Imagine looking around and seeing miles and miles of the ocean as far as you can see. No one is in sight. No land. Just you, the open sea, and a 24-foot rowboat. For most people, this is what nightmares are made of. But for Taryn Smith, this is her life. At least for approximately 40 to 60 days, it takes her to row across the entire Atlantic Ocean.
In December 2025, her journey began. Inspired by a Vogue article about a team of women who sailed across the Pacific Ocean together, Smith decided to sign up for the World’s Toughest Row: an event where participants row over 3,000 miles from the Canary Islands to Antigua. At the time, she had never even been on a rowboat.
Growing up, both of her grandfathers sailed, and she always loved being on the water, especially Johnson Lake in her home state of Nebraska. However, she actually grew up figure skating competitively and had no prior sailing or rowing experience of her own. Years later, during a trip in college, she fell in love with the mountains of Idaho and applied to work at a nearby summer resort, Redfish Lake Lodge. For five years, she spent half of the year working there and the other half discovering nature and growing her love for adventure.
Now, after three years of training, Smith is the first American woman to compete as a solo athlete. And if you weren’t already in awe of her, all of the extra sponsorship funds she receives will be donated to Girls on the Run, a nonprofit that uses a running-based curriculum to empower girls to be happy, healthy, and confident.
Smith is able to communicate with land using satellite phones and internet technology, allowing her to send photos and videos back home. Her mother then posts them on her Instagram account (@tarynsmithmovement), which has amassed hundreds of thousands of followers. Her video diaries detail all the realities of her life at sea, including close encounters with whales, sunburn, thunderstorms, and terrifying waves. Yet through every beautiful, or at times, frankly demoralizing moment, Smith remains unwavering in her bravery and gratitude.
The immense challenges she faces day in and day out are beyond what many of us could even begin to imagine. Rowing two hours on and off all day for weeks, no matter her physical or mental condition, would make the average person throw in the towel or complain of the physical burden, yet Smith maintains a remarkably positive outlook in all her videos.
On January 23, 2026, in one of the final video updates during her journey, Smith reflects on her mindset, saying, “I set out on this row to stay joyful and positive even in the harshest, loneliest conditions… It hasn’t been perfect, but now is the time to focus, remember why I’m out here, and finish the row with excellence and a great attitude.”
So, while most of us are not alone in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, we can all still learn something from Smith: the most difficult challenges are often mental, and with perseverance and optimism, we are capable of far more than we think.