The Barkley Marathon is not an ordinary marathon with a long-distance track. It is a test for which even the most experienced ultrarunners have to push their limits. However, even then, only a few are able to win it. Out of the 60-hour time restriction, only 20 runners have completed all five laps. However, in 2024, five racers set a record, including Jasmin Paris, the first female runner to finish. The other four finishers involve Ihor Verys, Greig Hamilton, John Kelly, and Jared Campbell.
The event is annually held at Tennessee’s Frozen Head State Park, a notoriously challenging 100-mile ultramarathon. It is shrouded in mystery, with no official website, public course maps, or entrant lists, and is not intended for spectators. Each year, about 40 people are chosen from a field of over 1,300 candidates. To enter, applicants must submit an essay, and first-time runners must provide a license plate from their native state or nation as part of the entry cost.
The exact course directions are provided just a day before the race, and the start time remains undisclosed until a conch is blown, signaling a one-hour warning. To ensure correct navigation, books are strategically placed along the course; runners must tear out a page corresponding to their bib number from each book. Misplacing a page or forgetting a book results in disqualification.
What are Barkley Marathons? What is their history and origin? The story behind it
In the late 1970s, Gary Cantrell, who later became known as Lazarus Lake, started ultrarunning. In Wartrace, Tennessee, he and his fellows, known as “Horse Mountain Runners,” established the Strolling Jim 40-mile Run in 1979, one of the country’s oldest ultras. Cantrell persisted in designing challenging races, such as “The Idiot’s Run” in 1981, which had a 76-mile course with 37 steep hills that he extended to 108 miles the following year by eliminating flat sections to make it more challenging. His ability to design demanding endurance competitions was honed by these experiences.
Later, the Barkley Marathons were formed in 1986 as a result of Cantrell’s interest in the difficult terrain of Frozen Head State Park and James Earl Ray’s 1977 escape from the neighboring Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary. Ray, who was responsible for the murder of Martin Luther King Jr., attempted to flee via the treacherous Cumberland Mountains for over two days before being apprehended a few miles from the prison. This escape revealed the toughness of the environment, which Cantrell attempted to mimic in the Barkley Marathons by subjecting runners to a difficult survival and navigation test.
What makes it special and unique? Behind the ‘ABCD’ of the event
Here is the ABCD of the event:
A: Application
Runners must pay an application fee of $1.60. Every year, only 40 make the cut.
B: Brushy
The event is inspired by the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary. It was from here that a famed assassin escaped in 1977, traveling 12 kilometers through the harsh wilderness before being apprehended 54 hours later. As a result, the Barkley Marathons were formed, with races run on the same grounds where the assassin tried to escape.
C: Conch
Laz blew a big shell, indicating that racers had one hour till the race starts. Prior to that time, they only knew that the race would begin sometime between midnight and noon on race day. The race begins with Laz lighting a cigarette beside the yellow gate.
D: Direction
Runners must alternate between clockwise and counterclockwise laps. If a participant reaches lap five, Laz instructs them on which way to run their final loop.
E: Essay
There is very little or no data available online about the entrance procedure, which is kept mostly under wraps. One thing that every hopeful must do is write an essay for Laz.
F: Fun run
A fun run is defined as completing three laps (60 miles) in 40 hours or less.
G: Gary Robbins
Gary Robbins, an ultra runner, finished only six seconds after the 60-hour cutoff in 2017 after choosing the wrong path on his final loop. In the same year, John Kelly became the 15th runner in history to finish all five laps within the time restriction.
H: Help
Each runner can rely on their support staff, which will set up beyond the yellow gate. There is no assistance on the route, except for two unmanned water stations.
I: Iconic
One of the most classic Barkley Marathon photographs is of all the vehicle license plates put up near the registration area. Every first-timer must bring a plate from home and deliver it to Laz.
J: Jasmin
In 2024, Jasmin Paris made history as the first woman to complete the Barkley Marathons. She raced to the yellow gate, touching it only 99 seconds before the 60-hour time limit. It made international headlines and is regarded as one of the sport’s most significant successes.
K: Keith Dunn
While Barkley Marathons has no official social media channels, one can get updates from @keithdunn on X.
L: Laz
Laz is the director of Barkley Fall Classic and Big’s Backyard Ultra, the first backyard ultra. He traveled 3,200 miles on foot from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast of the United States in 2018.
M: Movie
The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young, a 2014 Netflix documentary, made the event popular around the world. Several additional popular documentaries have followed, including our own Last Women Standing: Barkley Marathons 2019.
N: Number-one bib
Every year, Laz assigns bib number one to a competitor he believes has the lowest chance of completing the first lap.
O: Obstacles
Scattered with trees vicious, sharp foliage that may leave runners with torn legs, the obstacle-filled terrain, which is set amid dense woodland, can make for slow progress.
P: Pages
Laz places books out on the route, and runners have to find their way to the designated spots. At the conclusion of the lap, they have to give back to Laz the torn page from each book that matches their bib number.
Q: Quit
When someone leaves the game, a bugler plays “Taps” when they get back to the yellow gate.
R: Rat Jaw
The name of the course’s most difficult hill. Whether climbing or descending, it’s a vicious beast!
S: Secrets
Barkley Marathons has a lot of secrets despite all the publicity, and Laz loves to keep things interesting by changing things around. Participants are asked to keep the race date that year a secret.
T: Time
There is a 60-hour time limit. Not another second. Ask Gary Robbins, please.
U: Unmarked
The goal is to navigate by yourself. There are no ribbons, tape, signs, or flags to direct runners here. There are no grades for this course.
V: Virgins & Veterans
First-time Barkley Marathon runners and those returning for more pain are identified by their names. Especially on lap one, frequently look for a veteran to assist them.
W: Watches
Runners must not wear their fancy GPS watches as they are banned.
X: X-ray vision
It would be helpful for nighttime navigation through dense woodland! The next best option for a participant is a high-quality headlamp.
Y: Yellow gate
The famous place where each lap begins and ends. An ultra runner will understand the meaning of this yellow gate if you show them a basic picture of it.
Z: Zero room for error
A single mistake, whether getting lost, miscalculating food, or misjudging the brutal terrain, can end a runner’s race. The Barkley Marathons is unforgiving, and that’s what makes it legendary.
Barkley Marathons 2025: Who are the participants? Who can join others in the past winners’ list? Know them all
The 2025 Barkley Marathon is creating a lot of buzz among ultrarunners. The race will feature both experienced veterans and brave newcomers. Because the event is very secretive, not many details are available, but social media and running news say that this year’s group will be very mixed and strong. Past finishers like John Kelly, Jared Campbell, and Jasmin Paris are famous for their toughness. They have all completed the challenging, unmarked course through Frozen Head State Park in Tennessee.
For 2025, there are hints that many runners from different countries will join the race, along with well-known American athletes who have raced before. People who want to take part are among the best in ultrarunning and adventure sports. They must show they have great endurance and excellent navigation skills. This means they need to follow secret course maps and find hidden books where they must tear out pages as proof of their progress.
Only 40 runners are chosen from thousands of hopefuls. Every participant knows that this race is not about speed but about surviving a harsh and unforgiving terrain. Only the strongest and most determined will join the list of legendary winners of the Barkley Marathons.
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