If you ask Tara Dower, she’ll tell you that female runners have two physical advantages over men in both endurance and pain tolerance.
Whether that’s a fact or just an opinion is still up for debate, but right now it’s hard to argue against the 31-year-old ultra running star, who recently completed the Appalachian Trail — all 2,197 miles of it — in a record-breaking 40 days, 18 hours and five minutes.
That is the fastest known time (FKT) on the Appalachian Trail for any person, male or female. How did she break Karel Sabbe’s 2018 record of 41-plus days?
By identifying as a race car.
That’s how Dower described herself on the Singletrack podcast, stressing the importance of having a strong supporting “pit crew” to keep her on the right path. Dower focused solely on the “driving,” while her team handled all the other challenges of day-to-day execution, like pacing, taping up blisters, and even hand-feeding.
Starting from Maine, Dower opened her FKT attempt at a somewhat conservative pace, trekking between 43 to 54 miles per day. Once she reached New Jersey, Dower was more than 100 miles off of Sabbe’s pace, but she trusted her team and trusted the process as her daily mileage increased to the 55-60 mile range.
Little by little, Dower began to chip away at Sabbe’s record. It wasn’t easy. She took 90-second “dirt naps,” managed only three showers, and often slept no more than four hours. Dower battled through trips, falls and even hallucinations as she pushed her body beyond its supposed limitations. Through all this, the Virginia Beach runner continued to trust her crew.
Dower admitted she struggles with confidence and felt a bad case of imposter’s syndrome leading up to her FKT attempt, but those obstacles were not nearly as strong as her will to finish the job for her team. Quitting was never a thought for Dower.
As the final miles ticked away, Dower once again leaned on her squad to keep her head on straight as she feared she would carelessly injure herself. Instead of talking about the record, she reminisced with her crew about the memorable tales of her journey.
Finally, with three miles remaining, reality began to set in for Dower: The record was about to be hers.
Navigating through the darkness with a headlamp, Dower shattered Sabbe’s record, an achievement she hopes will empower other women to follow in her footsteps.
What happens next with the FKT record, and Dower herself, is anyone’s guess. But one fact remains: She’s raised the bar for both women and men in the ultra running world. As a result, the amount of time that will be spent analyzing Dower’s methods and sterling performance will take months, even years longer than Dower’s attempt, itself.
The science of ultra running is still relatively new, not all that much younger than the sport itself, but Dower’s performance adds a certain degree of credibility to any perceived advantages women may seem to have in multi-day or multi-week distance events.
Dower said she believes her record will be broken, and hopes that it will be another woman who does so.
We’re not so sure. It could take a race car to catch her.
1 STEP BACK, 3 STEPS FORWARD
Norlo Park in Fayetteville served as the backdrop for last weekend’s Dash for Down Syndrome 5K, a race that drew 45 runners.
Chambersburg’s Derek Book conquered the race in 21:06, while Fayetteville runner Taylor Nitterhouse snagged top female honors in 24:42. The winners were joined in the Top 10 by Waynesboro’s Dalton McKean (3rd in 23:11) and Jeffrey Hein (5th in 24:41), Chambersburg’s Sam Myers (6th in 24:41) and Leah Nitterhouse (10th in 25:14), and Fayetteville’s Todd Barton (8th in 24:42).
In Shippensburg on the Cumberland Valley Rail-Trail, area runners flexed their muscle at the TrailFest Half Marathon and 5K. The top area finisher in the half marathon was Hagerstown’s Allie Isaacs, who finished as third female in 1:48:17. Isaacs was chased by Hagerstown’s Andrew Bowers (1:48:18), Chambersburg’s Tara Redding (2:02:46), and Smithsburg’s Braden Grosh (2:08:47). As for the TrailFest 5K, Top 10 finishes were recorded by Chambersburg’s Jim Boyer (3rd in 19:36) and James Kinton (5th in 20:44), while Fayetteville’s Danielle Portier finished as third female in 24:25.
Another race in Shippensburg — the Live, Laugh, Love 5K — saw Chambersburg runners sweep the top spots, with Eyoel Delessa winning the race in 18:28 and Sarah Boward taking top female in 21:18. Cliff Ocker, of Chambersburg, finished sixth in 25:47.
Area runners were treated with the Howard’s Run 5K/25K, held in Cumberland, Md. Greencastle’s Matthew Smith (1:54:59) and Hagerstown’s Bradley Lundberg (2:23:38) were the top local runners in the 25K, while Chloe Hadley of Hagerstown finished the 5K race in 28:50.
Speaking of treats, a handful of runners from the Local.News area ventured out to Hanover to take on the Snack Town Half Marathon and 5K. Max Holz, of Fairfield, clocked a 22:42 in the 5K to finish ninth in the field of 210 runners. The 13.1-mile race featured finishes from Greencastle’s Jenna Strite (2:28:39) and Fairfield’s Olivia Hubble (2:34:27).
Two other area runners — Chambersburg’s Bryton Hazelton and Fayetteville’s Audrey List — secured strong 5K finishes last weekend. Hazelton clocked a 20:12 at the Franklin Applefest 5K in Franklin, while List competed at the Womens Classic 5K in Allentown, posting a time of 25:39 to take second in the 50-54 AG.
A handful of locals ventured across state lines to take on long-distance races last weekend. Will Marquiss, of Hagerstown, was the ninth-place finisher in 1:41:24 at the Bear Trail Half Marathon in Bear, Del. The Wineglass Marathon, held in Corning, N.Y., featured a finish from Hagerstown’s Julie Quelet (4:02:43), while the Wineglass Half Marathon was highlighted by the efforts of Chambersburg’s Rachel Stone (1:29:39).
A number of others were active in races across the region and beyond, including Waynesboro’s Tamara Hollar (30:36 at Run to Revivie 5K), Alex Ruzbacki (32:33 at Adam Zook Memorial 5K), and Olivia Bailey (2:25:16 at Hands-On House Half Marathon), Greencastle’s Rick Burkett (33:58 at Hands-On House 5K), Heidi Hade (1:01:12 at Camp Innabah Fall Classic 5 Miler), Zachary Baer (1:01:52 at Hands-On House 10K), and Kristin Holdaway (1:50:22 at Bear Trail 10K), Chambersburg’s Thomas Howell (28:50 at Oktoberfest 5K) and Darren Grove (1:49:05 at Rev3 Mighty Matapeake), Fairfield’s Caroline Jones (52:03 at Faithful Friends 5K) and Benjamin Huebner (2:22:30 at Virginia 10 Miler), Cascade’s Bridget Hays (37:30 at 9/11 Heroes Run 5K), and Hagerstown’s Christopher Levan (28:59 at Troegs Hop Dash 5K), Eloisa Banes (30:23 at Pink Ribbon 5K; 31:22 at Key City Foundation Octoberfest 5K), Mike Stutts (35:47 at Luau 5K; 35:54 at Pirate 5K) and Marcelino Carvalho (59:59 at Laufvergnügen 10K)
And finally, a shoutout to Waynesboro’s Deborah Swope, who completed 21 miles in 10:59:16 at the Hinson Lake 24 Hour in Rockingham, Va.
And now, a look ahead:
Hawktoberfest 5K: Saturday, 9 a.m., in Hagerstown, Md. Run a race through the campus of Hagerstown CC, and then stay to celebrate Homecoming Weekend.
End of the Road Half Marathon: Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 19-20, in Waterfall. A headlamp is required for these races, which run through the abandoned tunnels of the Pa. Turnpike. Check out the even on runsignup.com.
SU Military Science 5K/10K: Saturday, Oct. 19, 9 a.m., in Shippensburg. Challenge yourself on the campus of Shippensburg University with this race, in its 45th running. Register for the race on timberhilltiming.com.
Also: Cornwall Elementary 5K (Friday, in Lebanon); Brush Rush 5K (Saturday, in Newport); Conewago Darter (Saturday, in Elizabethtown); Intercourse Library 5K (Saturday, in Intercourse); Mahoning Shadow Shuffle Half Marathon (Saturday, in Punxsutawney); Ninja 1M/5K/10K/15K/Half Marathon (Saturday, in York); Oil Creek 100 Trail Runs (Saturday, in Titusville); Vineyard at Hershey Haunted Wine Run 5K (Saturday, at Middletown); Warren County YMCA SuperKwik Challenge Half Marathon (Saturday, in Warren); Hua Sports Half Marathon (Saturday, in Point of Rocks, Md.); Tie Dye Run for Freedom 1M/5K/10K (Saturday, in Hagerstown, Md.); Green Monster Trail Challenge 15K/25K/50K (Sunday, in Wellsboro); Pittsburgh Penguins 6.6K (Sunday, in Pittsburgh); Steamtown Marathon (Sunday, in Scranton); Thirsty Thursday 5K (Thursday, Oct. 17, in Reading); Buffalo Creek Half Marathon (Saturday, Oct. 19, in Cabot); Baltimore Running Festival (Saturday, Oct. 19, in Baltimore, Md.); Boulder Dash at Pinesburg Quarry 5K/5M (Saturday, Oct. 19, in Williamsport, Md.); Freedom 5K (Saturday, Oct. 19, in Gap); Pocono Mountains Marathon Race Festival (Saturday, Oct. 19, in Greentown); Polar Bear 5K (Saturday, Oct. 19, in Dillsburg); Viking 5K/10K (Saturday, Oct. 19, in Akron); Bethlehem Running Festival (Sunday, Oct. 20, in Bethlehem); Reading Hospital Road Run 1M/5K/10K (Sunday, Oct. 20, in Reading).
