2,189 Miles, 40 Days, and 3 Showers: How Tara Dower Destroyed the Appalachian Trail Speed Record

PugJesus@lemmy.world to News@lemmy.world – 246 points –
2,189 Miles, 40 Days, and 3 Showers: How Tara Dower Destroyed the Appalachian Trail Speed Record
sports.yahoo.com
61

My grandparents lived on the trail. They would bring the hikers in and cook them dinner and let them take showers. It was a different time back then, but I remember sharing Sunday dinner with a lot of strangers.

Yep, trail magic is real magic. Just humans being good to each other.

What an incredible experience that must have been.

2 more...

an average of 54 miles each day

It also mention she ran 17 jours a day. I can't imagine the kind of energy it takes to keep that pace going for 40 days. Absolutely insane.

17 jours a day

Damn, she went to another planet?

How long is an hour on jupiter?

A Jupiter day is 10.5 Earth hours, so if we take the definition of 1h = 1/24 of a day, a Jupiter hour would be 10.5 / 24 = 26 min. So 17 Jupiter days fit well inside an Earth day, you got something!

The more you spread that over the day the better. Higher intensity will kill you, you want lower intensity.

I'm not sure two marathons per day can be qualified of lower intensity.

Both of you are kind of right. It's still an insane feat of endurance but averaging an 18 minute mile is pretty damn slow and likely zone 2-3 even in rugged terrain for an athlete like her.

High intensity isn't just a generalized term but specific to heart rate, lactate buildup, and anaerobic states.

A friend of mine regularly runs trail ultra-marathons. She calls it "assisted hiking".

The amount of work done and intensity (the rate at which work is done) are two different measurements.

2 marathons per day is a measure of intensity.

Seriously? There is a difference in intensity between 2 marathons over 17 hours, vs 2 marathons over 8 hours. The higher intensity is harder, that's why you get a medal for finishing fast.

Indeed, what disturbs you in what I said?

So is 0 marathons per day. Your point is?

Nothing else, that it is also an intensity, despite what the reply seems to incorrectly imply. Did you understand something else?

Of course it can. You just need to define what you're comparing it against. Surely two marathons per day is lower intensity than two marathons per half-day or 3 marathons per day.

Compared to the common sport professional performance, I would say. Not many people can do a marathon, less two in the same day, even less two per day during 40 days.

That’s like 3mph for 17 hours. Jesus…. That’s a lot of wheaties… by my back of the napkin calculations that’s burning like 4200 calories a day.

3mpg for 50 miles is mind blowing. Starts to make sense how we're enduranc hunters.

Judging from the headline, it was probably by being stinky.

If I only took like 3 showers a month I bet I could be pretty productive too!

I find that the less showers I'm taking the less productive I'm probably being.

I find that the less showers I'm taking the worst I'm doing mentally.

How long are your showers?

If I'm real quick I can get in and out in under 48 hours but that depends on whether or not I need to wash my hair.

Over 50 miles a day? Good Lord how?

Her feet must be fucked.

Yeah, the article mentions her day begins with a 3am alarm, a quick breakfast, and the taping up of blisters.

Cool accomplishment, but it can't have been healthy.

No sports world record is broken by doing what's healthy.
But judging by the trail ultra-marathoners I know personally, they'd be a lot less healthy if they didn't have that hobby.
Lots of (undiagnosed) ADHD in the sport, too.

I suppose if you've got a self-destructive streak a mile wild, better to at least burn out doing something impressive.

Ultra marathoners are complete badasses. Whenever people talk about the tough mudder and those other short races with stupid challenges as so cool and tough I just think about how badass the they hikers and ultras

Speed running the Appalachian trail seems like missing the point to me. You’re supposed to be taking in the history and the environment as you hike.

Different people take different things from it, there isn't a correct and an incorrect way.

There is my way and everyone else is wrong. Don't like it? Suck my dick.

Does he have to suck your dick your way? How exactly do you like to suck dick?

Some people like the challenge. Not her first time on the trail, either.

She did do a 5 month walk on it a few years earlier. So it's not like she disagrees with you, she just also wanted to get that record.

Did that with her husband in 2019, much more normal time of over 5 months.

This is like when people tell others that they eat food "wrong". It's what she likes, not what you like.

Mashed potatoes are not a suppository and I refuse to compromise on that.

1 more...

I'll admit that I dont understand the now long running deal with speed running things like this, but if done safely and respectfully, I also dont see the harm. What is important is impact to the resource, and that is the main issue. That transcends folks like this. If she can pass that ethic along with this record, I'm for it.

1 more...

So did she win something? Just bragging rights? Meh. There's not much point if you can't either get paid or make some kind of progress information pop up on your screen.

I don't want to alarm you but posting this comment negatively impacted your KPIs. I'm afraid you're endangering that two cent annual raise we'd discussed in our mid year meeting. Keep your eyes on your S.M.A.R.T. goals!

2 more...

Hold up a second, you're saying here that getting a progress information pop up on your screen is better than bragging rights and equal to monetary compensation? You don't see how that's crazy?

Maybe she just set a goal for herself and decided to go for it. Do you never do that?

She can get sponsorships. Also keep in mind this isn’t a men/women’s record. She’s the fastest human to do this, ever. She beat previous record of a Belgian man by less than a day.

Fun fact: ultra-marathons are one of the sports where women have a physical edge over men, on average.
I suppose it's related to lower basal metabolic rate, more body fat percentage, and possibly higher pain tolerance.

Something to do with durability and healing capacity of joint tissues and accompanied structures. My take anyway.

2 more...