zxcvzxcv wrote:
Since you could easily hike faster than a couple miles per hour even with all that vertical, this race must be that difficult precisely because you have to find the books in the right order and there are no markings to tell and so most just get lost for much of the time.
The part about easily hiking 2mph is wrong. I live in similar Tennessee hills about a 3-hour drive from the Barkley Marathons. I just hiked 8 hours in the hills behind my house a couple of days ago. In places, the grades were greater than 30%. I had to use my hands on the ground to go up one of them. Plus, there are lots of loose leaves on the ground to make footing slippery. Several times I looked at a ridgeline only a half mile or so away and thought that it would take me nearly an hour to get there.
I covered about 6 miles in 8 hours. I'm not a speed hiker, but I was still exhausted. All that slipping takes a lot out of you.
Of course, the orienteering is a huge factor, plus Laz doesn't really give precise or clear instructions, according to reports by runners. My guess is that participants are limited by the park service, not by Laz.