2010 Barkley video by andrewmdunlap (10:38).
Barkley Chicken (video)
Barkley flyover
Humility awaits.
The runners climb 1500 ft. in the first mile up Bird Mountain, the first of many big hills on the first loop of the 2001 Barkley.
Descending the north side of Bird Mountain, the trail isn't so nice any more. In fact, it hasn't been maintained for 50 years.
Debra Moore tears a page out of Book 1, A Time to Die. You have to retrieve a page out of all 9 books to verify that you completed the 20 mile loop.
The North Boundary Trail has many blowdowns to climb over, under, and around.
Son of a Bitch Ditch, 10 feet wide and 10 feet deep.
Matt Mahoney at the Coal Ponds.
Climbing to the Garden Spot and Book 2.
Descending Leonard's Butt Slide. The first few hundred feet are on muddy slopes at a 45 degree angle down to book 3.
Bill Johnson starts climbing Little Hell at book 4, 1500 vertical feet in 0.6 miles at a 50% grade.
The climb usually takes about an hour.
Stu Gleman at the top of Hell. Book 5 is Southern Discomfort. (Photo courtesy of Peter Schuler).
Rat Jaw climbs 1000 feet in 1/2 mile under some powerlines and past some abandoned coal mines. The ground is covered with mats of cut-down sawbriers. In some places there is a downed powerline that can be used as a climbing rope. Otherwise you have to climb with your hands, and the thorns draw blood.
The "hump" replaced a 1/2 mile section of easy trail with this...
The Zip Line drops 1500 ft. in a mile, and can take an hour to descend because of the wretched footing in some places...
Like this. Big Hell is still to come, but I ran out of film.
How do I enter? Read the FAQ.
Frozen Ed Furtaw has written a book about the Barkley, "Tales From Out There".
The Barkley is considered one of the toughest 100 mile races in the world. It has 59,100 feet of climb (and 59,100 feet of descent), more than any other 100 mile race, more than the 33,000 ft. of climb at Hardrock, and more than the 45,000 ft. at Nolan's 14.
Since the race began in 1986, only 13 runners out of about 900 have finished within the 60 hour cutoff. Mark Williams of the UK finished first in 1995 in 59:28. Here is his race report. In 2001, after several failed attempts, Blake Wood, 42, NM, and David Horton, 50, VA, finished together in 58:21, only to be disqualified for inadvertently leaving the course to follow a parallel route for about 200 yards. This route (on the south side of the stream instead of the north side) has slightly better footing and had been the normal route until 2000.
To give you some idea of the difficulty of this course, Blake had won the 2001 Rocky Raccoon 100 in 16:13, and the 1999 Hardrock 100 in 30:11. David Horton won Hardrock in 29:35 in 1993 and in 1991 set a course record for the Appalachian Trail, 2160 miles in 52 days.
Cave Dog (Ted Keizer) finished in 56:57 in 2003. He holds the Colorado 14er speed record, 54 14,000 ft. peaks in 10 days, 20:26. He also holds speed records in the White Mountains, Adirondacks, and Catskills. (See www.thedogteam.com). He trained for 2 weeks on the course before the race.
In 2004 Mike Tilden and Jim Nelson finished in 57:25 and 57:28, running the last loop in opposite directions as required by a rule added the year before. Both have finished Nolan's 14.
In 2008 Flyin' Brian Robinson set a course record of 55:42:27. He was the first person to hike the 3 major N-S U.S. trails in a single calendar year: Appalacian, Continental Divide, and Pacific Crest, 7400 miles in 300 days.
In 2009, Andrew Thompson finished in 57:37. In 2005 he set a speed record (since broken) for the Appalachian Trail, 2160 miles in 47 days + 13:31 (breaking Pete Palmer's record of 48 days + 20:11 in 1999, who took the record from Horton).
In 2010, Johnathan Basham finished in 59:18. He set a course record on the Colorado Trail and currently holds the course record on the Long Trail.
In 2011, Brett Maune finished in 57:13. He holds the John Muir trail speed record. Photo by Abi Meadows.
In 2012, there were 3 finishers for the first time. Brett Maune in 52:03:08 (new course record), Jared Campbell in 56:00:15, and John Fegyveresi in 59:41:21. Course adds Checkmate Hill (1300 ft in 1/2 mile). Weather was warm.
The Barkley consists of 5 20-mile loops with no aid except for water at two points. The cutoffs for the 100 mile race are 12 hours per loop. The 60 mile "fun run" has a cutoff of 40 hours, or 13:20 per loop. To prove you completed each loop, you must find 9 to 11 books (varies) at various points along the course and return a page from each book.
2012 Results
Start: Mar. 31, 2012 at 9:12 AM
20 mi 40 mi 60 mi 80 mi 100 miles
1 Brett Maune CA 7:41:06 17:20:09 29:01:07 40:46:40 52:03:08
2 Jared Campbell UT 7:41:07 17:20:10 29:01:08 40:47:33 56:00:16
3 John Fegyveresi Ant 9:07:25 20:01:02 32:21:01 46:26:28 59:41:21
4 Nick Hollon AZ 8:59:45 19:38:30 32:14:47
5 Alan Abbs CA 7:44:28 19:38:34 32:14:51
6 Beverly Anderson-Abbs CA 7:44:31 19:52:32 34:29:10
7 Travis Wildeboer IA 9:20:42 21:12:35 35:21:48
8 Rob Youngren AL 9:47:42 23:13:59 35:36:29
9 Tim Englund WA 9:07:24 21:24:33
10 Wouter Hamelinck Bel 8:23:16 24:00:30
11 Iso Yucra Bol 10:31:07 25:43:37
12 Zane Smith TN 10:31:05 25:54:20
13 Aaron Sorenson CA 10:31:08 26:14:04
14 Carl Laniak GA 9:29:20
15 Byron Backer SC 9:29:52
16 Paul Melzer CA 9:46:21
17 DeWayne Satterfield AL 10:47:39
18 William Arnold TN 11:28:13
19 Julian Jamison CA 11:49:49
20 Dusty Hardman FL 12:12:28
21 Hiram Rogers TN 12:12:30
22 Michiel Panhuysen Neth 12:12:55
23 Ed Furtaw CO 12:15:19
24 Pat Costigan MI 12:23:26
25 Tim Dines TN 12:27:25
26 Marco Cych Ger 12:27:28
27 Jason Carpenter CA 12:35:46
28 Joel Gat TX 12:35:48
29 Thierry Corbarieu Fra 12:35:55
30 Elise Harrington CO 12:40:47
31 Thomas Armbruster GA 12:40:49
32 James Adams GB 12:40:53
33 Leonard Martin TN 12:52:52
Barkley Movie trailer
Report and photos by Matt Mahoney
Photos and the runners, before and after and all photos by Goeffrey Baker Photography
Report by Brett Maune and interview in Metro Pulse
Report and photos by Jared Campbell (this is how he trains)
Report and photos by John Fegyveresi (pdf) podcast Article
Report by Robert Youngren
Photos by Wouter Hamelinck video video
Photos by Zane Smith in camp.
Report and photos by James Adams
Report by William Arnold
Report by Beverly Anderson-Abbs
Report by Nick Hollon
Report by Marco Cych (in German)
Photos by Rich Limacher
Report by Peter Fish
Report by Psyche Wimberly
Report by Michiel Panhuysen
Report by Paul Melzer
Photos by Mike Bur
Report by Joel Gat in Endurance Buzz
Report by Jason Carpenter
Article in the Oak Ridger part 2
Report by Frozen Ed Furtaw
2011 Results
The conch sounded at 12:07 AM EDT, Sat. Apr. 2, 2011. The race started one hour later. laz warned it could happen. Follow. Follow. Follow. Follow. Follow. Follow.
Weather: a thunderstorm at 4:30 AM first day with hail and lightning. Clear skies and high 30's to high 70's for loops 2-4. Loop 5 required a detour around a wildfire on Testicle Spectacle.
Start: 1:07 AM EDT, Sat. Apr 2, 2011 Loop 1 - 20 miles, cutoff 13:20 Alan Abbs CA 9:14:13 Brett Maune CA 9:14:15 Carl Laniak GA 9:14:16 Henry Wakley VA 9:18:47 Travis Wildeboer CO 9:36:59 Byron Backer SC 10:01:56 Nick Hollon AZ 10:25:46 Blake Wood NM 10:26:55 Joe Decker MD 10:31:27 Carl Asker CT 10:37:39 Joe Lea NC 10:38:18 Jon Barker GA 10:38:20 James Demer ME 10:38:21 Rob Youngren AL 10:52:35 DeWayne Satterfield AL 10:52:37 Marco Cych GR 11:29:43, quit Jason Barringer GA 11:34:11, quit Iso Yucra BO 11:37:19 Timothy Dines TN 11:41:16 Chip Tuthill CO 11:51:57 Bill Goodwine IN 11:52:06 Hiram Rogers TN 11:52:07 Frozen Ed Furtaw CO 12:11:02 Kent Moeller DM 12:11:09 Dale Holdaway MI 12:11:10 Paul Lefelholcz OH 12:29:20 Abi Meadows TN 12:33:42, quit Bill Losey KY 12:37:02, quit Mike Bur MD 12:37:13, quit Sue Thompson MI 12:41:35 Christian Mauduit FR 13:07:50 Howie Stern missed cutoff (15:58) Steve Durbin missed cutoff (17 hrs), punctured elbow Charles Raffensburger missed cutoff (19 hrs) Allan Holtz missed cutoff (19:34) Bob Haugh missed cutoff (20 hrs) Joe Ninke missed cutoff (23:31) Cheryl Lager missed cutoff (23:31) Mike O'Melia quit at book 6 (top of Rat Jaw) Stu Gleman first to quit (4 hrs) Loop 2 - 40 miles, cutoff 26:40 Alan Abbs 19:24:37 Brett Maune 19:24:38 Travis Wildeboer 20:27:51 Carl Laniak 20:27:55 Blake Wood 22:43:38 Nick Hollon 23:45:57 Henry Wakely 23:49:03, quit Byron Backer 23:49:04, quit Jon Barker 23:56:22 Joe Lea 23:56:23 James Demer 23:56:24 Dale Holdaway 26:31:55 Joe Decker quit at book 6 (top of Rat Jaw, 19 hrs) DeWayne Satterfield quit at book 6 (21:47) Robert Youngren quit at book 6 (21:47) Frozen Ed Furtaw quit at book 6 (26 hrs) Christian Mauduit could not find book 4 (26:38) Iso Yucra quit at book 3 (Stallion Mt, 18 hrs) Timothy Dines quit at book 3 (18 hrs) Hiram Rogers quit at book 3 (18 hrs) Chip Tuthill quit at book 3 (18 hrs) Carl Asker quit at book 2 (Garden Spot, 18:18) Bill Goodwine quit at book 1 (Phillips Creek, 16:40) Kent Moeller quit at book 1 (16:40) Sue Thompson quit at book 1 (18:20) Paul Lefelholcz quit at book 1 (18:20) Loop 3 - 60 miles, cutoff 40:00 for fun run, 36:00 to continue Brett Maune 31:51:28 Alan Abbs 34:04:46, quit Carl Laniak 35:33:38 Travis Wildeboer 36:22:23, over cutoff for 100 Blake Wood 39:37:32, over cutoff for 100 Nick Hollon 39:39:18, over cutoff for 100 James Demer 39:39:19, over cutoff for 100 Jon Barker 39:39:20, over cutoff for 100 Joe Lea 39:39:21, over cutoff for 100 Dale Holdaway quit within a few minutes Loop 4 - 80 miles, cutoff 48:00 Brett Maune 43:12:00 Carl Laniak quit at top of Rat Jaw (44:19) Loop 5 - 100 miles, cutoff 60:00 Brett Maune 57:13:33
Completed loop times within the cutoff are official. Times in (parenthesis) are unofficial and shown for entertainment purposes only. Unofficial partial loop times are shown for when the runner returned to camp and the suffering ended, not when they actually decided to quit, which was usually several hours earlier.
Report by Brett Maune
Article in Metro Pulse
Photos by Keith Dunn
Photos by Naresh KN in camp
Report by Blake Wood, fun run.
Photos by Joe Kowalski
(also on facebook)
Report by Carl Laniak 43 hour DNF.
Race director's report.
Robert Youngren's story of failure
Jason Barringer's report of complete and utter failure
Report by Charles Raffensperger, Dig deep, and then dig some more
Report by Christian Mauduit, yet another Barkley (failure) report
Article by Michiel Panhuysen (in Dutch, for a magazine for pot smokers) in English
Report by Howie Stern
Report by Allan Holtz with photos
Report by James Demer
Alan Abbs epic story of failure
Report by Paul Lefelhocz
Report by Marco Cych (in German)
Report by Frozen Ed Furtaw with photo of Johnathon Basham and Brett Maune
Radio Netherlands interview with laz and Frozen Ed (21 min)
2010 Results
Race began Mar. 27, 2010 at 7:13 AM (EDT). Official results:
loop 1 (20 miles, cutoff 13:20) 1 byron backer 8:15:28 2 carl laniac 8:24:17 3 jim nelson 8:28:27 4 jonathon basham 8:50:48 5 jason poole 8:50:49 6 andrew thompson 8:50:50 7 alan abs 8:50:51 8 charlie engle 9:27:05 9 michael popov 9:27:06 10 blake wood 9:30:51 11 dewayne satterfield 9:44:19 12 greg eason 10:44:54 13 matt kirk 10:48:35 14 bill goodwine 10:48:37 15 hiram rogers 10:48:38 16 mike dobies 10:50:47 17 ed furtaw 10:55:16 18 chip tuthill 11:39:59 19 zane smith 12:16:19 20 julian jamison 12:16:43 21 christian griffith 12:24:42 22 john lacroix 12:25:31 23 dave henn 12:47:42 24 steve durbin 12:47:43 25 wouter hammelink 12:47:54 26 elise harrington 12:47:55 27 merianne brittain 12:47:56 loop 2 (40 miles, cutoff 26:40) 1 jim nelson 20:29:00 2 jonathon basham 20:29:01 3 carl laniac 20:45:15 4 andrew thompson 21:05:24 5 jason poole 21:05:28 6 alan abs 21:06:08 7 blake wood 21:06:33 8 charlie engle 21:06:35 9 byron backer 21:42:19 10 michael popov 24:54:17 (18 starters) loop 3 (60 miles, cutoff 36:00 to continue, 40:00 for fun run) 1 jonathon basham 32:24:37 2 andrew thompson 37:16:01 3 alan abs 38:43:41 (9 starters) loop 4 (80 miles, cutoff 48:00) 1 jonathon basham 46:55:14 loop 5 (100 miles, cutoff 60:00) 1 jonathon basham 59:18:44
Results including partial loops
Report by Charlie Engle in Runner's World
with video
Article in Runner's World
Photos and report by Matt Mahoney
Report and podcast by Jonathon Basham
Report by laz
Report and photos by Alan Abbs
Report and photos by Sherpa John Lacroix
Report and photos by Christian Griffith
Photos by Spyder (Sarah) Tynes
Photos by Ray Smith (Zane Smith's dad)
Photos and
video (JB climbing Rat Jaw)
by Wouter Hamelinck
Report by Carl Laniak
Report (on facebook) by Mark Swanson
Live results on twitter
Video of the bad thing by Mark Swanson
Article in the Oak Ridger
Article in Ultrafondus (in French)
Article by Leslie Jamison in Believer Magazine
More videos by Wouter Hamelinck
- taps by laz
- JB fun run finish
- JB starts lap 4
- taps by Davy
- JB leaving fire tower
- JB finish, blurry, sorry
- loop 5 page count
Weather: 30's to 60's F and sunny for loop 1, clear becoming overcast for loop 2, rain and windy, 40's on loop 3, overcast and 40's to 50's on loops 4-5.
2009 Results
Race began Apr. 4 at 10:53 AM (EDT). Unofficial results by "PCTR Ultra" on the ultra list. Loop 5 results by "Wendall".
Loop 1: 1. Byron Backer 8:23:39 2. Andrew Thompson 8:28:49 3. Cark Laniak 8:28:51 4. Jim Harris 8:36:28 5. DeWayne Satterfield 8:36:30 6. Mike Dobies 8:41:37 7. Pat Costigan 8:42:40 8. Bob Jones 8:43:30 9. Wendell Doman 9:15:08 10. Jon Barker 9:29:35 11. Bill Losey 9:31:52 12. Mike Bur 9:55:13 13. Mark Williams 9:58:39 14. Chip Tuthill 10:09:54 15. Hiram Rogers 10:23:53 16. Steve Durbin 10:29:30 17. Carl Asker 10:29:35 18. Ed Furtaw 10:29:37 19. Paul Melzer 11:06:55 20. John Dewalt 11:27:37 21. Allan Holtz 11:32:39 22. Leonard Martin 11:32:42 23. Danger Dave 11:33:07 24. Jason Barringer 11:33:15 25. Robert Andrulis 11:34:05 26. Joel Storrow 11:36:01 27. Kevin Dorsey 11:50:40 35 starters Loop 2: 1. Andrew Thompson 19:51:44 2. Byron Backer 20:13:01 3. Jim Harris 22:08:48 4. DeWayne Satterfield 22:12:37 5. Mike Dobies 23:34:95 6. Pat Costigan 24:29:33 7. Wendell Doman 24:45:35 8. Chip Tuthill 25:01:53 9. Hiram Rogers 25:12:00 10. Steve Durbin 25:19:10 11. Leonard Martin 26:37:44 Loop 3: 1. Andrew Thompson 30:51:33 2. DeWayne Satterfield 35:55:50 3. Byron Backer 37:40:39 Loop 4: 1. Andrew Thompson 44:58:12 Loop 5: 1. Andrew Thompson 57:37:19
2009 Race Highlights
Weather was good for 4 loops, 35 to 60 F with clear skies. Andrew Thompson faced a mix of rain, snow, and sleet on loop 5. He chose to run loop 5 backwards (counterclockwise).
John DeWalt, age 71, missed the 2 loop cutoff in about 31:32.
Allan Holtz missed the 2 loop cutoff in 29:50 after getting lost on Zip Line and Chimney Top, and his shoes fell apart.
Rita Barnes finished a loop in about 14 1/2 hours, missing the cutoff.
Alan Geraldi and John Price could not find book 10 at the bottom of Zip Line in the dark on loop 1, so they went downstream out to highway 62 and got a ride back to the park to face the bugler.
Marcia Rasmussen sprained her ankle after 2 miles and dropped 10 miles later at the top of Rat Jaw.
Mike O'Melia lost his map somewhere between books 1 and 2. He hung on to other runners until the top of Testicle Spectacle before heading back to camp.
Lora Mantelman (sacrificial virgin) made it about 5 miles in 18:55 spending the night on Squire Knob.
Report by Andrew Thompson. PS.
Report (with video) by Carl Asker.
Photos by Peter M. Jolles.
Photos by Daniel Fox.
Report (with photos) by Alan Geraldi.
Report by DeWayne Satterfield.
Report by Jason Barringer.
Report by Allan Holtz.
Report by Abi Meadows.
Photos by Joe Kowalski.
Photos by Paul Melzer.
Report by Joel Storrow.
Photos by Mike Bur.
2008 Results
Mar. 29. Unofficial results for loops 1-4 posted to the ultra list by "PCTR Ultra" on Mar. 31, 2008. Weather was overcast, 40's to 60's with scattered showers and some fog. The north boundary trail had been cleared and opened for the first 5 miles, making the course possibly one hour faster per loop. The course was essentially the same as 2006 when Leonard's Butt Slide and Little Hell were replaced with Fyke's Peak, Testicle Spectacle, Danger Dave's Climbing Wall and Pig Head Trail. The Hump, removed in 2006 was added back. Total climb is 54,200 ft.Loop 1 1 Brian Robinson 7:07:43 2 Byron Backer 8:03:15 3 Jim Nelson 8:22:20 4 Greg Eason 8:52:23 5 Carl Laniak 8:52:25 6 Andrew Thompson 8:56:35 7 Jason Poole 9:03:09 8 Todd Holmes 9:03:10 9 Dewayne Satterfield 9:15:15 10 Michael Graz 9:05:15 11 Heather Graz 9:05:16 12 Blake Wood 9:11:52 13 Andras Low 9:11:53 14 Joe Decker 9:17:24 15 Jon Barker 9:17:25 16 Wendell Doman 9:33:00 17 Hiram Rogers 10:33:24 18 John Tyszkiewicz 11:09:58 19 Eugene Trahern 11:09:59 20 Ed Furtaw 11:18:19 21 Bill Goodwine 11:18:22 22 Andrew Hackett 11:19:45 23 Leonard Martin 11:19:55 24 Sue Thompson 11:27:11 25 John DeWalt 12:04:33 26 David Hughes 12:17:06 27 Matt Mahoney 12:17:06 35 Starters Loop 2 1 Brian Robinson 16:47:30 2 Jim Nelson 20:00:57 3 Byron Backer 21:53:37 4 Carl Laniak 22:14:44 5 Greg Eason 22:14:45 6 Andrew Thompson 22:14:55 7 Blake Wood 23:17:20 8 Jason Poole 23:19:46 9 Joe Decker 23:37:30 23 Starters Loop 3 1 Brian Robinson 29:56:49 2 Jim Nelson 33:42:34 3 Byron Backer 36:28:29 4 Blake Wood 36:52:27 5 Greg Eason 38:15:57 6 Carl Laniak 38:15:58 7 Andrew Thompson 38:15:59 7 Starters Loop 4 1 Brian Robinson 43:19:20 1 Starter Loop 5 1 Brian Robinson 55:42:27 (course record)
Knoxville News Sentinel article
Report by Brian Robinson (100 mile course record)
Report by Carl Laniak (3 loops)
Report by Joe Decker (2 loops)
Report by "Fatboy" Eugene Trahern with photos of course (1 1/4 loops)
Report by Steve Durban (1 loop in 17:23)
Report by Rich Limacher (half a loop)
Photos of Brian Robinson's finish
Photos by John Tyszkiewicz
Photos (in camp) by Blake Wood
Photos and video by Joe Kowalski (Brian Robinson finish)
Photos by Andrew Hackett
2007 Results
Mar. 31. Unofficial results posted to the ultra list, Apr. 2, 2007 by "PCTR Ultra". Flyin' Brian Robinson started loop 5 with 7 seconds to spare on the 48 hour cutoff, but quit at Bald Knob (85 miles). Report. Weather was warm (60's to 80's) with rain from 3AM to noon of the second day.
Loop 1
1 Brian Robinson 8:17:35
2 Andras Low 8:39:35
3 Andrew Thompson 8:39:48
4 Mike Dobies 8:40:37
5 Greg Eason 8:40:40
6 Jim Nelson 8:42:47
7 David Horton 8:53:12
8 Bill Losey 9:04:20
9 Wendell Doman 9:10:38
10 Dave Henn 10:22:39
11 Art Fisher 10:22:40
12 Milan Milanovich 10:37:02
13 Mike Bur 10:40:46
14 Pat Costigan 10:40:55
15 Ed Furtaw 10:48:47
16 De Wayne Satterfield 10:54:39
17 Chip Tuthill 11:24:05
18 Sue Thompson 11:34:49
19 John DeWalt 11:35:10
20 Mark Shipley 11:51:22
21 Hiram Rogers 11:51:25
22 Leonard Martin 12:18:07
23 David Hughes 12:33:32
35 Starters
Loop 2
1 Brian Robinson 18:15:47
2 Mike Dobies 20:32:14
3 Greg Eason 20:32:16
4 Andras Low 20:32:17
5 Andrew Thompson 22:20:35
6 Jim Nelson 22:25:20
7 Wendell Doman 24:35:13
8 Pat Costigan 26:31:32
15 starters
Loop 3
1 Brian Robinson 31:21:31
2 Mike Dobies 34:16:19
3 Greg Eason 34:16:20
4 Andras Low 34:16:21
5 starters (+ Costigan)
Loop 4
1 Brian Robinson 47:49:43
3 starters (+ Dobies, Eason)
Loop 5
no finishers.
Washington Post article, Apr. 29, 2007.
The SCREW results by laz.
Interactive panorama of Andras Low at the Garden Spot on loop 3 (Washington Post).
Kornyi Balzs skewered his knee on a branch down to the bone before reaching the first book. Photo (you have been warned).
David Harper finished 1 loop over the 13:20 cutoff in 15:08 after making a wrong turn on the firetower road (going to Coffin Springs and back), then getting all pages in 12:36, but taking a nap on top of Rough Ridge (about a mile from camp), waking up and going the wrong way back to the creek. Race report, photos and videos.
Allan Holtz also finished one loop over the cutoff in 16:10 (report), followed by Steve Durbin (report) and Stu Gleman (who took the photos of Steve) in 17:31.
The Troubadour (Rich Limacher, infamous proprietor of the Limacher Hilton) made 7 out of 10 books on the first loop. Report.
Paul Melzer was hoping for maybe a fun run but also quit after 7 books on the first loop. Report and photos.
Pete Ireland (report) and John Price made 6 books in 9:20, or 12 miles and 6260 ft of climb at 46:00/mile pace, then hitchhiked back. Altogether 8 runners did not finish the first loop.
Why I failed by Joe Kowalski.
Photos by Mike Bur (campsite and first loop).
Photos by Jean Gauger (sent to me by Hiram Rogers).
Unfortunately I (Matt Mahoney) did not run it this year after 11 attempts, yet to finish loop 2 on time.
2006 Results
Apr. 1. Five miles of new section per loop, with additional climbing, resulted in the worst finish in over a decade, in spite of sunny skies. "Flying" Brian Robinson (who completed the Pacific Coast Trail, Continental Divide Trail and Appalacian Trail in a single year) and Nick Gracie were 7 minutes over the 40 hour fun run cutoff. Nobody else completed the third loop.Loop 1 (20 miles): 1) Jim Nelson UT 9:26:46 2) Nick Gracie ENG 9:27:20 3) Brian Robinson CA 9:29:21 4) Todd Holmes CO 9:55:40 5) Craig Wilson ME 10:10:08 6) Sue Johnston VT 10:10:27 7) Mike Dobies MI 10:14:25 8) Greg Eason AR 10:32:05 9) Mike Bur MD 11:47:06 10) Pat Costigan MI 11:47:13 11) Wendell Doman CA 11:56:54 12) Frozen Ed Furtaw CO 11:58:49 13) Bill Losey OH 12:03:24 14) John DeWalt PA 12:03:30 15) Chip Tuthill CT 12:17:38 16) Sue Thompson MI 12:17:40 17) Hiram Rogers 12:29:05 18) Mark Shipley 12:29:07 19) Scott Gala MI 12:29:15 20) Andrew Hackett GA 12:38:49 21) Elise Harrington CO 12:38:51 22) Leonard Martin TN 12:53:19 ----33 starters Loop 2 (40 miles) 1) Nick Gracie ENG 24:34:14 2) Brian Robinson CA 24:38:12 3) Craig Wilson ME 24:56:23 4) Greg Eason AR 25:06:24 5) Mike Dobies MI 25:17:07 ----16 starters Loop 3 (60 miles) ----4 starters
Results and report by laz
Photos and story by Matt Mahoney
Report and photos by Allan Holtz
Report by Flyin' Brian Robinson (who with Nick Gracie was 7 1/2 minutes late for a fun run finish)
So Much Blood on my Watch by the Troubador (Rich Limacher)
Report by Sue Johnston (Hardrock winner, who made 3.5 laps in 2001 but only 1 lap this year)
Report by Dan Baglione (age 75 speed record of 2 miles in 32 hours)
Newspaper story
MSN news story
Photos by Andrew Hackett (in camp)
2005 Results
Apr. 2.
Loop 1
Name St Time
1 Mike Bur MD 9:12:48
2 Jim Nelson UT 9:16:58
3 Andrew Thompson NH 9:21:06
4 Todd Holmes CO 9:33:54
5 Craig Wilson ME 10:23:10
6 Mike Tilden CA 10:59:02
7 Davy Henn 11:13:37
8 Wendell Doman CA 11:27:55
9 Mark Dorion TX 11:38:15
10 Chip Tuthill CT 11:50:28
11 Kerry Trammell 11:59:39
12 Joe Kowalski OH 12:08:21
13 John Dewalt PA 12:09:15
14 Elise Harrington CO 12:09:51
15 Leonard Martin 12:19:00
16 Hiram Rogers 13:10:52
17 Mark Shipley 13:11:05
18 Matt Mahoney FL 13:14:27
33 Starters
Loop 2
1 Nelson 21:37:07
2 Thompson 21:37:37
3 Holmes 24:04:53
4 Bur 24:32:23
9 Starters
Loop 3
1 Nelson 32:48:53
2 Thompson 32:48:57
3 Starters
Loop 4
1 Thompson 47:26:59
2 Starters
Loop 5
1 Starter
Photos and report by Matt Mahoney
Report and
Concepts for Success by Andrew Thompson
Report by the Troubadour, Rich Limacher
Report by Mark Dorion
Photos by Liam Douglass
Photos
by Wendell Doman
Report by Dan Baglione
2004 Results
Apr. 3. 100 Mile 1) Mike Tilden (UT) 57:25:18 2) Jim Nelson (UT) 57:28:25 Fun Run (60 mi) 1) David Horton (VA) 30:57:09 2) Mike Tilden (UT) 31:37:38 3) Jim Nelson (UT) 31:37:57 4) Andrew Thompson (NH) 36:19:21 5) Jason Poole (CO) 36:19:22 6) Todd Holmes (CO) 36:19:23 7) Craig Wilson (ME) 36:19:24 32 startersUnofficial split times, report, and photos by Matt Mahoney
Report by Jim Nelson (posted to Ultra list)
Report by Robert Hills (posted to Ultra list)
Report by Herb Hedgecock (posted to Ultra list)
Report by David Hughes
Report by Mike Bur (posted to Ultra list)
When Your Best Isn't Good Enough by Rich Limacher (posted to Ultra list)
Report by Janice Cahalane
2003 Results
Mar. 29-31 100 miles Cave Dog (Ted Keizer) 56:57:52 (Course Record) 60 mile fun run Cave Dog 32:44:59 Mike Tilden 35:04:47 Jim Nelson 35:05:16 33 starters 25 finished loop 1 14 started loop 2 3 finished loops 2 and 3 1 finihsed loops 4 and 5
The course was changed to replace 2 miles of easy, flat dirt road between Coffin Springs and Leonard's Butt Slide with a climb over Stallion Mountain, adding 400 ft. of climb per loop. Total climb is 52,900 feet.
Weather: Saturday: 40's and rain at the start. Fog and low clouds during the day. 30's and rain in the evening, turning to snow, 2-4 inches at higher elevation. Sunday: 20's and snow flurries. Monday: sunny and warmer.
Photos and story by Matt Mahoney
Photos by Harrison Shull
History Making at the Barkley
and The Funderful Blizzard of Froz by Rich Limacher
Report by Cave Dog
Report by Steve Simmons
Report and
Photos
by Joe Kowalski
The Barkley Diet by Julie Nelson
2001 Results
There was no race in 2002.2001 Preliminary standings, distance achieved, no finish times.
2001 Unofficial results and report by Blake Wood
Report and photos by Steve Pero, who finished the "fun run" 8 minutes under the 40 hour cutoff.
Photos by Steve Simmons.
Report by Matt Mahoney, who finished two loops in 29 hours, missing the 26:40 cutoff.
Report by Joe Prusaitis, who dropped out during the second loop when the weather started turning bad (rain and sleet in the middle of the night).
Song and dance by Rich Limacher, who tried to quit after 7 of 9 pages when it got dark, and ended up spending the night in the woods with Norm Carlson huddled under some rocks, taking 22 hours to go less than 20 miles.
Poem by Chaennnon Lyons, the designated sacrificial virgin, who retrieved 2 pages, then decided the quickest way back to camp would be to leave the park and run 30 miles around on the paved roads.
Photos by Steve Pero.
Past results and reports by Matt Mahoney
2000 Results 4.5 loop report by Blake Wood
1999 Results
1998 Results
1997 Results
1996 Results
1995 Results
Race History
The Barkley was started in 1986 as a 50 mile race, but there were no finishers until 1988. The following year, Rat Jaw was added, bringing the distance to 55 miles and 27.000 ft climb for 3 loops, with a 36 hour cutoff. A 110 mile, 6 loop course was added with a 50 hour cutoff. Nobody ever finished the 110 miler.
In 1995, the course was changed to a 20 mile loop by the addition of Zip Line and Big Hell. The fun run was lengthened to 60 miles (3 loops) with 30,000 ft of climb and a 40 hour cutoff. The 110 miler was replaced by a 5 loop, 100 mile course with 50,000 ft of climb and 60 hour cutoff. That was the year that Mark Williams finished in 59:28.
In 1996, the rules were changed so that loops 3 and 4 were run in the reverse direction, and on loop 5 you had your choice. The first person to make that choice was Blake Wood in 2000, and he chose the forward direction. However his progress was blocked at 90 miles by the New River, which had become a raging torrent after 2 days of steady, hard rain.
In 2001, the "hump" was added, bypassing 1/2 mile of easy trail with an additional 240 ft. climb along a ridge north of Mart Fields. Thus, the fun run was increased to 30,720 ft. climb, and the 100 miler increased to 51,200 ft climb. Cutoffs remained the same. Nevertheless, Blake Wood and David Horton finished the 100, this time completing loop 5 in the reverse direction.
There was no race in 2002 due to temporary closure of Frozen Head State Park. The park is now reopened.
1995 historical account by "Frozen Ed" Furtaw.
Entry Information
For entry information, contact the race director at the address from this 1995 entry form on Dec. 26. (Note: he has since moved, but it's a small town and maybe they will forward it). Entries are limited to 35 and generally fill up that day. Of the 200 or so that didn't get in, those deemed worthy will be put on a weight list that is periodically updated as people come to their senses.
The race is held in late March or early April. The exact date will be sent with confirmation of your entry. The exact start time will be announced 1 hour before the start at the Frozen Head campground by the sound of a conch shell. You will need to write an essay on Why I should be allowed to run the Barkley. Here is my 2003 essay.
For more information (or maybe not) on how to enter, you could try reading the book.
Links
The "official" Barkley website (not maintained since 2000)A new Barkley website may be more helpful, or maybe not.
Why I Should Be Allowed To Run The Barkley (5 minute video) by DJ Shaeter, Jan. 2007
David Horton's 1999-2000 Report and finish photos
David Biddle's 1996 report
Photos by Joe Prusaitis
Photos by Steve Simmons
Blake Wood's 1997 and 2000 report and photos
Matt Mahoney, matmahoney@yahoo.com