Tara Dower honoured with second FKT of the Year award
Dower's Long Trail performance topped a deep field, with Jeff Garmire taking men’s FKT of the Year for his Appalachian Trail run
Pete Schreiner
FKTs (fastest known times) had a banner year in 2025. The sheer number and quality of record-setting efforts submitted to fastestknowntime.com made this one of the most competitive FKT seasons yet. More than 2,300 FKTs were verified worldwide, as reported on Outside Run, with dozens nominated for year-end honours across men’s and women’s categories.
In that deep field, two efforts stood apart, both from U.S. runners: Tara Dower’s overall record on Vermont’s Long Trail and Jeff Garmire’s self-supported Appalachian Trail run.
Dower builds on 2024 momentum
After setting the overall FKT on the Appalachian Trail in 2024, Virginia-based Dower didn’t ease off. In August, she took on Vermont’s 272-mile (473.7 km) Long Trail, finishing in 3 days, 18 hours and 30 minutes to claim the overall (supported) fastest known time.
Her approach was aggressive from the start. “I started super quick,” Dower wrote in her FKT submission. “I knew I had speed, and wanted to take advantage of that for the first two days, while I was still fresh.” She explained that consistency over multiple days isn’t her biggest strength, so she tried to build a lead early and manage the inevitable slowdown, with the help of a steady pacer, later.
Sleep deprivation and support
Dower experimented heavily with sleep deprivation, operating on extremely little rest. “It was scary and new, but I learned so much,” she wrote. “This will only help aid future attempts. I slept for just under 3 hours and was exhausted by the end. I got to the sign and collapsed to the ground.”
She has repeatedly shown gratitude to her crew both in her submission and on Instagram, calling her FKT “truly a team effort” and thanking what she referred to as the “chump change crew” for their support.
A year of highs and lows
The Long Trail record capped a mixed but successful season. Dower did not finish Western States or Mammoth 200 earlier in the year, but rebounded in the fall with a win and course record at Javelina 100, ending 2025 on a high note. “I hope more women will be inspired to get after those overall FKTs,” she wrote. “We are so capable.”
Garmire takes the men’s honour
On the men’s side, Garmire, a U.S.-based ultrarunner known for long, self-supported projects, earned FKT of the Year for his self-supported Appalachian Trail effort. Garmire reached the northern terminus in 45 days, 8 hours and 37 minutes, setting a new overall record.
“A journey of 45 days, eight hours, and 37 minutes is tough to put into words,” Garmire wrote in his FKT submission. He described settling into steady daily mileage and aiming for consistency over speed as conditions deteriorated.
Adversity on the AT
Over the course of the run, Garmire dealt with issues with resupply, food shortages (resulting in a 30-mile hike fuelled by only 1,000 calories) and extreme weather, including being soaked during the tail-end of a hurricane. Despite the Appalachian Trail’s reputation for community and trail magic, he described the solo (crewless) effort as largely solitary.
“Plenty of things went wrong,” he wrote, “but the goal was always to finish in the best time I could muster.” Garmire credited the effort as being life-altering. “Such change was brought. The perfect ending to the exact experience I needed. A painful one, but one that helped me grow in so many ways.”
