💖40 days 18 hours 6 minutes💖
Finishing the Appalachian Trail in the fastest known time is a dream come true. If I’m to be honest I didn’t think it was possible. However, I had people on my crew who believed in my abilities and pushed me to my limits. Thats all it was. Everyday waking up, getting on trail, doing my best and trusting @chumpchangefkt . Incredibly thankful for ALL the crew, pacers, and friends who came out to help. It would have not been possible without y’all. My brain is still foggy and I’m still processing everything. There will be more in the coming days but for now thank you for all the support!!
if you are wondering how i’m training for @wser and @hardrock100run at the same time. This year they are 13 days apart! cute little uphill treadmill with my hypoxico set to 12,000ft 💖
cocodona 2026 was so much fun! inspired by so many friends. I crewed and paced Jeff and an early low derailed his race plan but he worked hard after that to eventually PR and then make it in the top 10 overall! i’m incredibly inspired by Rachel (who isn’t tho). I will always remember where i was when i was watching the livestream of her crossing that finish line. i’ve been screaming it for years that women can dominate at these distances and Rachel just proved it! GO WOMEN AND GO RACHEL! equally inspired by other friends like @hjacksonracing and @gobroncobilly who made the journey and pushed though the incredibly intense lows of a 250 miler. I’ve being pondering for a couple months if i should sign up next year but it’s hard not to want to with all the hype from this year. we will see!!
gorge waterfalls video coming out on my youtube channel Monday! this one is more introspective and really dives into some personal mental struggles i go through in racing. thankful for blake who brings it out of me and is always kind.
shot by : @bchendrix
edited by : @ericreding
sponsored by : @altrarunning
Lets take a journey back to my first ultramarathon ever in July 2021! The first and LAST Ridge Route Ultra - 50 miler in Castaic California. It was a literal shit show from the beginning. I asked my sweet friend Liz to come crew as she was the only one I really knew that actually ran ultras. We drove up from San Diego the day before going through the LA area with no AC in July. We camped that night near a farm where a pig hung around our camp and it was EXTREMELY hot so I didn’t really sleep well. The race wasn’t managed well but I had nothing to base this on since it was my first ever ultramarathon. The aid stations were running out of water and people didn’t really know what was going on. The water thing would have been sort of manageable if it wasn’t 99+ degrees on the exposed ridge running point to point. With around 20 miles left I began to have SERIOUS GI issues. I was pulling down my pants every so often. At one point I was in a bush on the side of the trail and looked up toward the hill I just came down and saw a runner that looked exactly like Jesus sprinting toward me. I pulled up my pants too early and shit all in my pants. I kept looking back to see this fast mystery messiah running behind me and no one was there… that was one of my first notable hallucinations. CONTINUED IN COMMENTS
🛑CLOSED🛑
💥🕶️ WIN FREE SUNNIES WITH TARA DOWER 🕶️💥
Tara Dower LOVES being outside!!! She’s the holder of the Fastest Known Time for the 2,100+ mile Appalachian trail, as well as the women’s course record holder for the Javelina Jundred, and she is all about grit, glitter & good vibes in the great outdoors!!! To give back to the planet she loves so much & celebrate Earth Week, she’s giving away two pairs of no-slip, no-bounce goodr sunnies!!!
TO ENTER:
1. Follow @sportsgoodr on Instagram
2. Comment the next National Park you want to visit & tag the person you’re bringing
THE PRIZE: Two lucky winners will each receive two pairs of goodr sunglasses:
- These Shades are Still Trash (made from all recycled materials!!!)
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Tara’s *current* favorite park)
Giveaway opens at 7 AM PST on April 22 and ends at 12 PM PST on April 24.
T&Cs at link in bio.
In third place at the Gorge Waterfalls 50k is Tara Dower. Grit and hard work personified. Wow, what a finish! Tara is doing the Western States-Hardrock double this summer and is one of the strongest people in the sport. Congrats, Tara!
A special shoutout to @baileykowalczyk who battled hard all day and finished just off the podium. Count us inspired!
📸 @somerrunner
a kind employee from Thrifty Car Rental told me I looked like I was on spiritual journey. He gave me a quote to remember for the Gorge Waterfall 50k tomorrow and I suppose also for life. “we hustle for bread and meat if we don’t hustle we don’t eat” so tomorrow i’m going to hustle and try my best to run really really really fast 🤞
