Unpredictable weather is always a challenge for the runners, but this year, they faced their own unique set of battles: Sanchez’s second-place finish was nearly foiled by a day-hiker who accidentally took one of the books runners are supposed to tear pages from to prove their routing, and Sabbe set out on his fourth loop with a comfortable time cushion that was negated by a significant navigational error and hallucinations, a byproduct of the grueling run. Everest-twice), and run through briar patches all while carrying their own supplies and provisions and battling a 60-hour cutoff time. In addition to some esoteric entry requirements and rituals ( more on all that here), the unmarked course requires runners to navigate through dense forests, climb steep hills (the elevation is equivalent to climbing Mt. In August 2018, Sabbe broke Joe McConaughy’s speed record on the Appalachian Trail, having previously set a (supported) speed record on the Pacific Crest Trail McConaughy is racing the Barkley this year for the first time.If you can’t tell, the Barkley Marathons is not your average run in the park-pun intended. In 2022, Sabbe again attempted a fourth loop, but became disoriented from lack of sleep and wandered off the course, only to be returned to Frozen Head by local police. The highly decorated Belgian ultrarunner, who is a dentist in his other life, is making his third appearance at the Barkley in 2019, he completed three loops (but was not credited with a fun run, since he attempted a fourth loop). In 2019, Laz speculated that if any woman could finish the Barkley, Paris might be the one. Paris shocked the ultra world in 2019 when she smashed the overall course record at Britain’s Montane Spine Race, finishing in 83 hours, 12 minutes, 23 seconds–while also pumping breastmilk for her infant daughter. Paris made her Barkley debut in 2022, scoring a fun run (three loops in under 40 hours) she was the first woman fun runner since Bev Anderson-Abbs did it twice (20).

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