He crewed for Robbins in 2018, who did not finish again that year. Kelly had attempted the Barkley twice before finally finishing in 2017. The race, which involves completing five repeats of a 20-mile loop on unforgiving and steep terrain in under 60 hours, has seen only 15 finishers in its 35-year history. Lake lights his cigarette to start the Barkley Marathons. For obvious reasons, almost all participants are from the U.S., and there are more “Barkley virgins” (i.e first-timers) than usual.Ĭrew: I don’t know what happened to my runner! Participants (capped at 40 even in normal times) must either have been vaccinated or have had the virus and recovered. The infamous 100-miler was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID, and this year’s race is a little different than in the past, with COVID passports and masking and distancing at the start.

RELATED: Barkley Marathons book documents race’s 15 finishers Others have helpfully noted that in 2017, when John Kelly finished and Gary Robbins completed five loops but took a wrong turn and returned to camp from the wrong direction, resulting in a DNF, they finished the first loop considerably more quickly. The current record time is 52:03:08 which was set by Brett Maune in 2012. More details on the event can be found in our race explainer.When the frontrunners reached the fire tower on the first loop (which sits at the top of the steep, bramble-infested climb known as Rat Jaw), Dunn predicted they would finish the first loop in nine or 10 hours, so they were slightly behind his prediction.

The test is made even more difficult by the fact that each competitor has to find books hidden around the course and tear out the page corresponding to their race number. It achieved legendary status following the 2014 Netflix documentary Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young. That is five 20-mile loops with more than 54,000 feet of ascent, each loop starting and finishing at the yellow gate where competitors and support teams make camp. The Barkley Marathons is regarded as one of the toughest races in the world and since 1986 only 15 different runners have managed to complete the full course. #BM100 - Keith MaWhat is the Barkley Marathons?

John Kelly decided not to continue to loop 4 and tapped himself out.

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