In 1977, Martin Luther Kings Jr’s assassin broke out of the maximun security wing of the Brushy Mountain state Penitentiary. James Earl Ray, made a daring run for the isolated mountains west of Knoxville. 54 hour later he was found cold, hungry, dehydrated and ripped to shreds… He was actually relived, ecstatic at the fact that he had been caught.
So the rumors started to feed the hungry ears of madmen, Cantrell, a Tennessee ultra runner, laughed at Ray’s futile attempt to escape the authorities… so much so, that he was heard remarking, that given the inmates opportunity, he would have been half way to Tijuana by the 54 hour mark. Thus the idea was planted for a half cocked, mad as hell race that to this day demolishes the spirit and bakes the athletes body in blood, sweat, mud and grime.
1986 the First Barkley was held… to this day only 1% of all contendants have managed to finish this ordeal.
Race Director Gary Cantrell is the Devil who orchestrates this madness. Dressed like John Wayne and with an evil eye over his flock, he starts the race with simple gesture, He lights up a cigarette. That’s your whistle, your starting sign… as you head into the unknown you hear him shout over your head:
“The Barkley eats its young”.
There is nothing common about this race. From day one you feel like you have fallen thought he looking class. If you succeed in actually tracking down Cantrell, you have to beg for the chance to suffer. If you are accepted, you need to buy your place on the race: A Buck sixty ($1.60), and once that business is settled you receive this little bail of insight:
"Our heartfelt condolences on your recent selection into the Barkley Marathons field for 2010. Even though the odds were all in your favor, with six applicants for every slot, in any drawing someone must lose. This time it was you.
"Should you come up with any plausible excuse to avoid the painful failure that is the Barkley, please let us know as soon as possible. As incredible as it might seem, those other five people still want your slot.
"Otherwise, there is a very bad thing waiting for you."
After that, it actually gets easier. A few weeks later, if you haven’t chicken out, you get simple directions to the starting line:
"If you can't find Frozen Head State Park on your own, you shouldn't be coming to the Barkley."
Google maps be dammed, this is the way to get around.
What exactly are you getting yourself in… what are the rules of the insane trial. First of all you are in the clutches of madness, a race that was organized by inmates at Arkham Asylum… and supervised by the Joker. You do not come to the Barkley to beat it, you come to it; to cry, suffer and Bleed… The organizer priority is to torture you and make sure you do not finish it. Like demented Gods, this is how they get their kicks.
Rules:
- You have to complete 5 loops around a precise trail… The problem is that there is no Trail, no Markers… Hell to make matters worst depending on who you ask, its either a 42km distance or a 46km distance.
- You have exactly 12 hours to complete each loop... if you fail this objective you are disqualified.
- There is no starting time or announcement (its usually between the hours of midnight to noon)… you have to camp out near the starting line, and wait for Cantrell to blow his conch horn, that’s his message to all would be masoguist to get ready… from there own you are in his grip, wanting for the cigarette to light up.
- You have to take care of yourself, there is only two hydration station on the trail (a couple of juggs of water left the previous night by Cantrell) and you have absolutely no idea were they are.
- GPS or outside help is not permitted
- The direction of the course… well that up to Cantrell… each loop and which way you should go (clockwise or counterclockwise) are decision made in that moment by the Race Director.
- Some written directions are give out, here is a tidbit:
"Look down. See that brier-choked, steep hillside? That is the Zip Line Trail. Go down, and bear only a little to the left."
- To make matters worst you have to find 12 books, in the park (find a page with your ID on it, rip it out and collect it) at the end of each loop you have to present these 12 pages to Cantrell. Said books are tied to trees.
- The trail varies from year to year, often new acts of madness are included (Steep 80 degree climbs for 90 minutes).
- The weather is basically a “Bitch”, it constantly changes on you.
- Your only markers are road signs devised by Cantrell with the following phrases:
“Rat Jaw, Big Hell, Raw Dog Falls, Testicle Spectacle, The Humps, and Leonard's Buttslide”.
- You have 60 hours to complete the 5 marathon race (210km).
As expected this rules change on a yearly bases. The last known winner was Jonathan "J. B." Basham with 59 hours and 18 minutes, he has been the 9th person in history to actually beat this monster. Most runners are disqualified by the 3erd loop.
Cantrell knows this… as such he simply nods at each defeat and states the following:
“Told you so… I tried to warn you”
But the Barkley does transmit a message, a story of possibilities, of never giving up and finally of the resilience of the human spirit… of looking at adversity in the face and spitting at its eye… for the runners who fail at the Barkley, always come back, not for the punishment, or the pain… but because its hard. Because it has become their Moby Dick and after all if it was simple they might as well bugger off and run their preordained 5k races. The Barkley teaches you the value of your life and of your soul, it stokes the fires of your inner strength and forges a man of steel and true grit.
This is why it matters.