Barkley Marathons 2024 has begun!
The conch was blown at 4:17 a.m. ET; here's what we know so far
After a frenzy of anticipation on X (formerly known as Twitter) over the past few days, the 2024 Barkley Marathons started at 5:17 a.m. Wednesday, one hour after Laz blew the conch.
The conch was blown at 4:17. The 2024 Barkley Marathons begins in one hour. #BM100
— Keith (@keithdunn) March 20, 2024
Laz, of course, is Gary Cantrell, a.k.a. Lazarus Lake, who invented this race through the wilds of Frozen Head State Park, near Wartburg, Tenn., in 1986. It was inspired by the prison escape of James Earl Ray, who was convicted of the murder of American icon Dr. Martin Luther King in 1977 and imprisoned at Brushy Mountain penitentiary, which is now abandoned and features in the Barkley course.
The list of starters at the Barkley Marathons is a closely guarded secret, at least until after the race begins (and even then, details can be sketchy). There are a maximum of 40. Two-time finisher (2017, 2023) John Kelly, who was raised in the area around Frozen Head, Tenn., where the race takes place, appears to be back for his seventh appearance at the Barkley, along with now-veterans like Harvey Lewis of Ohio (this is his third attempt) and Tomokazu Ihara of Japan, who is here for the fifth time. Damian Hall and Jasmin Paris, both of the U.K., are back, and so are three-time finisher Jared Campbell and FKT king Joe McConaughy. But the most exciting news for Canadians (and Ukrainians) is that ultrarunning stud Ihor Verys of Chilliwack, B.C., is on the course for the first time.
The rules
The Barkley Marathons is five loops of a 20+ mile course (distances vary; the race is thought to be about 120 miles, or 192 km) featuring thousands of metres of elevation gain, with a time limit of 60 hours. GPS watches are not allowed; each runner is issued a cheap watch set to “Barkley time,” i.e., the 60-hour limit. Runners must collect pages corresponding to their bib number from 13 books hidden on the course (they receive a new bib for each loop); missing pages mean disqualification. There is water available on the course, but no aid stations per se; runners may only receive aid from their crew between loops, in camp, and they are (obviously) on the clock.
2023 saw no fewer than three finishers, for the first time in 11 years: Aurélien Sanchez of France, Karel Sabbe of Belgium and Kelly. (In the race’s 37-year history, only 17 people have finished the race; all are men.)
Verys, 29, took the assist at Big’s Backyard Ultra World Championships in 2023, which was won by Lewis, who ran a mind-boggling 724 km over five days; Verys set a Canadian record of 107 “yards,” smashing his previous personal best by 267 km.
This is only Verys’s fourth year competing, but he has racked up an impressive list of accomplishments that includes (besides Big’s) wins at B.C.’s Fat Dog 120 and the Canadian Death Race (where he beat Lewis by more than two hours in 2023).
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