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Barkley Marathon 2023 - a cigarette was lit at 9:54 Login/Join 
thin skin can't win
Picture of Georgeair
posted
For the fans of this, it's started. For the uninitiated/unaware, this is ostensibly the hardest distance event in the world. Lots of material out there on the history, selection process, rules, etc. In a nutshell five loops of roughly 20 miles in under 60 hours to be considered as completing event. Completed 18 times by 15 runners since 1986.

Not a lot of coverage since timing of event is secret, but one person who is the de-facto go to person is Keith Dunn via twitter. Link to his feed.

There's another person who publishes recent times in a spreadsheet and updates as loops are completed in as close to real time as reported. Link to spreadsheet here.

Good coverage as well at run247.com

If you've not seen the documentary on Youtube it's terrific. Link



You only have integrity once. - imprezaguy02

 
Posts: 12351 | Location: Madison, MS | Registered: December 10, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Drill Here, Drill Now
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I read your post, but still can't figure out the "a cigarette was lit at 9:54" title?



Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.
 
Posts: 23102 | Location: Northern Suburbs of Houston | Registered: November 14, 2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
The air above the din
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The race director lights a cigarette to start the race. No one knows exactly what time this will happen on the first day.
 
Posts: 965 | Location: Virginia | Registered: May 16, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
thin skin can't win
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Yep, lights a cigarette an hour after blowing a conch shell as a warning of pending start. The runners know the day it will start, but can be anytime between midnight and noon, with one-hour signal from the conch. You know, just to make the impossible harder.

Couple overnight/morning tweets from Keith, main coverage there:

quote:
The temperature plummeted overnight again. The water jugs at the Tower are completely frozen. #BM100


quote:
One runner, after finishing his loop and dropping, cooked an egg burrito while showering. Like, took a camp stove and skillet into the shower, cooked the eggs, etc., and ate the tortilla. In the shower. #BM100


Looks like as of a bit ago 10 runners are on loop 3 of the 5. The window is (I think) closed for starting loop 3 in about 15 minutes, but if runners aren't already well into it they have no chance of completing whole distance.

eta - 2 more started Loop 3 with under 6 minutes to deadline. Presumably these intend to attempt the completion of 3 loops in time to qualify for acknowledgment of "Fun Run" distance.



You only have integrity once. - imprezaguy02

 
Posts: 12351 | Location: Madison, MS | Registered: December 10, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Step by step walk the thousand mile road
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These guys are certifiable.

Watch the documentary and you’ll understand.





Nice is overrated

"It's every freedom-loving individual's duty to lie to the government."
Airsoftguy, June 29, 2018
 
Posts: 31385 | Location: Loudoun County, Virginia | Registered: May 17, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
thin skin can't win
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Certifiable indeed.

As the followers know, Karel Sabbe looked on pace to complete 2022, but on Loop 4 and after asking a lady for help (actually talking to a trash can) plus a few other hallucinations, was picked up by local police and returned to base camp.

One of our owners is an ultra-long distance runner. He and almost every sane person has no desire to even consider something like this.

This is a combination of long distance run plus hill climb plus orienteering to multiple waypoints where you have to retrieve a page from a book, matching your bib number on each Loop.



You only have integrity once. - imprezaguy02

 
Posts: 12351 | Location: Madison, MS | Registered: December 10, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I had an acquaintance at work who ran ultra marathons.

He ran Boston one year and just kept going.

I forgot where he ran to, it might have been to where we worked miles away.

He was not real fast but he could just consistently crank out the miles at a reasonably fast pace.

They have lotteries to get into events.

His description of some of the events was nuts.
 
Posts: 4743 | Registered: February 15, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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My previous Primary Doc (now retired) had a patient who was into the super long distance running. To the point where he lost ALL interest in sex and then lost his wife. At 38 years old he came in for a checkup because he would get out of breath climbing a flight of stairs. After two months of tests the results were determined that he had Exercise Induced Cardiomyopathy. Basically his heart was now a mass of scar tissue. For which there is no treatment. BTW, this particular type in injury will exempt the patient from ever being considered for a Heart Transplant, because it's been found that those who were granted a new heart went back to doing the exact same things that destroyed their previous heart.

I regard activities such as this as a form of slow suicide, just like those into Drugs or Booze. Abuse your body too much and for too long and you'll be pushing up daisy's.


I've stopped counting.
 
Posts: 5624 | Location: Michigan | Registered: November 07, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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2 people I know are into these extreme marathons.

1 is a friend from the Marine Corps. 110% batshit crazy! (But in a good way) extremely driven, and focused on whatever he sinks his teeth into, I'd bet he's on the ADD/ADHD scale somewhere. Always kept himself in great shape during and after the Corps & contract work. Got into cross fit, and was exercising like that before cross fit was a thing. The kind of guy that would do the "Murph" with everyone, then "for fun" would do it 5 more times. Dove into the Stock Market and Realestate, did his research on the subjects... He's worth $$$$! Very intense person.

The other one I know is a piece of shit as a human being. Addictive personality. I unfortunately had to work with him. He was a bad alcoholic, like really bad... (Funny, people actually liked him better when he was a drunk) Couldn't drink a beer or three in any setting. Had to get absolutely blind drunk, piss in his pants, pass out every time he drank. He sobered up, and turned his addiction into running. Well, marathons weren't good enough, just had to keep pushing. He found ultras... Last I heard he was headed out to do the Applachian Trail, as in run 2100 miles in who-knows-how many days.


IIRC, The Barkley started after a prison break. The prisoners got something like 3 miles away after a few hours and well caught. The guy that started The Barkley thought that those results were rather sad, and even in the bad weather, he could do better/go further. Well... The cult started.

There's another one out west. Death Valley/Chocolate Mountains. Runners start out in the Valley at midnight or so when the temperatures are somewhat tolerable at 110f, then end up in the mountains a few miles and a couple hours later when it's 35f and raining.

Documentary:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl3laLhbCsw

Crazy stuff!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: CPD SIG,


______________________________________________________________________
"When its time to shoot, shoot. Dont talk!"

“What the government is good at is collecting taxes, taking away your freedoms and killing people. It’s not good at much else.” —Author Tom Clancy
 
Posts: 8322 | Location: Attempting to keep the noise down around Midway Airport | Registered: February 14, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
thin skin can't win
Picture of Georgeair
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A record 4 people all out on the 5th loop. They all have until 9:54p.m. eastern to complete. Second female ever made it to 4th loop but did not complete. Actually still out on course at this time, 4 hours after deadline for that. Or sleeping in someone's car.

Times out on 5th below, toward total max of 60 hours. While the math may look "easy", that's not the reality of their world.


John KELLY 1st out @ 46:02:55.
Aurelian SANCHEZ 2nd out @ 46:07:50
Karel SABBE 3rd out @ 46:59:20
Damian HALL 4th out @ 47:49:03.

And the best quote of the day so far:

quote:
For the first time in the history of the #BM100, 4 runners are on loop five. laz is concerned this will cause people not to apply next year, as they will perceive the course to be too easy.



You only have integrity once. - imprezaguy02

 
Posts: 12351 | Location: Madison, MS | Registered: December 10, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Step by step walk the thousand mile road
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Or, is this an opportunity to suck in a bunch of people next year, only to have a course that is physically and physiologically impossible to complete. Leg One is a 45 mile run, backwards, in the dark, no lights or NVG, carry a burning Molotov cocktail in one hand and a burrito in the other hand kind of hard.





Nice is overrated

"It's every freedom-loving individual's duty to lie to the government."
Airsoftguy, June 29, 2018
 
Posts: 31385 | Location: Loudoun County, Virginia | Registered: May 17, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
thin skin can't win
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Or this:



You only have integrity once. - imprezaguy02

 
Posts: 12351 | Location: Madison, MS | Registered: December 10, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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