Where were you when Gary Robbins missed the cutoff by 6 seconds?

joedirt wrote:

Am I one of the only ones who watched the end clip of the "race" and laughed a little? I am not a timid soul, and I know plenty of victory and defeat. I just know it in arenas where there are actual athletes, not OCD skeletons draped in skin. Ultras are a hobby, not a sport. Dude may not have known where he was due to sleep deprivation or he had a stroke due to dehydration. Some things are better left undone. Seriously, it's like watching a youtube clip of the Darwin Awards.

"In arenas where there are actual athletes... ultras are a hobby, not a sport"

Well thanks for clarifying that. Athletes on the track; hobbyists on the road and trail. Do I have it right?

Have you heard of Jim Walmsley? He's an ultra-runner, and he's breaking records at the 50 mile, 100k, and 100 mile distances. But that's a hobby runner... even though he has done a 13:52 5k; 29:08 10k; and 4:04 mile. Obviously, he's not an athlete.

Yeah, the Barkley is a bit of a ridiculous race but you also made some ridiculous statements in that post so...

T teller wrote:

who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Did you even read the quote? What great cause are you talking about? What is the high achievement? Where is the daring greatly?

This quote, like many others, is so often abused by people who do not understand what they are reading. Doing any task that is difficult is not what the man was talking about.

Have you ever jumped up and down on one leg for 24 hours straight? I bet that's really hard. Can you do it? I can't. If I tried to do it, would your above quote apply to me regardless of how long I lasted? What if I invited 40 people to do it and the person who jumped up and down on one leg the longest would win - would the quote apply then? What if they had to do it in the freezing rain naked, it would be much harder then - would that make the quote apply?

The world is full of idiots, and you are just one more with a futile effort of trying to cloak your stupidity with the words of others.

You have no clue about:

A) what Laz is like as a human.

B) Barkley rules.

C) keeping quiet about subjects you don't know.

I'm not going to bother reading any other potential responses to this. I would just like to point out that

1) There is an official route to this race. Entrants actually have to mark it on their own map before the race begins, and they are well aware of it beforehand.

2) It was always "suggested" - even required - that Gary would be required to take a specific route. It's in the rules.

3) Laz may or may not be a shithead. I've met him and I think he's a great guy. I hope you have met him and used your own personal experiences with him to make that judgement - not just from a netflix movie or a tweet.

4) That fat, chain smoking loser has many ultras under his belt. Have some respect for your elders. You'll be old someday, too.

5) If you think you could invent a race that is just on the edge of what is possible, then please do so. Let us know how it goes. We might sign up.

6) There aren't vague, hidden check points. The checkpoints are quite clear. And they aren't hidden if you follow the route.

Generally, when I don't know what I'm talking about, I refrain from offering an opinion. I understand that this is the internet and we're all free to do what we want.

Please understand that your post was almost completely inaccurate, and that all you have done is demonstrate that you do not understand what you're writing about.

Take care.

My above comment was in response to the user "been in the woods?" and the comment posted at 3:42pm on page 1.

T teller wrote:

Normal recognized race?

Why doesn't Bolt race the 5K? He'll get smoked.

Why doesn't Farah do the 400 Meter Hudrles? He'll get smoked

Is the 100 meter distance really not a race because mid-distance guys suck at it?

If ultras and barkley's isn't really racing and it's so easy why don't you go out and pick up all the sponsorship and prize money?

You can sit back in front of your computer screen all day and be a critic. I think Teddy Roosevelt has a good quote on guys like you, look it up.

Prize money? I don't think the Barkleys has prize money. Or a sponsor for that matter.

I do find calling the Barkley marathons a race to be a stretch, but obviously acknowledge that it is incredibly difficult. Gary having finished from the wrong direction doesn't really matter because he came up 6 seconds short, and I don't think the race director would be an a-hole for not counting it had Gary been 10 seconds faster. There are rules to be followed and selective application of those rules would cheapen the aforementioned incredibly difficult accomplishment that 15 people have completed.

Actually, I think your argument does more to reinforce my characterization of ultras than to negate it. I had never heard of Jim Walmsley, and while those are commendable times, they are not all that impressive for the person who is the best in the sport. None of those times would make the NCAA national meet or would even fall within the top 50 US times in the event in a given year. Props to him for finding a way to get sponsorship money after college in a situation where he probably would have gotten none. He is simply in a distance where there is less competition (ie. no Kenyans) so he is able to stand out.

This is why your comparison of ultras to NCAA or road races is null.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/c4/6d/11/c46d117c902d88c3c703d5c37887ae29.jpg

The movie Joe Dirt was written by a high school classmate of my 2 brother's-in law and wife. You don't deserve to use the name, no matter how ridiculously bad (in a good way) it is. And I know I don't live up to my moniker either, so don't bother. Please go elsewhere on the internet.

Don't Be Such a Roadie wrote:

This is why your comparison of ultras to NCAA or road races is null.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/c4/6d/11/c46d117c902d88c3c703d5c37887ae29.jpg

Because they are hiking instead of running?

I pretty sure you are thinking about steeplechase, or maybe hurdles...

ultra-olympics wrote:

What matters wrote:

So can people buy Barkley Marathons apparel, or not? Is it available on ebay?

I doubt this will become the ultra-olympics, I think western states sort of holds that spot in the US. Western States has the advantage of having an actual course and a set distance and none of the gimmicky side-show aspects. Also, Barkley's seems to be to ultras what ultras are to the marathon. Barkley's is for runners too slow to win an ultra, so they needed to add some extra quirk.

Please. If the course route and checkpoints were so clear, then why do so many people get lost?

I have no problem with this being a near impossible race to finish. We have plenty of races where everyone finishes, regardless of fitness, and they all get medals. I like there being one like this.

Serious question.

How much of the Barkley's loop is runnable? I've done the last half of the Western States 100 course and it's runnable almost everywhere.

Don't Be Such a Roadie wrote:

This is why your comparison of ultras to NCAA or road races is null.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/c4/6d/11/c46d117c902d88c3c703d5c37887ae29.jpg

That's the most insecure graph I've ever seen created! Thanks for the laugh.

This guy John Kelly, 36:57 10K, 2:49 marathon, but 2:53 in a triathlon. Decent runner but what is it with these extreme events making superstars out of those that are in the 3-5% range, not 1% or 0.001%

fisky wrote:

Serious question.

How much of the Barkley's loop is runnable? I've done the last half of the Western States 100 course and it's runnable almost everywhere.

IIRC, 3 time Barkley finisher Jared Campbell said about 10% of it (Keep in mind he also has won Hardrock 100 and has several top 15 finishes there)

fisky wrote:

Serious question.

How much of the Barkley's loop is runnable? I've done the last half of the Western States 100 course and it's runnable almost everywhere.

In theory, the entire loop could be covered by running.

You could go out there and run the entire loop in very short segments (run is defined as not walking and thus not having one foot in contact with the ground at all times, in other words having both feet off the ground, 'airborne' for part of your movement pattern).

The problem is, for the best runners we know of today, the combination of terrain, footing, vegetation, distance, route finding and fatigue limits the actual amount of running that occurs.

But some day perhaps someone could run the whole 'fun run' loop.

And it is called a run because that is the fasted form of movement allowed in the event. It is not racewalking. It is not a motor sports event. It is not a swim. It is not a bicycle ride. It is not an airplane or boat race.

People used to think that running continuously for 100 miles, or running every step of the way up Pikes Peak were not possible. Now we know better.

I had a longer reply but decided against. Since you've never heard of Jim Walmsley that tells me right there you know absolutely NOTHING about ultra running. Now go back to mommy's basement and be good.