Tara Dower completed the AT in 40 days, 18 hours, and 6 minutes, setting the fastest known time for the 2,189-mile trail that includes 465,000 feet of vertical gain.⁠ ⁠ A typical day for Dower started at 3 a.m. “Rascal, the crew chief, would wake up and start feeding me whatever breakfast she made the night before,” Dower says. Megan “Rascal” Wilmarth, is a fellow AT thru-hiker and ultramarathoner who took the lead on the logistics of Dower’s record-setting run. “And as she’s physically feeding me, I would slap Leuko tape on my feet and get my shoes and socks on. It would be about 30 minutes to get prepared and warm up for a couple minutes.” She was on trail by 3:30 a.m., often with a pacer who would carry her food and water. Dower would meet her crew about six times throughout the day at different road crossings to refuel.⁠ ⁠ Tap the link in profile for the full story 🔗⁠ ⁠ #hiking #thruhiking #appalachiantrail #hiker #trailhiking #outdoors #nature #outdoorlife⁠ 📷: tara.dower⁠ Story ...