Tara Dower's Epic Appalachian Trail FKT: A Crew Perspective

Last month, Tara Dower achieved a monumental fastest-known time on the Appalachian Trail. In a follow-up interview, she emphasized the importance of teamwork in this accomplishment. To delve deeper into that aspect, Tara's Crew Chief - Rascal, joined Finn Melanson on the Singletrack Podcast to talk about this aspect.

In our conversation, we explore the learning curve of supporting multi-week efforts, the physical and emotional challenges involved, and what a typical crew stop and pacing section entailed. We also discuss various logistical considerations and Rascal's advice for future crew teams taking on this ambitious project, along with other insightful topics!

Timestamps:

(0:47) - Rascal's thru-hiking and crewing background
(4:16) - the learning curve to crewing this FKT attempt
(11:27) - mental aspects of crewing
(17:57) - criticism of the style
(21:37) - what crew stop execution looked like
(29:42) - how taxing this was on the crew
(37:45) - miscellaneous logistical considerations
(46:14) - future storytelling about this achievement
(49:43) - advice to future crew teams, next steps for Rascal


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