The Barkley Marathons is like a bus: you wait six years for a finisher and then three come along at once. That was the story at the 2023 edition of “the race that eats its young”.

First to finish was France’s Aurélien Sanchez, who completed the five-loop course in 58:23:12. US ultrarunner John Kelly – who also finished the race in 2017 – was second in 58:42:23 and Belgian Karel Sabbe rounded out the podium, finishing with just six minutes to spare in 59:53:33.

It was the first time since 2012 that three people had managed to finish the course, and other records tumbled this year too. A new high of seven runners started the penultimate loop. This included Briton Jasmin Paris, who became only the second women to start a fourth loop at the Barkley.

Compatriot Damian Hall, recent winner of The Spine Race, was among four runners to start the fifth loop – also a record – but failed to complete it, having become lost on an area called Chimney Top.

Want to know more about the Barkley Marathons? Here’s our essential guide to the world’s toughest race….

What is the Barkley Marathons?

Only the toughest running race on the planet, that’s what. More than 6,000 people have scaled Mount Everest; another 1,800 people have swum the British Channel. But only 17 people have completed this gruesomely tough race in Tennessee, US. That’s how hard it is. And most years, no one finishes at all.

Created by founder Gary “Lazarus Lake” Cantrell, the Barkley has become known as “the race that eats its young”. It involves five loops of a (roughly) 20-mile course and there is a 60-hour cut-off point.

The history of the Barkley Marathons

In 1977, James Earl Ray, who assassinated Martin Luther King Jr, escaped from Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in the town of Petros in Morgan County, Tennessee. Sixty hours later, following a huge manhunt, Ray was found – having travelled only eight miles. Unimpressed, Cantrell, an ultrarunner, thought he could cover 100 miles in that time. And so the Barkley was born.

Who was the first person to finish the Barkley?

A Brit, of course: Mark Williams. In 1995, Williams completed the course in 59:28:48. It’s one of the breakthrough achievements in ultrarunning yet little is known about the enigmatic Williams, who turns down interviews.

Field size and composition

Despite its growing popularity, the race consists of only 40 runners each year. These are mainly comprised of elites, but Cantrell does select one runner who he deems to have “no business being here”. Known as the “human sacrifice”, the participant is given bib number 1.

How do you qualify for the Barkley marathons?

The application process is a bit of a secret. In theory, one simply has to send in an application by post, along with a non-refundable registration fee of $1.60. However, when and how is a well-kept secret – and there is no race website. Usually, though, the race takes place on the first weekend of April – although it sometimes happens in March (in order to protect its secrecy).

A brief look at the course

The course is overgrown, unmarked and exceptionally tough.

Oh, and hilly. The total elevation gain (60,000 feet) if you complete all five loops is the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest twice.

And this is no Western States. You’ll be running through thorns and briers, which rip clothing and legs to shreds. For that reason, runners tend to wear full-length trousers and tops. Fool is the runner who attempts the Barkley in a singlet and shorts.

How the race works

What better way to signal the impending start of a race than by the blowing of a conch shell? This happens between midnight and noon, usually on a Saturday, but it’s all at the discretion of the race director at conch-playing virtuoso Cantrell.

Once the conch is sounded, the race will begin an hour later. At that point, runners line up at a yellow gate at a campground within Frozen Head State Park. At the lighting of Cantrell’s cigarette – seriously – the race begins. Runners then have 60 hours to complete the race.

As they head off, runners must touch the yellow gate – and do so again upon the completion of each lap. Only then can they can go to their crew and recover (although anyone looking to finish will have to keep sleep to a complete minimum).

Why is the Barkley marathon so difficult?

To complete the race, you must complete five loops of the course. To make things more difficult, the first two loops are done clockwise; the second two anti-clockwise; and the final one at the leader's choosing (with subsequent runners, if there are any, alternating the route selected by the leader).

Each loop must be completed in 12 hours to even attempt the full course. If attempting the “Fun Run” – a misleadingly named term for the completion of three loops – one is allowed a time limit of 13 hours, 20 minutes for each loop (40 hours total).

How many have finished the Barkley marathons?

Only 17 of the hardiest souls have completed the course. Jared Campbell has the most finishes – three – and no woman has yet to complete the Barkley.

• Mark Williams (1995)

• David Horton (2001)

• Blake Wood (2001)

• Ted Kaiser (2003)

• Mike Tilden (2004)

• Jim Nelson (2004)

• Brian Robinson (2008)

• Andrew Thompson (2009)

• Jonathan Basham (2010)

• Brett Maune (2011, 2012)

• John Fegyveresi (2012)
  

• Jared Campbell (2012, 2014, 2016)

• Nick Hollon (2013)

• Travis Wildeboer (2013)

• John Kelly (2017, 2023)

• Aurélien Sanchez (2023)
  

• Karel Sabbe (2023)
  

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