Barkley finisher runs 2nd fastest marathon among amateurs at Ironman World Championship

Update (10/18): Kelly posted the second-fastest, and not the top time as originally reported, marathon among amateurs. Stefano Passarello ran 2:53:32.

The 15th finisher of the Barkley Marathons competed at the Ironman World Championship on Saturday.

RELATED: Three-time Barkley Marathons finisher races Whistler Alpine Meadows.

John Kelly, who in April became one of 15 people (on 18 occasions) to complete the 100-mile ultramarathon in Frozen Head State Park, Tenn., posted the second-fastest marathon time among amateurs (those competing in age groups) in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii on Saturday. The American finished 61st overall in 9:13:13 including a 42.2K run split of 3:00:42.

Thank you everyone so much for your support. It's really awesome to see and means a lot, especially coming off of such a big, tough race at the Ironman World Championship in Kona. And of course competing wouldn't have even been possible without @jessilailkelly, the rest of my family, and my triathlon family @emjtriteam and its sponsors. A race report should be up in a week or two, but here's the basic rundown: – 9:13 for 26th amateur and 60th overall – 2nd fastest amateur run (3:00:42) on a hot, humid, cloudless Kona day – Top 10 American (including pros) – I still can't swim (came out of the water in 858th place) Photos: @irionman, @mvulanich, and @talbotcox EDIT: thanks to @slake707, just found out I actually had the 2nd fastest amateur run. Bib #2472 beat me. . . . #kona #imwc #ironman #worldchampionship #triathlon #swimbikerun ("swim") #feltathlete #builtwithenve #garminfitness #beatyesterday #garneau #cobbcycling #bicycleplace #bocogear #roka #findfaster #teamemj #cleanupnice

A post shared by John Kelly (@randomforestrunner) on Oct 15, 2017 at 9:43am PDT

When asked on Instagram what’s harder between the Barkley and the Ironman World Championship, Kelly had the following to say:

“There’s not even a comparison. This was a tough one due to the heat and other factors, but nothing like five loops at Barkley. Finishing an Ironman ~= one Barkley loop in any amount of time; qualifying for Kona ~= Barkley Fun Run.”

RELATED: Lionel Sanders finishes runner-up at 2017 Ironman World Championship.

Canadian Lionel Sanders posted one of the top marathon splits on the day finishing second overall to German Patrick Lange in 8:04:07 including a 2:51:53 marathon. Women’s champion Daniela Ryf ran a 3:00:02 marathon to win her third Ironman World Championship title.