Then there is the self-supported nature of the race. Which means traversing extremely difficult ground and coming into contact with a lot of the flora of Frozen head state park which is predominantly at this time of year, deadfall from the dense woodland and saw briers which tear runners to shreds. The purported 5 x 20.00 mile loops, each with around 14,000 ft of climb (and descent) to total up 100 miles with 70,000+ of gain, each have a 12 hour cut off under which runners must make it in order to carry on and complete the distance under the total allotted 60 hour limit.īeyond the physical challenge of ascending and descending so much over such a distance, the route is largely off trail. This was the 34th time the event was held and part of the folklore of the event surrounds the fact that in that time, only 15 people have ever finished the race. South-East Tennessee around April Fools weekend each year. The Barkley is a truly special, one off event that happens in Frozen Head State Park.
Having travelled the world to conquer a truly epic list of bucket list races 2019 was the year James decided to head out to the US and find out what the Barkley Marathons was truly like. James Elson is not only race director of Centurion Running that runs classic 100 and 50 miler races, but he's also an incredible ultrarunner himself and a UK La Sportiva / Lyon Equipment athlete.
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