27 Barkley Marathons runners begin loop two

Twelve hours into the 2022 Barkley Marathons (the time cutoff for the first loop), 27 runners out of approximately 40 starters have made it back to camp and started loop two.

Three hours in, word was received in camp that a runner had dropped. Five hours later, Ed Furtaw made it back to camp and was “tapped out” by the bugler. It was his 21st attempt at the race, and his first since being treated for cancer, according to Barkley chronicler Keith Dunn. Furtaw authored a book about the Barkley Marathons entitled Tales From Out There, which was published in 2010.

The 2022 Barkley Marathons have started, and John Kelly is back

The first runners to finish loop one were Karel Sabbe of Belgium, 2017 finisher John Kelly of USA, Albert Casas of Spain and Michel Dubova of USA. They came into camp together, after eight hours and just under eight minutes. Kelly was the first to start loop two, after only 10 minutes in camp. The other three began loop two shortly thereafter, by which time Courtney Dauwalter had arrived in camp.

Dauwalter was followed, at intervals, by Thomas Dunkerbeck of the Netherlands (a Barkley virgin), Greig Hamilton of New Zealand, Harvey Lewis of the USA, and Furtaw, who dropped. Then Jasmin Paris of the U.K., Thomas Øderud of Norway, Aaron Bradner of USA, Paul Giblin of U.K., veteran Guillaume Calmettes of France, Tomokazu Ihara of Japan, Jodi Isenor of Canada, Alyssa Godesky of USA, Johanna Bygdell of Sweden, Ian Farris of the USA and Anna Carlsson of Sweden, all of whom continued on to loop two.

Six more runners completed loop one in just under the allotted 12 hours: Rémy Jegard of France, John Clarke of USA, Merijn Geerts of Belgium, Hinke Schokker of the Netherlands, Chris Roberts of USA and Enrico Frigeri of Brazil. At least nine other runners were still on the course but would be tapped out on their return, having missed the cutoff to begin loop two.

There are approximately 40 starters every year. They have 60 hours to finish five 20-mile loops through steep and unforgiving terrain, while using their orienteering skills to navigate the course, which is not marked. GPS watches are not allowed; each runner is issued a Casio watch with very little functionality beyond keeping them apprised of how much time has passed. Runners must also collect specific pages (corresponding to their bib number) from books hidden on the course; missing pages mean automatic disqualification. (Runners receive new bibs at the beginning of each loop of the course.)

Taking into account weather, nighttime running and accumulated fatigue, runners who take 12 or more hours to complete the first loop have little chance of getting a fun run (three loops in under 40 hours).