Tara Dower smashes Javelina Jundred course record
Dower, who holds both the Appalachian Trail and Long Trail speed records, beat the women's course record by more than half an hour
Altra
The 2025 Javelina Jundred 100-miler will be remembered for its blistering speed and record-breaking performances. Held October 25 in Arizona’s McDowell Mountain Regional Park, the five-loop desert race saw Will Murray and Tara Dower each claim new course records and golden tickets (automatic entry) to the 2026 edition of Western States Endurance Run (WSER).
Dower dominates again
Dower is a Virginia-based ultrarunner whose resume already includes some of the most impressive long-trail accomplishments in the sport. She broke the overall supported fastest-known time on the Appalachian Trail in 2024 and followed that with a blazing supported time on Vermont’s Long Trail—finishing the 272-mile route in 3 days, 18 hours and 29 minutes, besting the previous men’s mark by more than two hours.
Dower stormed through the desert in 13:31:47, setting a new women’s course record and finishing seventh overall. Her 5:02 per km pace erased more than 30 minutes from Camille Herron’s previous record, set in 2021, and earned her a golden ticket to WSER 2026. Dower recently lined up at the Mammoth 200 but DNFd due to not being fully recovered from her Long Trail FKT in August.. Post-Javelina, she shared on Instagram: “Honestly didn’t know if my body could handle it after a lingering recovery period but I was willing to try. I locked into a comfortably challenging pace and just kept working all day.… My pacer, Chris, told me with 10 miles to go that if I maintained, I had a shot at a massive course record. At that point it was time to bring it home.”
Murray’s breakout 100-mile win
In the men’s race, 30-year-old Murray, a math teacher and baseball coach from New Jersey, scorched the course in 12:10:12, taking more than 30 minutes off the previous record. Murray’s 2025 victory followed a strong start to the season, where he was second at the Black Canyon 100K in Arizona in February, and eighth at the Chuckanut 50K in Washington in March.
David Roche finished second in 12:18:06, with Canyon Woodward third in 12:19:58—both well under the old course mark of 12:43:10. Roche later gave away his golden ticket to Woodward, a typically generous move from one of the sport’s most respected coaches and competitors.
For full results of the Javelina Jundred events, head here.
