"No American had ever finished the 100-mile Barkley Marathon.....I had been there eight times, and I wanted it bad."
This made me pause.
Did I read that right? No American?
The race was held in Tennessee. How could that be?
I re-read those opening words to make sure I was reading and comprehending correctly. And I was. A quick internet search became an extended visit to various blogs and web pages as I read about this unique event. Bit by bit, I pieced together what this race was about, and along the way I learned some intriguing facts:
- The Barkley Marathon was conceived in the 1970's after James Earl Jones, the assassin of Martin Luther King Jr., escaped from the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Tennessee, ran for 55 hours, and was captured just 8 miles from the prison. A local ultramarathoner thought that this was pathetic, "I could have gone 100 miles in that amount of time," he thought, and ultimately came up with this course
- The current incarnation of the event is a 100 mile course with a 60 hour cut off time. That's 36 minutes per mile. A pace of less than 2 miles per hour.
- Only six runners have ever finished the 100-mile course since it's inception in 1986
- The entry procedure is secret. You have to know someone who has run it before. Cost of entry has been listed as $1.60
- 35 runners are accepted annually, based on an application that includes an essay, "Why I should be allowed to run the Barkley."
- The race fills up quickly, in a matter of hours. In 2007 there was a 20 person waiting list.
- People come back for a repeat--year after year after year.....
- The race director appears to be a sadistic m*ther.
Below are links with photos and stories.
The slide show with narration and sound effects gives a nice feel for the race.
Enjoy in astonishment.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/photo/gallery/070420/GAL-07Apr20-71745/index.html
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/why-we-compete/2007/04/curiosity_1.html
http://www.mattmahoney.net/barkley/2003.html
Now, admit it. Isn't there a small part of you that wants to give it a try?
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10 comments:
N - that is f*cked up. It makes Leadville look like a picnic.
I am SO INTRIGUED!!
Thanks for posting this! I have never heard of it but am fascinated. I guess it just proves the point that there is always something more difficult and more obscure...so I wonder what other run out there is actually more difficult and more obscure, maybe a run down the mouth of an active volcano?
So who's signing up?
Hello! New reader here :)
I found it interesting that they also offer a shorter version of the race with a cut-off time of 40 hours, and they call it a "Fun Run!" ...must be for the wimps ;)
Yeah, a small part of me likes this kind of stuff.
Uh, no...
:)
I keep coming back to this - I've been telling people about it all week . The conversations go like this -
me: Hey, you're a runner-crazy, have you ever heard of the Barkley marathons?
them: Barkley Marathon-s? You must be stupid, you just said Marathons.
me: no, you heard me, marathons. it's a super effed up run. Ever heard of it?
them: What's the big deal, it's just a marathon, right?
me: uh, no. It's a 100 mile run,but only 6 have finished it since it started. It's a special kind of crazy.
No. Really not gonna sign up.
Two everests worth of climbing?
plus, the race director?
HE PUT ONE OF THE BOOKS IN THE MOUTH OF A RATTLESNAKE NEST!
Effed.
Up.
RE: Sbaboo's comment--not a run down a volcano, but the Marathon des Sables is a 6 day run over sand dunes and rocky terrain within the Sahara desert. Sand, 120 degree heat, minimal support--you carry your own 30 lb pack. I think the total distance is 120 miles. It attracts the elite of the ultrarunners. I'm sure there are others....
p.s.
Pirate, I'm laughing so hard, I'm snorting milk with my cookies :)
No. Not even a little bit. I am amazed I just through the hardest part of
training for an IM. 140.6, themajority of which is on a bike is daunting enouh.
100 miles on foot? I don't even have the stamina to watch an event like that.
We stumbled on this about a year ago. It's part of a larger serious called the Grand Slam, too. Don't you just want to go and do them all? :0)
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