In September 2024, Tara Dower took the ultrarunning world by storm as she broke the general Appalachian Path quickest identified time (FKT). It will seemingly be the FKT of the yr, and it was lined by the iRunFar staff instantly afterward and in a follow-up interview with Dower. On this article, I put a unique spin on the present protection and dive into the information behind this and former Appalachian Path FKTs.
The Route: 2,189 miles of distance, 465,000 ft of elevation achieve, 14 states.
The FKT: Quickest completion of all the distance by foot. May be accomplished in both route.
How does Dower’s run examine to previous performances? What does it take to set an FKT? How did Dower do it? Ought to I try the Appalachian Path? Learn on to search out solutions to all these questions.
Tara Dower throughout her Appalachian Path quickest identified time. Picture courtesy of Tara Dower.
Comparability to Previous Performances
To start out, how does Dower’s run examine to previous performances? Nicely, there isn’t a higher option to visualize this than a bar chart race between Dower and different legends who accomplished the path, resembling Karel Sabbe, Joe “Stringbean” McConaughy, and Kristian Morgan. Notice that Stringbean’s run was self-supported, and he nonetheless holds the FKT for a males’s self-supported completion. Dower, Sabbe, and Morgan all made use of assist crews.
Transferring Bar Chart Graphic To Evaluate Earlier FKTs
Gif depicting present and former quickest identified occasions on the Appalachian Path, set by Tara Dower, Karel Sabbe, Joe “Stringbean” McConaughy, and Kristian Morgan.
Whereas I’ve your consideration, a observe on the information. All numbers on this article are pulled from FKT monitoring GPX information of the athletes. Some information recorded was cleaner than different information, and a few information for older makes an attempt (resembling Scott Jurek’s, Jennifer Pharr-Davis, and Karl Meltzer’s) was not as full, and therefore I didn’t use it. You’ll be able to learn concerning the earlier feminine file holder, Jennifer Pharr-Davis, in her post-run interview article.
I like bar chart races. The above bar chart race makes use of information from the highest two present total FKT holders for the Appalachian Path in every respective route, southbound and northbound. As you may see within the above visualization, Dower bought off to a “gradual” begin in comparison with earlier FKT holders. She fell behind the earlier southbound file holder, Morgan, by way of day 11, earlier than pulling away and making floor on the 2 earlier northbound FKT holders. It wasn’t actually till the ultimate handful of days that Dower pulled forward of Sabbe.
It’s clear that the route one is heading makes a major distinction on how runners progress by way of the path. The southbound runners begin by descending Mount Katahdin, however then face a really robust part by way of Maine and New Hampshire. The terrain and elevation achieve by way of this portion of the path is commonly described as essentially the most brutal of all the path, and it’s not very runnable, as those that have hiked there can attest. Then again, the northbound runners transfer sooner by way of the preliminary portion, however in the end hit the northeast part to finish the journey.
Scott Jurek throughout his 2021 Appalachian Path velocity try. Picture: Luis Escobar/@luis_escobar
The Route
Beneath is a map of the route from Maine to Georgia, and a chart depicting the elevation change alongside the best way. With 2,189 miles and 465,000 ft of elevation achieve, it’s arduous to quantify on a single graphic, however I hope this offers some perception into what the hikers and runners face on the best way.
Map of the Appalachian Path
A map of the Appalachian Path. Picture: United States. Nationwide Park Service. Appalachian Path Undertaking Workplace; Cartography, Inc, Public area, through Wikimedia Commons
Chart Depicting the Elevation Profile of the Appalachian Path
The elevation profile of the Appalachian Path, depicting south on the left and north on the appropriate.
The Appalachian Path passes by way of 14 states. The Appalachian Path Conservancy has an excellent overview of what the path consists of in every state. Every portion has its distinctive challenges, but it surely looks like the one factor each state agrees on is that the path has rocks! Beneath is a chart displaying the variety of path miles in every state.
Appalachian Path by State
Bar chart breaking down the gap of the Appalachian Path by state.
Within the southbound route, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont take up a hefty portion at first; then there’s a vital time in Pennsylvania; then essentially the most distance in any state with 557 miles, Virginia; and over 200 miles alongside the Tennessee/North Carolina border.
Going southbound versus northbound every gives distinctive challenges, and the issue of every part can range year-to-year as nicely, relying on the climate. Finally, one should cowl all 2,189 miles both means. Runners both begin up entrance with essentially the most tough part, tackling it on contemporary legs when headed southbound, or ease into it and end with the climb up Katahdin if going northbound.
The Strava Information: What Dower Did Totally different
So how did Tara Dower do it? How did she cowl all the path sooner than every other human earlier than her? On this subsequent part I’m going to dig into just a few Strava information to make use of numbers to tell the solutions to those questions. Lately, runners making an attempt the Appalachian Path have been monitoring their progress and importing it to Strava every day. This enables for an correct image of day-to-day progress. I’ll primarily give attention to the Strava information of Dower and Morgan, as they’ve the newest information (and therefore, the cleanest information), and are the highest two finishers for the southbound route.
Let’s begin by trying on the formulation for distance, which is distance = fee × time. We all know the gap is 2,189 miles on this equation. In most races, time is solely the elapsed time of the race — “time on path.” By trying on the complete elapsed time for every day within the Strava information (begin of every day’s GPX recording till the top), we see that Morgan spent 706 hours on-trail, whereas Dower spent 718 hours. This places Morgan’s fee (common tempo) on the path at 19:21 minutes per mile, which is quicker than Dower’s common tempo of 19:42 minutes per mile. See under for a day-by-day breakdown of mile tempo.
Mile Tempo Per Day
Line graph displaying the typical mile tempo per day of Tara Dower and Kristian Morgan throughout their respective Appalachian Path runs.
Wait a second, Morgan’s FKT was 45 days, 4 hours, and 27 minutes; Dower’s was 40 days, 18 hours, and 6 minutes. That brings us to the second element of the time equation — “day off path.” In multi-day efforts, runners must relaxation, eat, and sleep! Due to this fact, time = time on path + day off path.
It isn’t a pure check of velocity, reasonably one in every of endurance and grit to maintain on shifting relentlessly ahead day-after-day, maximizing the time on path per day, whereas balancing it with satisfactory relaxation to maintain going. Dower did this higher than anybody earlier than. Whereas Morgan spent on common 15 hours and 41 minutes on path per day, Dower put in 17-hour, 31-minute days. See the graphic under for a day-by-day breakdown of the 2 runners’ common time on path per day.
Hours On Path Per Day
Line graph displaying the variety of hours spent “on path” per day by Tara Dower and Kristian Morgan throughout their respective Appalachian Path runs.
Whereas Morgan’s common tempo on path was sooner, he spent extra day off path, and therefore lined the two,189 miles slower. By touring at a barely slower tempo and placing in longer days, Dower broke the southbound file by over 4 days.
Conclusion
The Appalachian Path is a mammoth accomplishment to finish, much more so when you find yourself attempting to take action as quick as attainable. What Tara Dower did earlier this yr will go down as one of many best endurance accomplishments ever. To push your physique like that day-over-day for 17-plus hours is tough to understand. She redefined what we thought the boundaries of human endurance had been, and solidified herself in Appalachian Path historical past.
For those who’re desirous about studying extra concerning the particulars of what setting a FKT on the Appalachian Path entails, I might suggest Scott Jurek’s e-book, “North.” It offers an in depth recounting of his journey, and the grueling schedule that’s required to chase an insanely quick time on some of the tough trails on the earth. Many have tried this FKT, and lots of will try it within the coming years. I hope this text has been insightful in giving some fascinating numbers behind the Appalachian Path FKT historical past and what was required to set the present benchmark.
Name for feedback
What’s your expertise with operating/mountaineering on the Appalachian Path?
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Tara Dower, after setting an total supported quickest identified time on the Appalachian Path. Picture: Pete Schreiner/@schreinertrailphotography
