Setting a New FKT on the Appalachian Trail with Tara Dower

Wild Ideas Worth Living

REI Co-op

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4.7 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 18 March 2025

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Tara Dower has become one of America's top ultra runners, winning numerous 50 and 100-mile races and setting speed records on some of the nation's most challenging trails. In 2024, she achieved a monumental milestone by conquering the 2200-mile Appalachian Trail, surpassing the previous fastest known time (FTK) by 13 hours.

Transcript

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0:00.0	If you're looking for another podcast to fuel your adventures, check out Camp Nowhere, a freeform
0:08.9	audio journey into life off the beaten path. Hosted by Mac, a filmmaker, photographer, full-time
0:15.5	traveler, and REI partner, Camp Nowhere features candid conversations, audio diaries, and immersive sounds from the road.
0:24.1	On the show, she discusses how her experiences have taught her to navigate life's unexpected
0:29.2	moments and thrive in the unknown. Camp Nowhere is for those who are passionate about the outdoors,
0:35.3	travel, and the things you can learn about yourself along the
0:38.2	way. Ready to dive in and embrace the unknown? Listen to Camp Nowhere today, wherever you listen to
0:45.2	podcasts. Oftentimes, I kind of conveniently forget about the really, really hard times and remember all of the glitz and glamour that comes with it.
1:04.3	So I just remembered like, oh, I got second overall.
1:07.0	I'm probably like pretty quick in these races.
1:10.5	I should try again with another race.
1:15.7	In the last few years, Tara Dower has emerged as one of the fastest ultra-runners in America.
1:22.7	She's won multiple 50 and 100-mile races and set speed records on long-distance trails around the country.
1:29.7	These routes are hundreds and thousands of miles, often crossing multiple states and mountain ranges.
1:35.8	There's one trail in particular, though, that is always called to Terra, the Appalachian Trail,
1:41.4	also known as the AT. It runs 2,200 miles from Georgia up to Maine.
1:47.9	In 2024, Tara achieved a long-time goal when she beat the fastest known time for the AT
1:54.4	by 13 hours. I'm Shelby Stanger, and this is Wild Ideas Worth Living, an REI Co-Op Studios production, presented by Capital One and the REI Co-Op MasterCard.
2:11.4	A few years ago, we interviewed a dentist from Belgium named Carl Sabe, who set the fastest known time for the Appalachian Trail in 2018.
2:23.2	Carl beat the previous record holder by more than four days.
2:27.7	Most people assumed that beating Carl's time would be nearly impossible.
2:32.3	So when Tara broke his record last year, it was a big deal.
	...

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