We Regret to Inform You & The Barkley Marathon
- Simply Human Productions
- Mar 22
- 2 min read
It was recently reported that there were no finishers this year at the 2025 Barkley Marathon. If you are familiar with this race, you wouldn’t be surprised. The Barkley Marathon is known to be the most difficult ultramarathons in the world. Many who compete never come close to finishing.
The Barkley Marathon was co-founded by Gary Cantrell (Lazarus Lake) in 1986. At this time only twenty people have completed the race. In 2024, Jasmin Paris was the first female to finish the race. This was a huge accomplishment for female athletes. Many believed that a female could never finish the Barkley Marathon. Jasmin proved to herself and the world that it could be done.
In the documentary, The Finisher, Jasmin Paris talks about how races like the Barkley Marathon put her in a place where she ends up retreating inside herself to fight her inner battles.
Any runner can relate to fighting your inner battles, but very few can understand the challenges that are faced while competing out in the rugged nature during the Barkley Marathon. Not only are you battling with yourself mentally, physically, and spiritually, but you are fighting against the elements of nature, navigating yourself, and stepping into the unknown.
The race is mysterious and constantly changing. The mystery begins with how a person registers for the race.
Below I have listed some of the things that make this race unique.
Hundreds of people register each year and only forty people are accepted to compete.
When you are accepted as a competitor you get a letter that starts off similar to, we regret to inform you that you are selected to compete in the Barkley Marathon.
The race route changes every year.
No GPS is allowed.
The race is made up of six loops. Each loop is said to be between 20 miles to a marathon depending on the route that year.
Completing three loops is called a “FUN RUN.”
To finish, one must finish five loops in under sixty hours.
The first two loops are both clockwise (one day and one night)
The third and fourth loops are counterclockwise (one day and one night)
Whoever is in the lead after the first four loops chooses if they want to do their last loop counterclockwise or clockwise. The next racers that finish loop four must start loop five in the opposite direction than the previous runner.
Each year there is a twelve-hour window in where the race can start.
Runners are notified by the sound of a conch shell that they have one hour to prepare and be at the starting line to race.
The race starts once Lazurus Lake lights and smokes a cigarette.
These are just some of the facts about the Barkley Marathon. Yes, there is still little to no information about the race online, but I do suggest watching one of the documentaries I listed below to learn more about this crazy event.
Enjoy my friends,
KJ~
Documentaries
The Finisher: Jasmin Paris and the Barkley Marathons (Full Documentary)
The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young - Official Trailer (2015) Documentary
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