UPDATE: She Did It! On Sunday July 31, 2011 at 3:26 PM she reached Springer Mountain setting the new AT Speed Record. I recommend taking the time to read through her blog. Her husband Brew Davis did a wonderful job of bringing the adventure to us all. I really enjoyed his writing style (humor) and pictures. Check it out at http://jenniferpharrdavis.tumblr.com/. A few weeks ago I was reading through Karl Meltzer's Hardrock 100 odds. After the odds I saw a paragraph on Jenn Pharr Davis's speed record attempt on the Appalachian Trail. Pharr Davis already owns the women's record at 57 days 8 hours and 33 minutes (2008). This time she is after Andrew Thompson's record of 47 days 13 hours and 31 minutes (2005). You can look up these records and read about them and others at the Fastest Known Time web site.
She is traveling north to south. At the time of this post she has completed 1257 miles in 28 days. She is somewhere in Shenandoah National Park. This puts her at an average of 45 miles per day. The last few days she has been logging over 50 miles per day. She will need to average around 47 miles per day the rest of the way to break the record.
I remember first hearing about and seeing Jennifer at the pre-race briefing for the Holiday Lake 50k. David Horton introduced her and told us about her planned AT record attempt. She was there to run the race and promote her book "Becoming Odyssa". I remember thinking how great it would be if she could pull it off and one up all the guys out there.
You can follow her progress on her blog. Her support crew is posting daily updates (I believe they are a few days old when posted for safety purposes). Follow her on Twitter @JenPharrDavis. You can also check out her progress on Whiteblaze.net. Type her name in the search box to find the discussion on her attempt. The blog and the discussion boards are great reads and will give you some insight into what goes into such an endeavor.
This ultra runner is pulling for you Jennifer. GODSPEED!
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