It's that time of year again when the cigarette is lit and ultrarunning's most gruelling test begins. The Barkley Marathons has been underway for almost 24 hours now and there are a few exciting stories.
First, with really good conditions this year, things are promising for Jared Campbell to become the first person to complete the race three times, and could very well finish in record time as well. To get a sense of how hard the race is, only fourteen people have ever completed the race in thirty years and only two have completed it more than once (Jared and record-holder Brett Maune).
The first Canadian slant to the story is that
Gary Robbins will be competing this year. He's an experienced ultrarunner and has as good a chance as any at completing the race this year and becoming the first Canadian to do so. So far, he is one of three racers on his third lap (of five).
The second Canadian story this year is
Rhonda-Marie Avery, from Kitchener, who will become the first blind athlete selected to compete in the Barkley. She'd an experienced ultra runner, but it will be exciting to see how she deals with the challenges of this course. Probably with respect to her, one of the books on the race this year (competitors have to collect pages with their race number from books place on the course) is in braille.
For people who have never heard of the Barkley Marathon's, youtube has a fantastic documentary about it,
"The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young." A shorter documentary is also
available on youtube.
Prev
) and is most definitely worth watching, even if you have no interest in running or sports.
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