"But I could never have predicted all this." "I wanted a race that people got excited about," he continued. "People ask me all the time if I expected this," Laz said as the assembled people bounced their eyes between the bearded 60-something and a conch shell nearby on the wooden table. But it measures more than just speed and endurance.įor decades, the race has lived below the radar of general public awareness, its location and date known only to its inner circle and a group of devoted fans who anxiously await its arrival each spring.īut on a recent Friday morning, dozens of cameramen and spectators descended on a small state park near the old Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary to witness the spectacle that is the Barkley Marathons.Ī small crowd surrounded Gary Cantrell, known as "Laz," as he sat down at a picnic table Saturday, popping the top on a can of soda. For updates, follow the Barkley Marathons on Twitter.Deep in the rugged mountains of rural East Tennessee, a foot race is pushing the limits of human capability.Īt close to 130 miles and with 65,000 feet of climbing, some say it's the world's toughest trail race.
Runners must finish each loop in 12 hours to make the final 60-hour cutoff for the full course. To date, no female runner has finished the race. Jasmin Paris, Thomas Dunkerbeck, Greig Hamilton, and Karel Sabbe joined Kelly as the last runners to attempt the third loop.Īs of this writing, British runner Jasmin Paris is the last woman standing in the race after Courtney Dauwalter dropped out on the second loop. In 2017, Kelly became the 15th person to complete the Barkley Marathons, the last year the event has recorded a finisher. Of the last folks standing, John Kelly is perhaps the most notable name - or at least the runner with the Barkley know-how to possibly survive another loop. When the second cutoff time hit, only five runners had made the cutoff, earning the honor of heading out on a third brutal loop. Runners added wet, cold conditions and muddy terrain to their list of challenges. Though most participants made the cutoff time for the first loop - a record of 30 runners - that prediction quickly took a Barkley-ian turn for the worse on the second loop.ĭuring the night, the weather deteriorated into a cold rain. Yea, The 2022 Barkley Marathons began today with a world class field. EST with a field that was one of the toughest to date, at least according to the Barkley Marathons Twitter account.
The 2022 event kicked off on March 8, 2022, at 6:54 a.m.
And runners don’t know the exact start time for the race. A post shared by Howie Stern Photo keeping with the nature of the event, the Barkley Marathons doesn’t make the start list public before the event.
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