agree w you here. believe orienteering is the biggest challenge, plus the ...conditions.
Exactly. The running itself is fairly easy, it's finding the actual course and functioning in bad weather and sleep deprivation that makes it tough. Most 3-hour marathoners would be able to finish it if they knew where to go, had good weather, and if the race had a fixed 7 AM start time.
agree w you here. believe orienteering is the biggest challenge, plus the ...conditions.
Exactly. The running itself is fairly easy, it's finding the actual course and functioning in bad weather and sleep deprivation that makes it tough. Most 3-hour marathoners would be able to finish it if they knew where to go, had good weather, and if the race had a fixed 7 AM start time.
And BTW, I'm not singling out the Barkley for this. Badwater is probably the best example on how the conditions matter more than the running. Hold it in October, and it's an easy jog for anyone who's fit. Hold it in July, and it becomes one awful death march that is incredibly difficult for even an elite runner to finish.
I do think the weather is the main determining factor if the Barkley will have finishers. Kinda lame in that sense. But even then, never been more than 3 finishers in one year, so it's not like the event is a cake walk for any marathoner in decent shape.
Robbins spoke in high-pitched bursts between breaths after he missed being the 16th person to have ever completed the race, 'I took the wrong side of the…
It has what like 50k feet of vert? Even with a marked course 50k feet over 100 miles, pretty much no one is 'running' much of it at all, not to mention its off trail. Plenty of other mountain races have bad weather. And sleep deprivation is going to be a factor in any long race, unless you make a stage race.
I still don't see 'most 3 hour marathoners' finishing it unless the cut offs were longer and plenty of aid stations.
It has what like 50k feet of vert? Even with a marked course 50k feet over 100 miles, pretty much no one is 'running' much of it at all, not to mention its off trail. Plenty of other mountain races have bad weather. And sleep deprivation is going to be a factor in any long race, unless you make a stage race.
I still don't see 'most 3 hour marathoners' finishing it unless the cut offs were longer and plenty of aid stations.
Have a fixed 7 am start time, and you're done with most of the course before sleep deprivation becomes an issue. Have an unknown start time, and sleep deprivation could be an issue at mile 1.
You make a good point about the aid stations, though. Carrying your own water and gear just adds to the difficulty.
It has what like 50k feet of vert? Even with a marked course 50k feet over 100 miles, pretty much no one is 'running' much of it at all, not to mention its off trail. Plenty of other mountain races have bad weather. And sleep deprivation is going to be a factor in any long race, unless you make a stage race.
I still don't see 'most 3 hour marathoners' finishing it unless the cut offs were longer and plenty of aid stations.
Have a fixed 7 am start time, and you're done with most of the course before sleep deprivation becomes an issue. Have an unknown start time, and sleep deprivation could be an issue at mile 1.
You make a good point about the aid stations, though. Carrying your own water and gear just adds to the difficulty.
I mean the sleep deprivation is really mainly an issue because you need to continue to orient yourself and find books. It hardly matters in a race with a marked course and aid stations, sure it slows you down but doesnt prevent finishing necessarily.
Exactly. The running itself is fairly easy, it's finding the actual course and functioning in bad weather and sleep deprivation that makes it tough. Most 3-hour marathoners would be able to finish it if they knew where to go, had good weather, and if the race had a fixed 7 AM start time.
And BTW, I'm not singling out the Barkley for this. Badwater is probably the best example on how the conditions matter more than the running. Hold it in October, and it's an easy jog for anyone who's fit. Hold it in July, and it becomes one awful death march that is incredibly difficult for even an elite runner to finish.
What are you talking about? It is still mid 90s in October. 135 miles is not an easy jog for anyone. You sound like someone that has never run an ultra.
Exactly. The running itself is fairly easy, it's finding the actual course and functioning in bad weather and sleep deprivation that makes it tough. Most 3-hour marathoners would be able to finish it if they knew where to go, had good weather, and if the race had a fixed 7 AM start time.
I mean the sleep deprivation is really mainly an issue because you need to continue to orient yourself and find books.
May as well put dunce caps out there and have them finish with a traffic cone on their heads. What an absurd spectacle. Hope they all make it back alive.
And BTW, I'm not singling out the Barkley for this. Badwater is probably the best example on how the conditions matter more than the running. Hold it in October, and it's an easy jog for anyone who's fit. Hold it in July, and it becomes one awful death march that is incredibly difficult for even an elite runner to finish.
What are you talking about? It is still mid 90s in October. 135 miles is not an easy jog for anyone. You sound like someone that has never run an ultra.
I was thinking more late October than early October. I was in Death Valley around Halloween a few years back, and it was in the mid 70s at the lower elevations. But that might have been an anomaly, so November may be ideal.
The point still stands. November = easily doable by a 3:0x marathoner. July = good luck finishing more than 10 miles.
What are you talking about? It is still mid 90s in October. 135 miles is not an easy jog for anyone. You sound like someone that has never run an ultra.
I was thinking more late October than early October. I was in Death Valley around Halloween a few years back, and it was in the mid 70s at the lower elevations. But that might have been an anomaly, so November may be ideal.
The point still stands. November = easily doable by a 3:0x marathoner. July = good luck finishing more than 10 miles.
I was thinking more late October than early October. I was in Death Valley around Halloween a few years back, and it was in the mid 70s at the lower elevations. But that might have been an anomaly, so November may be ideal.
The point still stands. November = easily doable by a 3:0x marathoner. July = good luck finishing more than 10 miles.
Nope, no 3:0x Marathoner will easily finish a 135 mile race under the best circumstances. Most will DNF after mile 50.
Listen for the rusty kazoo sound, find the phone book, squint at page 373 upside down and hum the 27th line, tattoo it on your left arch with green ink.
I was thinking more late October than early October. I was in Death Valley around Halloween a few years back, and it was in the mid 70s at the lower elevations. But that might have been an anomaly, so November may be ideal.
The point still stands. November = easily doable by a 3:0x marathoner. July = good luck finishing more than 10 miles.
Nope, no 3:0x Marathoner will easily finish a 135 mile race under the best circumstances. Most will DNF after mile 50.
The cutoff time is 48 hours. You can literally jog at 10 min/mile pace for an hour, do absolutely nothing for the next 30 minutes, repeat the cycle, and still have 14 hours left for food, sleep, gear changes, or anything else you want to do. The hardest part, assuming good weather in late fall, is the boredom.
I was thinking more late October than early October. I was in Death Valley around Halloween a few years back, and it was in the mid 70s at the lower elevations. But that might have been an anomaly, so November may be ideal.
The point still stands. November = easily doable by a 3:0x marathoner. July = good luck finishing more than 10 miles.
Nope, no 3:0x Marathoner will easily finish a 135 mile race under the best circumstances. Most will DNF after mile 50.
Sub 3 marathoner chiming in and I would be happy to make it mile 30. There's just a level of training, time commitment, fueling, strategy, pain, and patience that I simply don't want to deal with.
This post was edited 35 seconds after it was posted.
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Nope, no 3:0x Marathoner will easily finish a 135 mile race under the best circumstances. Most will DNF after mile 50.
The cutoff time is 48 hours. You can literally jog at 10 min/mile pace for an hour, do absolutely nothing for the next 30 minutes, repeat the cycle, and still have 14 hours left for food, sleep, gear changes, or anything else you want to do. The hardest part, assuming good weather in late fall, is the boredom.
On second thought, maybe the hardest part is finding a support crew that'll follow you for 48 hours and provide you with food, drinks, gear, and a place to sleep.
I've never gone under 3 for the marathon, and I'd be willing to bet $100K that I could do it if I were allowed to attempt it in early November and had a support crew.
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