19 ms·

All 40 Runners Fail at 100-Mile Tennessee Mountain Race

238 points by ph0rque 12y ago

cgsmith 12y ago
It always amazes me that there is always, always, a harder race out there then the one I've done. Humbling...
- dalke 12y ago
  Do you reckon the 1% of the people who completed are looking for something even harder?
  - cgsmith 12y ago
    Wow, that is a good thought as well. I imagine the 1% of competitors that complete the race would be willing to do any challenge given to them. Just constantly driven.
    - eitally 12y ago
      There are a small handful of extreme races that are all approaching impossible in their own special way. The Barkley, because of it's traversal of insane undergrowth and ridiculous total elevation, is one. The Marathon des Sables (http://www.marathondessables.co.uk/ http://www.marathondessables.co.uk/) across part of the Sahara is another (6 days max to traverse 251km while carrying all your supplies except a tent (and you can refill water containers each night at the aid stations)). The Arrowhead 135 is essentially the same style, but conducted in northern Minnesota in the middle of winter (http://www.arrowheadultra.com/index.php/race-inforegistration/race-rules http://www.arrowheadultra.com/index.php/race-inforegistratio...). The Iditarod is a fourth.
      - narrator 12y ago
        Meh, the Iditarod is easy. They should do the Antarctica dog sled race to the south pole. Amundsen did that one at the beginning on the 20th century with ease. I once was in Argentina and met some people who were going to climb Vincent Mastiff in Antarctica. The tallest peak in Antarctica. It cost them something like $25,000 a person to fly their group in. Basically you have to get someone willing to fly a perfectly good long range airplane and land it on a glacier in the middle of nowhere with no hope of rescue if you screw up.. and then you have to have it take back off and get you back to south america. Now that's adventure.
        dalke 12y ago
        Perhaps eitally refers to the Iditarod Trail Invitational? > The Iditarod Trail Invitational is the world's longest winter ultra marathon by mountain bike, foot and ski and follows the historic Iditarod Trail from Knik, Alaska over the Alaska Range to McGrath and to Nome in late February every year one week before the Iditarod Sled Dog Race. The short race 350 miles finishes in the interior village of McGrath on the Kuskokwim River and the 1000 mile race finishes in Nome. Racers have to finish the 350 mile race in a previous year before they can enter the 1000 mile race.
        eitally 12y ago
        Yes, thank you for clarifying.
      - beatboxrevival 12y ago
        I'm not sure Marathon des Sables belongs in that list. Badwater is almost the same distance, usually hotter, and without all the rest.
allworknoplay 12y ago
Fail? I would say that they succeeded simply by getting most of the way.
error54 12y ago
It's interesting to note that in every year that someone finishes, they add additional parts to the course making it more difficult for the competitors in the following year. In 2013, Nick Hollon finished in 57:41 and Travis Wildeboer in 58:41. A new hill was added, "foolish stu", increasing the total climb to over 60,000 feet. In 2014, Jared Campbell got his second finish in 57:50. Another new hill, Hiram's Vertical Smile, brings the total climb to 62,680 ft.[1] 1- http://www.mattmahoney.net/barkley/ http://www.mattmahoney.net/barkley/
- gesman 12y ago
  I think this "addition" of complexities needs to be treated as totally new course each time such addition is made. Otherwise previous finishers (total respect to them of course) would claim to do something that new participants cannot using the identical name of event/race. Which in fact is totally different race by now. Marathon is not adding extra 10km every year to compensate for too many finishers.
  - eitally 12y ago
    I would agree with you if the competitors were in any way competing on time over the course of multiple years, but in reality they aren't. It's a one time race, repeated annually, and each course & victory stands alone. (Not like other extreme ultras like the Leadville 100, etc, where there absolutely is competition each year to lower the record.)
    - beatboxrevival 12y ago
      I don't think many ultra runners would consider Leadville extreme. It's mostly fire roads. Ever since the buy-out from Lifetime Fitness, the top runners seem to skip the event.
  - justinator 12y ago
    One of the joys of putting on your own race is making up your own rules. This race is decidedly unlike a marathon by design.
trestletech 12y ago
We need a new work for not succeeding at something as unfeasible as this. "Fail" doesn't seem appropriate...
- acadien 12y ago
  All the runners came in 2nd to last, I guess.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
ccleve 12y ago
A brisk walk is 4 miles per hour and an average walk is 3 miles per hour. If you do the race at a slow walk, 2 miles per hour, you'll do the 100 miles in much less than the allotted 60 hours. Which means that the elevation and sleep deprivation must really take their toll. Those are the limiting factors, not running speed.
- capex 12y ago
  Check out Naismith's Rule. A climb of 60,000 ft alone adds about a hundred hours to the speed you've mentioned above. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naismith%27s_rule http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naismith%27s_rule
  - cpncrunch 12y ago
    It adds 30 hours at 3mph. 63 hours total.
    - trhway 12y ago
      actually there are 60000ft of ascent and 60000ft of descent in that race. With steep and or bad condition of descents (check the photos from the links others posted), you need to apply the rule (at least partially) to descents too. Thus we come almost all the way to 90hrs.
      - forrestthewoods 12y ago
        And speed has got to be a good bit slower at night.
- idlewords 12y ago
  There are some nice photos of the kind of backcountry terrain the runners have to contend with here: http://www.mattmahoney.net/barkley/ http://www.mattmahoney.net/barkley/
- prawn 12y ago
  100 miles is 160 km. Tour du Mont Blanc is a 170 km trail around Mont Blanc and surrounding mountains, crossing from France to Italy and then Switzerland before returning to France. Ultra-marathon runners can do it in 20-45 hours. They carry little but gel packs/etc. My brother and I hiked it a few years ago, carrying a tent, cooking gear, food, etc. It's a lot of up and down and even if the down doesn't exhaust you, it grinds your knees. Elevation gain is 9,600m (so 31,000 feet). We did it in 9 days, from memory. Could've done it more quickly or walked longer each day but we generally allowed time to select a secretive but flat camping spot (camping wild on the Italian side is somewhat illegal), cook, wash clothes in the river, etc. The up hill bits definitely slow you down. Afterwards, we said "Never again!" but I haven't stop thinking about it since and would go back for sure. Highly recommended. Stunning scenery and a great challenge.
AndrewKemendo 12y ago
As an ultramarathoner I can tell you that the Barkley is notorious in the community. Here are the r/ultramarathon threads on it this year: http://www.reddit.com/r/Ultramarathon/comments/30x5at/all_40_runners_fail_at_100mile_tennessee_mountain/ http://www.reddit.com/r/Ultramarathon/comments/30x5at/all_40... http://www.reddit.com/r/Ultramarathon/comments/30isk7/you_heard_it_here_first_this_will_be_the_year_a/ http://www.reddit.com/r/Ultramarathon/comments/30isk7/you_he...
- arethuza 12y ago
  Great comment on that first one: "Fail is a strong word. I'm sure every one of the runners were successful in learning something about themselves. You fail by not trying."
  - AndrewKemendo 12y ago
    Yup. Ultrarunning is about personal growth, the competition is there but it's almost secondary.
  - scuba7183 12y ago
    You also fail by failing to complete the race
    - arethuza 12y ago
      Makes me think of "The Man in the Arena": It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizenship_in_a_Republic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizenship_in_a_Republic
wetmore 12y ago
There's a fascinating essay about this run here: http://www.believermag.com/issues/201105/?read=article_jamison http://www.believermag.com/issues/201105/?read=article_jamis...
sheltgor 12y ago
Watched a great documentary on the Barkley awhile back. I've done a city full and a trail half marathon, but its mindblowing to comprehend just how rough this race is. For those not familiar with the handful of people who have finished, these guys are seriously tough. Brian Robinson has a wikipedia page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Robinson_%28hiker%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Robinson_%28hiker%29) that highlights his accomplishments, and the Barkley is one of them: "Brian Robinson was the first person to hike the Pacific Crest Trail, the Appalachian Trail and the Continental Divide Trail (or the Hiker Triple Crown) in one year, a total distance of over 7,000 miles." "In the years following the Calendar Triple Crown, Robinson became an active ultra-marathoner. He has completed several 100-mile races, including the Western States 100 and the Hardrock Hundred Mile Endurance Run. In 2008 he set the course record at the Barkley Marathons, a grueling 100 mile course in Frozen Head State Park, Tennessee." Jared Campbell has also, I believe, won Hardrock previously.
- yesiamyourdad 12y ago
  The best part of that documentary (I'm guessing it's the same one) is that the official starting signal for the race is when Cantrell lights a cigarette. Also, the license plate is part of the entry fee. You have to bring him a plate to enter in the race. Also, there are no trails, no markers, and the only aid station is the starting line which you pass 4 times during the race. You do have to stop and check in at various stations to verify that you actually did the course. IIRC, you had to pick up some kind of memento from the station. As someone mentioned, you're frequently going through brambles. The entire idea of the race was based on James' Earl Ray's attempted escape. Cantrell was fascinated that a man on foot could make it only 8 miles in almost 60 hours, and that led to him starting the race.
  - karlshea 12y ago
    Which documentary is it?
    - zgniatacz 12y ago
      it is probably the vimeo link posted by me earlier.
cwal37 12y ago
I live slightly south of Frozen Head, and have hiked there a number of times in the last year or so since I moved down here (dryish-winter hike[1], a snowy day up top[2]). It really is a beautiful park and TN state parks are free, so if you're in the area I recommend stopping by. I've been trying to convince a few ultra-marathoner friends to apply for the Barkley since I got out here, but they're all extremely hesitant. From everything I've read and gathered this race is just totally unlike what they're used to out West in terms of its general terrain (including plants, stepping off the trails in the spring and summer you can quickly get into quite vicious thorns, and the race isn't really on trails anyways as far as I know), and overall idiosyncratic nature. The weather down here can also be all over the place this time of year. I hiked Frozen Head in the high 50s/low 60s back in late January or early February; this past Sunday I was 2 hours south, in the Smokies, hiking in 5-6 inches of snow. It's certainly a personal pie-in-the-sky feat to dream about before I move away in a few years, but realistically I'll just settle for an AT through hike instead (which should be far, far more manageable). [1] https://www.flickr.com/photos/23215983@N02/sets/72157640742661175/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/23215983@N02/sets/721576407426... [2] https://www.flickr.com/photos/23215983@N02/sets/72157642283756455/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/23215983@N02/sets/721576422837...
- mason240 12y ago
  If that kind race looks interesting, but you are not an ultra-marathoner, check out orienteering: http://www.mensjournal.com/adventure/outdoor/the-rise-of-orienteering-no-path-no-rules-20150327 http://www.mensjournal.com/adventure/outdoor/the-rise-of-ori.... It's basically a land navigation race. The club I'm in, (http://mnoc.org http://mnoc.org), does courses that are usually 3km to 8km in length (there will be several to choose from). The events are pretty minimalist compared to obstacle races like Warrior Dash, mud runs, ect. It's just you, a map, and a large chunk of woods.
  - cwal37 12y ago
    That actually sounds incredibly appealing, thanks for the heads up. I love finding my way with a map and a compass, but I've somehow never heard of orienteering specifically before. I hike basically every weekend, but since most of that is in the Smokies I adhere to the trails. It would be nice to venture into some more self-guided routes. I have relatives up near the UP I visit once or twice a year, I'll definitely look into this the next time I'm near a more active orienteering community.
jefflinwood 12y ago
I don't think most of the entrants expected to succeed, so that's not too big a surprise. Even in a "runnable" 100 mile ultra marathon, only about 50-70% usually finish the race. You can see some stats here: http://run100s.com/ultra.htm http://run100s.com/ultra.htm The same race director puts on a much more finishable race - 314 miles, typically self supported, in the middle of summer, across the entire state of Tennessee: http://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=29688 http://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=29688 It's on my list of runs to do.
- nswanberg 12y ago
  I understand race preferences are idiosyncratic but what about Vol-State appeals to you? Distance? Crossing a state? Laz? If anything on your list includes something in Colorado (or Bighorn or Fat Dog this year) send me a note--pacing is sometimes more fun than racing. (Same goes for anyone else reading this).
nl 12y ago
The Outside magazine story of the Barkley is pretty good if you are looking for some background: http://www.outsideonline.com/1924491/60-hours-hell-story-barkley-marathons http://www.outsideonline.com/1924491/60-hours-hell-story-bar... It's be interesting to see Jornet try it sometime.
- soci 12y ago
  Now that you mention Kilian Jornet (the world famous sky runner), I can't refrain from saying that at KiteBit we actually built and run the service used by him and others to sell his movies. Technology stack we have set up at KiteBit is RoR + Unicorn + Redis + Postgres + Vagrant. And we make also make use of Sendgrid + AWS S3 + CloudFront + ElasticTranscoder. Kilian's movies and other stuff from him are on sale at his website summitsofmylife.com. This is a PrestaShop store but when it comes to the downloads and video streaming it's KiteBit (our service) which takes the relieve.
fsk 12y ago
It's like Ninja Warrior (the Japanese version).
olalonde 12y ago
Since not many sports news make it to HN's front page, I am wondering why this one did. Am I missing some context or is running just popular among the HN crowd?
- mburns 12y ago
  It is a uniquely difficult and quirky marathon. One of the qualifications is bringing the organizer a pack of his favorite brand of cigarettes, etc. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/28/sports/the-barkley-marathons-few-know-how-to-enter-fewer-finish.html http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/28/sports/the-barkley-maratho...
- VLM 12y ago
  I wonder if Dakar in the old days would have appeal here. I've always found it interesting. It was much more interesting in the old days when they, you know, actually went to Dakar, instead of holding it in South America. Its vaguely similar to this story although the dropout rate was only 60-75% and the media only covered the extreme driving aspect, by analogy this ultramarathon would be a pretty boring story if the only coverage available was people running up a hill in cool scenery.
BorisMelnik 12y ago
Should it really be considered a "race" if less than 1% of people finish?
zgniatacz 12y ago
https://vimeo.com/97270099 https://vimeo.com/97270099
- themodelplumber 12y ago
  You should have included a description! I was about to post that link myself. It's a really impressive documentary about the race and shows why it's so difficult and what's so neat about it. The music score is awesome too.
sytelus 12y ago
Is this really harder than Mount Baker Marathon? That one involves 108 miles of trail from sea to summit of 10,700 foot snow clad volcano. Just climbing the volcano alone even when starting at 5000ft is usually quite a bit of an accomplishment. This race adds a long ~100 mile run on the top of it. http://www.trailrunnermag.com/people/adventure/1495-revival-of-the-toughest-race-youve-never-heard-of http://www.trailrunnermag.com/people/adventure/1495-revival-...
- TylerE 12y ago
  Yea, way harder. The vertical climb is equivlant to going up and down your volcano almost 6 times. Also, the whole thing thing is in backwoods on practically non-existent trails.
guelo 12y ago
Is the race supposed to honor James Earl Ray? That's fucked up.
- dtparr 12y ago
  I'm pretty sure that's not the case. My reading was just that his escape was the inspiration for this particular physical feat. I wouldn't say it honors him any more than those escape from Alcatraz triathlons honor the escapees or marathons in general are political statements about Athens v. Persia.
- briandear 12y ago
  No, it's similar to the concept around the Alcatraz triathlon.
- omegaham 12y ago
  No, it's more of seeing James Earl Ray having a massively hard time in the mountains and saying, "That gives me an idea - there are people who will volunteer for this!"
josu 12y ago
>With a finisher rate of about 1 percent, the Barkley has been labeled by many as the world’s hardest race The 1% figure doesn't add up with the rest of the data they provide
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- detaro 12y ago
  > In 30 years, 14 out of about 1,100 runners have completed the race, made up of five loops around a mountainous 20-mile course. With a finisher rate of about 1 percent 14/1100 = 0.0127…
cconcepts 12y ago
Ultra distance running has always been something that has inspired me - I got into it through my friend Mal Law who has just run 50 marathons in 50 consecutive days over 50 mountains (I think adding the mountains made it unique compared to past efforts). http://www.high50.org.nz/ http://www.high50.org.nz/
derrida 12y ago
I'm planning to compete in a 75km race with 4 1000 meter vertical assents in October. This is about as mountainous as you can get in Australia. This is a walk in the part compared to the races in Europe, New Zealand and North America, which have more geologically recent mountain ranges, and communities in which alpine / mountaineering / orienteering and running cross over. I've heard Anton Krupicka (well known and achieve North American ultra racer) refer to the UTMB (the most well known ultra marathon race in Europe, in which a loop of Mt Blanc taking in 3 countries is done) as "unexpectedly flat" Here's some footage of that race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St49BdhuA8c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St49BdhuA8c I look at the course profile for that, and the course profile for the 4 1000m assents for the 75km race I'm doing in October and think "how do that many people finish". The US has harder races, which still have remarkably high finishing rates. The "Hard Rock 100" (miles) is basically at times a rope-free scramble up mountain tops, and it has a remarkably high finishing rate (when we're talking more that 10% of the field finishing, it's remarkable) It's quite amazing the variation among ultra races, and 100 miles is not just 100 miles. The interesting thing is that many of the trail / mountain runners need that sort of variation for psychological reasons and find things like 100 mile tarmac races to be more psychologically and physically taxing. A mountain / trail race having highs and lows geologically, mentally, physically but a flat tarmac race having less variation being harder to switch out of a down patch, and requiring serious inner resilience to counter-act a "runners low".
- nswanberg 12y ago
  Good luck! Just remember: don't decide to quit while going uphill. Hardrock has a high finishing rate because each of the 140 starters has already completed a difficult 100 mile race and likely years of lottery attempts to get in (Krupicka finally got in this year). Most other 100 mile races in the States are easier to enter and so have a smaller finishing rate. But while a healthy reasonably-trained adult has a solid chance of completing Hardrock simply by putting one foot in front of the other and not giving up, Barkley apparently needs something more. Of the three people I know who started, including one this year, none finished. If physical ability and tenacity were enough all three would have finished. It's that hard.
  - 12y ago
whalesalad 12y ago
Reminds me of the book Born to Run. For anyone who has taken any sort of interest in running, I highly recommend it. http://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-Hidden-Superathletes-Greatest/dp/0307279189 http://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-Hidden-Superathletes-Greatest...
- esolyt 12y ago
  I'd recommend it even more if you're not interested in running. It might change your mind.
  - whalesalad 12y ago
    Completely agree.
lancefisher 12y ago
I knew this was Barkley without even having to click through. it is notorious, and unlike other ultras - tough terrain and tons of elevation gain/loss. I love running ultras, but I also like to finish. This one is not on my list.
malandrew 12y ago
What opportunities are there to get into long-distance orienteering races in the SF Bay Area? I'm already randonneuring and this seems like another sport worth exploring.
ceruleus 12y ago
“I got a little confused where I was,” Coury said upon returning to camp, explaining that he took an eight-hour nap on a mountaintop after getting lost. Man, I take one of those naps every day and I'm not even running 100 miles. What's wrong with me.
- jmnicolas 12y ago
  I'm left to wonder what is a regular sleep cycle for him ;-)
tedmcory 12y ago
This might put things in perspective. http://www.irunfar.com/2014/04/silver-linings-at-the-barkley-marathons-jared-campbells-2014-report.html http://www.irunfar.com/2014/04/silver-linings-at-the-barkley...
cafard 12y ago
Pretty harsh. At the Old Dominion 100, finishers under 24 hours get a silver belt buckle, and there are always some handed out. It has plenty of relief--or so it seems to those going over Massanutten Mountain in the dark at about 70 miles in--but I'd guess the total climb to be well under 10,000 ft. (Information based on going as "handler" a couple of times many years ago for a friend, who got the buckle on her second try.)
TN2398 12y ago
> Cantrell was inspired to hold a race in the rugged mountains by James Earl Ray’s failed 1977 escape from Brushy Mountain State Prison. My southern racism sense is tingling.

238 points by ph0rque 12y ago

cgsmith 12y ago

It always amazes me that there is always, always, a harder race out there then the one I've done. Humbling...

dalke 12y ago
Do you reckon the 1% of the people who completed are looking for something even harder?
- cgsmith 12y ago
  Wow, that is a good thought as well. I imagine the 1% of competitors that complete the race would be willing to do any challenge given to them. Just constantly driven.
  - eitally 12y ago
    There are a small handful of extreme races that are all approaching impossible in their own special way. The Barkley, because of it's traversal of insane undergrowth and ridiculous total elevation, is one. The Marathon des Sables (http://www.marathondessables.co.uk/ http://www.marathondessables.co.uk/) across part of the Sahara is another (6 days max to traverse 251km while carrying all your supplies except a tent (and you can refill water containers each night at the aid stations)). The Arrowhead 135 is essentially the same style, but conducted in northern Minnesota in the middle of winter (http://www.arrowheadultra.com/index.php/race-inforegistration/race-rules http://www.arrowheadultra.com/index.php/race-inforegistratio...). The Iditarod is a fourth.
    - narrator 12y ago
      Meh, the Iditarod is easy. They should do the Antarctica dog sled race to the south pole. Amundsen did that one at the beginning on the 20th century with ease. I once was in Argentina and met some people who were going to climb Vincent Mastiff in Antarctica. The tallest peak in Antarctica. It cost them something like $25,000 a person to fly their group in. Basically you have to get someone willing to fly a perfectly good long range airplane and land it on a glacier in the middle of nowhere with no hope of rescue if you screw up.. and then you have to have it take back off and get you back to south america. Now that's adventure.
      - dalke 12y ago
        Perhaps eitally refers to the Iditarod Trail Invitational? > The Iditarod Trail Invitational is the world's longest winter ultra marathon by mountain bike, foot and ski and follows the historic Iditarod Trail from Knik, Alaska over the Alaska Range to McGrath and to Nome in late February every year one week before the Iditarod Sled Dog Race. The short race 350 miles finishes in the interior village of McGrath on the Kuskokwim River and the 1000 mile race finishes in Nome. Racers have to finish the 350 mile race in a previous year before they can enter the 1000 mile race.
        eitally 12y ago
        Yes, thank you for clarifying.
    - beatboxrevival 12y ago
      I'm not sure Marathon des Sables belongs in that list. Badwater is almost the same distance, usually hotter, and without all the rest.

allworknoplay 12y ago

Fail? I would say that they succeeded simply by getting most of the way.

error54 12y ago

It's interesting to note that in every year that someone finishes, they add additional parts to the course making it more difficult for the competitors in the following year. In 2013, Nick Hollon finished in 57:41 and Travis Wildeboer in 58:41. A new hill was added, "foolish stu", increasing the total climb to over 60,000 feet. In 2014, Jared Campbell got his second finish in 57:50. Another new hill, Hiram's Vertical Smile, brings the total climb to 62,680 ft.[1] 1- http://www.mattmahoney.net/barkley/ http://www.mattmahoney.net/barkley/

gesman 12y ago
I think this "addition" of complexities needs to be treated as totally new course each time such addition is made. Otherwise previous finishers (total respect to them of course) would claim to do something that new participants cannot using the identical name of event/race. Which in fact is totally different race by now. Marathon is not adding extra 10km every year to compensate for too many finishers.
- eitally 12y ago
  I would agree with you if the competitors were in any way competing on time over the course of multiple years, but in reality they aren't. It's a one time race, repeated annually, and each course & victory stands alone. (Not like other extreme ultras like the Leadville 100, etc, where there absolutely is competition each year to lower the record.)
  - beatboxrevival 12y ago
    I don't think many ultra runners would consider Leadville extreme. It's mostly fire roads. Ever since the buy-out from Lifetime Fitness, the top runners seem to skip the event.
- justinator 12y ago
  One of the joys of putting on your own race is making up your own rules. This race is decidedly unlike a marathon by design.

trestletech 12y ago

We need a new work for not succeeding at something as unfeasible as this. "Fail" doesn't seem appropriate...

acadien 12y ago
All the runners came in 2nd to last, I guess.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]

ccleve 12y ago

A brisk walk is 4 miles per hour and an average walk is 3 miles per hour. If you do the race at a slow walk, 2 miles per hour, you'll do the 100 miles in much less than the allotted 60 hours. Which means that the elevation and sleep deprivation must really take their toll. Those are the limiting factors, not running speed.

capex 12y ago
Check out Naismith's Rule. A climb of 60,000 ft alone adds about a hundred hours to the speed you've mentioned above. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naismith%27s_rule http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naismith%27s_rule
- cpncrunch 12y ago
  It adds 30 hours at 3mph. 63 hours total.
  - trhway 12y ago
    actually there are 60000ft of ascent and 60000ft of descent in that race. With steep and or bad condition of descents (check the photos from the links others posted), you need to apply the rule (at least partially) to descents too. Thus we come almost all the way to 90hrs.
    - forrestthewoods 12y ago
      And speed has got to be a good bit slower at night.
idlewords 12y ago
There are some nice photos of the kind of backcountry terrain the runners have to contend with here: http://www.mattmahoney.net/barkley/ http://www.mattmahoney.net/barkley/
prawn 12y ago
100 miles is 160 km. Tour du Mont Blanc is a 170 km trail around Mont Blanc and surrounding mountains, crossing from France to Italy and then Switzerland before returning to France. Ultra-marathon runners can do it in 20-45 hours. They carry little but gel packs/etc. My brother and I hiked it a few years ago, carrying a tent, cooking gear, food, etc. It's a lot of up and down and even if the down doesn't exhaust you, it grinds your knees. Elevation gain is 9,600m (so 31,000 feet). We did it in 9 days, from memory. Could've done it more quickly or walked longer each day but we generally allowed time to select a secretive but flat camping spot (camping wild on the Italian side is somewhat illegal), cook, wash clothes in the river, etc. The up hill bits definitely slow you down. Afterwards, we said "Never again!" but I haven't stop thinking about it since and would go back for sure. Highly recommended. Stunning scenery and a great challenge.

AndrewKemendo 12y ago

As an ultramarathoner I can tell you that the Barkley is notorious in the community. Here are the r/ultramarathon threads on it this year: http://www.reddit.com/r/Ultramarathon/comments/30x5at/all_40_runners_fail_at_100mile_tennessee_mountain/ http://www.reddit.com/r/Ultramarathon/comments/30x5at/all_40... http://www.reddit.com/r/Ultramarathon/comments/30isk7/you_heard_it_here_first_this_will_be_the_year_a/ http://www.reddit.com/r/Ultramarathon/comments/30isk7/you_he...

arethuza 12y ago
Great comment on that first one: "Fail is a strong word. I'm sure every one of the runners were successful in learning something about themselves. You fail by not trying."
- AndrewKemendo 12y ago
  Yup. Ultrarunning is about personal growth, the competition is there but it's almost secondary.
- scuba7183 12y ago
  You also fail by failing to complete the race
  - arethuza 12y ago
    Makes me think of "The Man in the Arena": It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizenship_in_a_Republic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizenship_in_a_Republic

wetmore 12y ago

There's a fascinating essay about this run here: http://www.believermag.com/issues/201105/?read=article_jamison http://www.believermag.com/issues/201105/?read=article_jamis...

sheltgor 12y ago

Watched a great documentary on the Barkley awhile back. I've done a city full and a trail half marathon, but its mindblowing to comprehend just how rough this race is. For those not familiar with the handful of people who have finished, these guys are seriously tough. Brian Robinson has a wikipedia page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Robinson_%28hiker%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Robinson_%28hiker%29) that highlights his accomplishments, and the Barkley is one of them: "Brian Robinson was the first person to hike the Pacific Crest Trail, the Appalachian Trail and the Continental Divide Trail (or the Hiker Triple Crown) in one year, a total distance of over 7,000 miles." "In the years following the Calendar Triple Crown, Robinson became an active ultra-marathoner. He has completed several 100-mile races, including the Western States 100 and the Hardrock Hundred Mile Endurance Run. In 2008 he set the course record at the Barkley Marathons, a grueling 100 mile course in Frozen Head State Park, Tennessee." Jared Campbell has also, I believe, won Hardrock previously.

yesiamyourdad 12y ago
The best part of that documentary (I'm guessing it's the same one) is that the official starting signal for the race is when Cantrell lights a cigarette. Also, the license plate is part of the entry fee. You have to bring him a plate to enter in the race. Also, there are no trails, no markers, and the only aid station is the starting line which you pass 4 times during the race. You do have to stop and check in at various stations to verify that you actually did the course. IIRC, you had to pick up some kind of memento from the station. As someone mentioned, you're frequently going through brambles. The entire idea of the race was based on James' Earl Ray's attempted escape. Cantrell was fascinated that a man on foot could make it only 8 miles in almost 60 hours, and that led to him starting the race.
- karlshea 12y ago
  Which documentary is it?
  - zgniatacz 12y ago
    it is probably the vimeo link posted by me earlier.

cwal37 12y ago

I live slightly south of Frozen Head, and have hiked there a number of times in the last year or so since I moved down here (dryish-winter hike[1], a snowy day up top[2]). It really is a beautiful park and TN state parks are free, so if you're in the area I recommend stopping by. I've been trying to convince a few ultra-marathoner friends to apply for the Barkley since I got out here, but they're all extremely hesitant. From everything I've read and gathered this race is just totally unlike what they're used to out West in terms of its general terrain (including plants, stepping off the trails in the spring and summer you can quickly get into quite vicious thorns, and the race isn't really on trails anyways as far as I know), and overall idiosyncratic nature. The weather down here can also be all over the place this time of year. I hiked Frozen Head in the high 50s/low 60s back in late January or early February; this past Sunday I was 2 hours south, in the Smokies, hiking in 5-6 inches of snow. It's certainly a personal pie-in-the-sky feat to dream about before I move away in a few years, but realistically I'll just settle for an AT through hike instead (which should be far, far more manageable). [1] https://www.flickr.com/photos/23215983@N02/sets/72157640742661175/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/23215983@N02/sets/721576407426... [2] https://www.flickr.com/photos/23215983@N02/sets/72157642283756455/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/23215983@N02/sets/721576422837...

mason240 12y ago
If that kind race looks interesting, but you are not an ultra-marathoner, check out orienteering: http://www.mensjournal.com/adventure/outdoor/the-rise-of-orienteering-no-path-no-rules-20150327 http://www.mensjournal.com/adventure/outdoor/the-rise-of-ori.... It's basically a land navigation race. The club I'm in, (http://mnoc.org http://mnoc.org), does courses that are usually 3km to 8km in length (there will be several to choose from). The events are pretty minimalist compared to obstacle races like Warrior Dash, mud runs, ect. It's just you, a map, and a large chunk of woods.
- cwal37 12y ago
  That actually sounds incredibly appealing, thanks for the heads up. I love finding my way with a map and a compass, but I've somehow never heard of orienteering specifically before. I hike basically every weekend, but since most of that is in the Smokies I adhere to the trails. It would be nice to venture into some more self-guided routes. I have relatives up near the UP I visit once or twice a year, I'll definitely look into this the next time I'm near a more active orienteering community.

jefflinwood 12y ago

I don't think most of the entrants expected to succeed, so that's not too big a surprise. Even in a "runnable" 100 mile ultra marathon, only about 50-70% usually finish the race. You can see some stats here: http://run100s.com/ultra.htm http://run100s.com/ultra.htm The same race director puts on a much more finishable race - 314 miles, typically self supported, in the middle of summer, across the entire state of Tennessee: http://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=29688 http://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=29688 It's on my list of runs to do.

nswanberg 12y ago
I understand race preferences are idiosyncratic but what about Vol-State appeals to you? Distance? Crossing a state? Laz? If anything on your list includes something in Colorado (or Bighorn or Fat Dog this year) send me a note--pacing is sometimes more fun than racing. (Same goes for anyone else reading this).

nl 12y ago

The Outside magazine story of the Barkley is pretty good if you are looking for some background: http://www.outsideonline.com/1924491/60-hours-hell-story-barkley-marathons http://www.outsideonline.com/1924491/60-hours-hell-story-bar... It's be interesting to see Jornet try it sometime.

soci 12y ago
Now that you mention Kilian Jornet (the world famous sky runner), I can't refrain from saying that at KiteBit we actually built and run the service used by him and others to sell his movies. Technology stack we have set up at KiteBit is RoR + Unicorn + Redis + Postgres + Vagrant. And we make also make use of Sendgrid + AWS S3 + CloudFront + ElasticTranscoder. Kilian's movies and other stuff from him are on sale at his website summitsofmylife.com. This is a PrestaShop store but when it comes to the downloads and video streaming it's KiteBit (our service) which takes the relieve.

fsk 12y ago

It's like Ninja Warrior (the Japanese version).

olalonde 12y ago

Since not many sports news make it to HN's front page, I am wondering why this one did. Am I missing some context or is running just popular among the HN crowd?

mburns 12y ago
It is a uniquely difficult and quirky marathon. One of the qualifications is bringing the organizer a pack of his favorite brand of cigarettes, etc. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/28/sports/the-barkley-marathons-few-know-how-to-enter-fewer-finish.html http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/28/sports/the-barkley-maratho...
VLM 12y ago
I wonder if Dakar in the old days would have appeal here. I've always found it interesting. It was much more interesting in the old days when they, you know, actually went to Dakar, instead of holding it in South America. Its vaguely similar to this story although the dropout rate was only 60-75% and the media only covered the extreme driving aspect, by analogy this ultramarathon would be a pretty boring story if the only coverage available was people running up a hill in cool scenery.

BorisMelnik 12y ago

Should it really be considered a "race" if less than 1% of people finish?

zgniatacz 12y ago

https://vimeo.com/97270099 https://vimeo.com/97270099

themodelplumber 12y ago
You should have included a description! I was about to post that link myself. It's a really impressive documentary about the race and shows why it's so difficult and what's so neat about it. The music score is awesome too.

sytelus 12y ago

Is this really harder than Mount Baker Marathon? That one involves 108 miles of trail from sea to summit of 10,700 foot snow clad volcano. Just climbing the volcano alone even when starting at 5000ft is usually quite a bit of an accomplishment. This race adds a long ~100 mile run on the top of it. http://www.trailrunnermag.com/people/adventure/1495-revival-of-the-toughest-race-youve-never-heard-of http://www.trailrunnermag.com/people/adventure/1495-revival-...

TylerE 12y ago
Yea, way harder. The vertical climb is equivlant to going up and down your volcano almost 6 times. Also, the whole thing thing is in backwoods on practically non-existent trails.

guelo 12y ago

Is the race supposed to honor James Earl Ray? That's fucked up.

dtparr 12y ago
I'm pretty sure that's not the case. My reading was just that his escape was the inspiration for this particular physical feat. I wouldn't say it honors him any more than those escape from Alcatraz triathlons honor the escapees or marathons in general are political statements about Athens v. Persia.
briandear 12y ago
No, it's similar to the concept around the Alcatraz triathlon.
omegaham 12y ago
No, it's more of seeing James Earl Ray having a massively hard time in the mountains and saying, "That gives me an idea - there are people who will volunteer for this!"

josu 12y ago

>With a finisher rate of about 1 percent, the Barkley has been labeled by many as the world’s hardest race The 1% figure doesn't add up with the rest of the data they provide

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
detaro 12y ago
> In 30 years, 14 out of about 1,100 runners have completed the race, made up of five loops around a mountainous 20-mile course. With a finisher rate of about 1 percent 14/1100 = 0.0127…

cconcepts 12y ago

Ultra distance running has always been something that has inspired me - I got into it through my friend Mal Law who has just run 50 marathons in 50 consecutive days over 50 mountains (I think adding the mountains made it unique compared to past efforts). http://www.high50.org.nz/ http://www.high50.org.nz/

derrida 12y ago

I'm planning to compete in a 75km race with 4 1000 meter vertical assents in October. This is about as mountainous as you can get in Australia. This is a walk in the part compared to the races in Europe, New Zealand and North America, which have more geologically recent mountain ranges, and communities in which alpine / mountaineering / orienteering and running cross over. I've heard Anton Krupicka (well known and achieve North American ultra racer) refer to the UTMB (the most well known ultra marathon race in Europe, in which a loop of Mt Blanc taking in 3 countries is done) as "unexpectedly flat" Here's some footage of that race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St49BdhuA8c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St49BdhuA8c I look at the course profile for that, and the course profile for the 4 1000m assents for the 75km race I'm doing in October and think "how do that many people finish". The US has harder races, which still have remarkably high finishing rates. The "Hard Rock 100" (miles) is basically at times a rope-free scramble up mountain tops, and it has a remarkably high finishing rate (when we're talking more that 10% of the field finishing, it's remarkable) It's quite amazing the variation among ultra races, and 100 miles is not just 100 miles. The interesting thing is that many of the trail / mountain runners need that sort of variation for psychological reasons and find things like 100 mile tarmac races to be more psychologically and physically taxing. A mountain / trail race having highs and lows geologically, mentally, physically but a flat tarmac race having less variation being harder to switch out of a down patch, and requiring serious inner resilience to counter-act a "runners low".

nswanberg 12y ago
Good luck! Just remember: don't decide to quit while going uphill. Hardrock has a high finishing rate because each of the 140 starters has already completed a difficult 100 mile race and likely years of lottery attempts to get in (Krupicka finally got in this year). Most other 100 mile races in the States are easier to enter and so have a smaller finishing rate. But while a healthy reasonably-trained adult has a solid chance of completing Hardrock simply by putting one foot in front of the other and not giving up, Barkley apparently needs something more. Of the three people I know who started, including one this year, none finished. If physical ability and tenacity were enough all three would have finished. It's that hard.
- 12y ago

whalesalad 12y ago

Reminds me of the book Born to Run. For anyone who has taken any sort of interest in running, I highly recommend it. http://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-Hidden-Superathletes-Greatest/dp/0307279189 http://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-Hidden-Superathletes-Greatest...

esolyt 12y ago
I'd recommend it even more if you're not interested in running. It might change your mind.
- whalesalad 12y ago
  Completely agree.

lancefisher 12y ago

I knew this was Barkley without even having to click through. it is notorious, and unlike other ultras - tough terrain and tons of elevation gain/loss. I love running ultras, but I also like to finish. This one is not on my list.

malandrew 12y ago

What opportunities are there to get into long-distance orienteering races in the SF Bay Area? I'm already randonneuring and this seems like another sport worth exploring.

ceruleus 12y ago

“I got a little confused where I was,” Coury said upon returning to camp, explaining that he took an eight-hour nap on a mountaintop after getting lost. Man, I take one of those naps every day and I'm not even running 100 miles. What's wrong with me.

jmnicolas 12y ago
I'm left to wonder what is a regular sleep cycle for him ;-)

tedmcory 12y ago

This might put things in perspective. http://www.irunfar.com/2014/04/silver-linings-at-the-barkley-marathons-jared-campbells-2014-report.html http://www.irunfar.com/2014/04/silver-linings-at-the-barkley...

cafard 12y ago

Pretty harsh. At the Old Dominion 100, finishers under 24 hours get a silver belt buckle, and there are always some handed out. It has plenty of relief--or so it seems to those going over Massanutten Mountain in the dark at about 70 miles in--but I'd guess the total climb to be well under 10,000 ft. (Information based on going as "handler" a couple of times many years ago for a friend, who got the buckle on her second try.)

TN2398 12y ago

> Cantrell was inspired to hold a race in the rugged mountains by James Earl Ray’s failed 1977 escape from Brushy Mountain State Prison. My southern racism sense is tingling.