Cantrell thought Ray’s low mileage was pretty pathetic and was confident he could cover at least 100 miles.Īnd so the Barkley Marathons was born. Ray covered just eight miles across this unforgiving terrain in 55 hours. His idea for the race was inspired by the 1977 escape of James Earl Ray, the assassin of Martin Luther King Jr, from nearby Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary.
Held in Frozen Head State Park near Wartburg, Tennessee, the Barkley Marathons, which is described as ‘the race that eats its young’, was designed by Gary ‘Lazarus Lake’ Cantrell (AKA Laz). One thousand people have taken to the start line of this 100-mile race since its inception in 1986. Despite his impressive list of attributes, the odds to finish were never in Eoin’s favour.
I went in with the plan to finish but not with the expectation to finish,” he explains. That’s on paper, but reality can be a very different thing. “Held in Frozen Head State Park near Wartburg, Tennessee, the Barkley Marathons is described as ‘the race that eats its young'” I am good at getting lost and finding myself again. “On paper, I had all of the skills to complete the race. Not the usual reaction for someone who managed to complete just 40% of a race course and injured himself in the process.īut the Barkley Marathons is not your average race. Having done it and being able to compare it against a lot of other hard races, I think it’s everything it’s cracked up to be,” says Ireland’s top ultrarunner, Eoin Keith.Įoin, who is currently nursing a broken collarbone and a body covered in deep scratches and bruises, has just returned from the Barkley Marathons and he is buzzing. “The Barkley Marathons has the reputation for being the hardest race in the world. Chris Araujo & Ethan Watson/Columbia Sportswear Here, he tells Heather Snelgar about the challenge, the ordeal, the thrill and why he’s not finished with this race. This year, Ireland’s Eoin Keith was one of the elite and arguably crazy folk that took on the challenge. Just 15 people have crossed the finish line.
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