
The last time someone crossed the Barkley Marathon finish line was seven years ago. Four runners start loop 5 at 2023 Barkley Marathons John Kelly, Karel Sabbe, Aurlien Sanchez and Damian Hall have 12 hours to go until the 60-hour finishing cutoff time Photo by: Howie Stern. Participants will be busy for the next few days. The best way to follow updates about the race is through the hashtag #bm100 on Twitter. The world-famous marathon, for which participants pay only the amount of one dollar, takes place annually at Frozen Head State Park in Tennessee, America.

If you don’t make that cut-off, you will be eliminated from the race.

Not only the distance and the inhospitable area make the Barkley Marathon a real torture for participants, but also the fact that you have to start the next loop (32km) every twelve hours. Participants cover 160 kilometers over five loops, through inhospitable terrain and with a basically countless amount of altimeters.

It is considered the most brutal ultrarun in the world, and that is not surprising in the past 35 years there have only been 15 finishers and furthermore all participants in the Barkley Marathon dropped out early.
