Her first time at the event, Tara Dower lines up for the 2025 Western States 100 excited to race. In the following interview, Tara talks about some of the things she’s done since last talking to iRunFar at the 2024 Hardrock 100, how setting the overall fastest known time on the Appalachian Trail last summer helped her confidence as a runner, and how much she values the running community and the people who she has supporting her.
Be sure to also check out our recent feature article about Tara.
To learn more about who’s racing, check out our women’s and men’s previews before following our live race coverage on race day.
[Editor’s Note: If you are unable to see the video above, click here to access it.]
Tara Dower Pre-2025 Western States 100 Interview Transcript
iRunFar: Bryon Powell of iRunFar here with Tara Dower before the 2025 Western States 100. How are you, Tara?
Tara Dower: I’m doing great.
iRunFar: So, a lot’s happened since iRunFar last talked to you before a race at Hardrock last year, yeah?
Dower: Yeah. Let’s see. Hardrock happened.
iRunFar: Yeah.
Dower: Appalachian Trail. Black Canyon.
iRunFar: Yeah.
Dower: And now I’m here at Western States.
iRunFar: And now you’re here at Western States.
Dower: Yeah.
iRunFar: So, I mean, obviously the Appalachian Trail was a huge thing. In both your accomplishment, it’s so many weeks out there. How did that experience change you as a racer? I mean, you’ve run Black Canyon since then. How have you changed as a runner?
Dower: Oh, man. I don’t think it’s, well, okay. I will say it has changed my confidence level. I’m kind of someone who, you know, growing up I didn’t have a ton of confidence in my athletic abilities. I always considered myself a mediocre athlete in soccer. And then running professionally, I just consider myself like, okay. I still want to go out there and test my own personal limits. But then when I did the Appalachian Trail and I beat that overall record, it was like, I can like, I can really compete on a world level. And so I think that really bumped up my confidence going into my first 50k after the Appalachian Trail. I PR’d that in Virginia Beach. And then I went to Black Canyon and just like had a lot of confidence there. And that just even, that leveled me up even more once I cut that time at Black Canyon. And then Lake Sonoma [50 Mile] is just like, it keeps adding on to that confidence. So, I’d say that was the biggest thing. But other than that, like physically, it doesn’t feel that much different.
[A dog walks into the lake in the background]
iRunFar: Nice doggy in the background.
Dower: Yeah, it’s very fitting. [laughs]
iRunFar: So, you sort of seemed like a fearless racer before that, even if you didn’t quite have that same confidence. But there’s, what’s really cool about the Western States women’s field this year is that it’s very deep, but very open. There’s not like one person who’s like, yeah, they kind of got an edge on this.
Dower: Yeah.
iRunFar: How do you think your sort of fearlessness in racing mixes with that wide open nature of this year’s race?
Dower: Oh man, that’s such a good question. You guys always ask the best questions. Oh man, I think I’m just like, out there to test my own personal limits. And that’s such a good question. I don’t know. I think I’m just going out there and I’m going to race really hard. I’m looking forward to competing with all the women out there and seeing where I line up with them. Like as long as I try my best, that’s all I can do. So that’s what I’m hoping for.
iRunFar: Nice.
[The dog runs by.]
Dower: That’s so cute.
iRunFar: So last year you had Hardrock, which is a really long, like time-wise race and the AT. So you were probably focused more on that longer performance. How has your approach to training changed this year?
Dower: Oh yeah. So last year before Hardrock, I was just doing a lot of hiking and climbing and time on feet. And this year I’m just doing a lot of speedy stuff. Also, I have a nutritionist and I have a strength coach, and he gives me mobility and stability work and actual strength workouts. So, I feel like I have a more, I think holistic would be a good word, holistic approach to training. I have a really great team behind me. So, I think that’s a big difference.
Like I had Megan last year, my coach Megan Roche, and I had, was that it? Yeah, that was it. I didn’t have a nutritionist. I didn’t have strength. I didn’t have my agent. I didn’t have a, I did have a mindset coach. But yeah, so I’ve like, developed a more holistic approach to running because I’m able to afford it now because my sponsors were able to pull through after the AT. So, I think everything comes from the AT and just being able to afford that kind of stuff now is really nice.
iRunFar: And it’s probably the right way to do it. Like one could jump in and try to put all the pieces together at once, but maybe last year was sort of building a base in a physical and more general sense, and then adding the details in afterward.
Dower: Well, yeah, it’s funny. It’s like, I don’t really, I know stuff about like, training. Like I know general stuff. I know general stuff about nutrition and strength work, but I’m not an expert and I know myself. I’m not going to go do the research there. So, I don’t really know what I’m doing, but I know that I trust the people that I put in those places to give me workouts and to give me speed workouts and help me with my nutrition. I put a lot of trust in them because, you know, they are the experts.
iRunFar: And you’ve already done that. I mean, like on the AT, it’s well documented, like how important your crew was, how much you relied on them, how well it was executed.
Dower: Yeah.
iRunFar: What is your crew situation here at Western States?
Dower: It’s so deep because I started as a fan of the sport, like biggest fan of all the women racers, you know, some men, but mostly I was just like a fan of the women’s field. And so, me and my friends, you know, we’ve all come up together in the sport. And so, everyone was really excited when I got into Western, when I got into Hardrock, of course, but like Western as well. And I have a lot of people here. I have my friend Mark from Virginia Beach. He was my only friend who was into ultra racing in Virginia Beach. I have Reece who’s always my crew chief at every race. Abigail is another crew chief of Team B, because we’re going to have two teams. Then we have Emily and Anna who are going to be doing content and J.P. just came off the trail. He’s over there sitting on,
iRunFar: The PCT.
Dower: Yeah. The PCT.
iRunFar: The trail. [laughs]
Dower: [laughs] Oh, who else do we have? We have so many people. Oh yeah. Rascal, who was my crew chief on the Appalachian Trail. Arlie, they’re coming out. We do a podcast together. Oh, so many people.
iRunFar: So how do you like, that sounds like a lot of people. I think there’s even more.
Dower: There’s so many more.
iRunFar: How do you coordinate them and sort of what’s the management on that? Cause like, there can be too many cooks in the kitchen. Like, you come into an aid station or Robinson Flat. What’s going on? Is there a clear plan?
Dower: Yeah. Everyone has a job. Oh, Kenny too. Kenny’s coming. Kenny Powers and his girlfriend L.P. But yeah, everyone has a job. And I think like, I trust my crew so much. Like I trust the crew chiefs so much that I know they can designate jobs. And Reece knows what she’s doing. Abigail knows what she’s doing. So, I trust them to designate jobs and for it to be efficient. Like, I don’t really think it’s my place to be the organizer. Like I invite people and then like, Reece and Abigail kind of organize from there. I put a lot of trust in my friends and team.
Community is huge to me, I figured that out last year, just going through some life stuff and just, you know, general life stuff. But also, just like the AT as well. I’ve just learned how important community is and how important it is to trust people that you’ve put in these leadership positions. And I think I just have a lot of trust in those people like Reece and Abigail.
iRunFar: Right on. Well, good luck to yourself and your whole team out here.
Dower: Thanks. Appreciate it.
