to support a runner but we did have extra sodas in the van for thru hikers too!

Evening Routine

Evenings were something that Tara very much looked forward to every day because it meant that she was “allowed” to sit down and then very soon go to sleep. However, for the crew, this was sometimes the most stressful part of the day because it meant that we had to navigate all of Tara's painful feelings both physical and emotional that had been building up all day. It took me, personally, a while to adjust to the guilty feelings that I had all the time because I was, “forcing” my friend to push herself to extreme pain every day. However, after the acceptance of the undeniable fact that she was choosing to do this every day to accomplish a dream of a lifetime, I was able to refocus on the goal of asking her to do more miles each day. Tara would arrive and immediately sit down before removing her shoes, gaiters, socks, and Luko tape. Each crew member would have already claimed their rotating nightly tasks and someone would begin to wash her feet while someone else would be hand feeding her. This usually lasted around half an hour before Tara would ask, “What time is it?!” and regardless of the answer, she would insist on going to bed as soon as possible! After climbing into the van, or the tent some nights, she changed clothes, brushed her teeth, and asked if all her electronics were charging. I would reassure her that her phone, watch, Garmin, and headphones were all plugged in before we could lay our heads down and release a long deep breath in unison before our bodies would then release us to sleep. No day was as smooth as we ever hoped for but they did become manageable and eventually fun. The forward movement each day gave us a sense of accomplishment even though it felt so small most of the time, but the harder the day was the closer we all grew to one another and it became easier to support one another in the ways we each needed. It seemed the the states were being checked off faster and faster as we hit our groove and the number of miles that separated us from the overall record lessened with each calculation we made. There would be only two big obstacles in our way by the time we entered the last 500 miles of the Appalachian Trail. The Great Smokey Mountains would test Tara, as well as, the crew with two back to back 30 mile sections of the trail that would be inaccessible to vehicles. However, an adventure racer and friend of Tara arrived just in time to gear up and head in the first half of the day with her and those next nine and a half hours it took for them to hike those miles, that would be the longest period that our crew had not met up with Tara in the last 37 days! By the time she came charging to Newfound Gap, Tara and I ran to embrace each other. At that point, I knew Tara would be capable and willing to do whatever I asked her to do to beat the overall fastest known time.

Tara's Top Gear Picks

Gear that was vital to a successful new record on the Appalachian Trail:

• Altra Olympus trail runners
• Injinji toe socks
• Leki Ultratrail fx running poles
• Katadyn BeFree water filter
• Petzl Swift RL headlamp
• Garmin Inreach Mini 2