YOUR AD HERE »

Appalachian Trail record breaker Jennifer Pharr Davis to speak in Granby

Jennifer Pharr Davis' new book The Pursuit of Endurance came out in early April. She will be speaking at the Granby Library at 5:30 p.m. Friday night.
Courtesy photo

Seven years ago Jennifer Pharr Davis set out on the Appalachian Trail with one goal in mind, to beat the speed completion record for the 2,200-mile long trek.

On Friday she will be in Granby speaking about her successful journey along with her newest book, The Pursuit of Endurance. The Pursuit of Endurance is, as its name implies, a book about endurance viewed through the lens of long distance hiking and running. In the book, her seventh, Davis interviews a mix of endurance athletes and record holders and breakers about what pushes them as successful athletes and how endurance sports, and the mindset necessary for success in endurance sports, translates into the rest of their lives.

“Seven years later, I’m in a very different place,” Davis said. “But I still like to use the lessons I learned that summer through endurance. Those lessons can be put towards parenting work, overcoming injuries, just everyday things that people go through.”



Davis decided to include in her book interviews with other record holders, talking about their unique adventures, lessons they learned, and how those lessons apply to their lives, both on and off the trail.

Originally from North Carolina, Davis came to the world of competitive trail hiking after college, when she decided to tackle the Appalachian Trail for the first time before moving onto what she assumed at the time would be a very traditional career. Davis called her initial Appalachian Trail experience, which took roughly five months to complete, “empowering and transformational”.



“My values were different at the end,” she said. “For a while I had a normal job and I would save up time and money and go hiking. But in my mid-20s I started my own hiking company called Blue Ridge Hiking Company. That has given me more flexibility to plan my own adventures.”

Almost eight years ago Davis decided to try and break the speed record for hiking the Appalachian Trail and spent 10 months training for her effort. On the way to her record setting hike — for both men and women — Davis maintained and average pace of 47 miles a day for 46 days while out on the trail.

The Pursuit of Endurance came out in early April and since then Davis and her family, including her husband and two young children, have been driving across the U.S. as part of an ongoing book tour. She will be speaking at the Granby Library at 5:30 p.m. Friday evening as part of her ongoing book tour.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

The Sky-Hi News strives to deliver powerful stories that spark emotion and focus on the place we live.

Over the past year, contributions from readers like you helped to fund some of our most important reporting, including coverage of the East Troublesome Fire.

If you value local journalism, consider making a contribution to our newsroom in support of the work we do.