Last Friday night, I attended Rose’s screening of the documentary The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young. I had never heard of the Barkley Marathons before viewing this film, and I was shocked that such an unbelievably strenuous, taxing, and exhausting race exists — and that people actually want to participate in it! In case you are unfamiliar with The Barkley Marathons, this trail race is composed of 5 20 mile loops (100 miles overall) in Frozen Head State Park of Tennessee. 40 runners are chosen to participate via an undisclosed application process, and each loop of the race must be completed in 12 hours for the participant to continue competing. Only 15 runners have ever completed the 100 mile race in its 32-year history.
I was obsessed with running in high school – I was on the cross country, winter track, and spring track teams for all 4 years. I loved the challenge that running presented, the competition that pushed me to excellence, and the exposure to nature on long runs through the woods. But even I can’t imagine ever desiring to compete in the Barkley Marathons. It just doesn’t seem healthy, in my opinion. To complete the 100 mile race in 60 hours, competitors essentially have to pull 2 all-nighters, while exerting themselves to extreme extents. I can barely function after pulling 1 all-nighter here at Cornell, and that’s without having to run the next day! But then again, I remember that in high school my peers who didn’t run would always question me as to why I ran and how I could put myself through such “torture,” as they couldn’t fathom ever finding a 5-mile run enjoyable. Therefore, I do question the validity of my opinions about the Barkley Marathons – maybe if I did begin running even longer distances I would find them to be fun, and would be persuaded to apply for the Barkley Marathons. I think when we haven’t tried something and thus lack any familiarity to an experience, we are immediately averse to it and unfortunately that can prevent us from challenging ourselves and finding new interests/talents.
So, maybe someday I’ll train myself to run an 100-mile race in the woods.
I agree with your opinion, but understand the opposite side as well. I don’t go running but I go on walks from West campus to the vet school for fun, and so many people think I’m crazy for it. I think the point of the Barkley Marathons is to allow people to push themselves beyond what they thought they were capable of. Nevertheless, I’m perfectly happy with my campus walks.
I’ve never really heard of the Barkley Marathons before this, but it sounds brutal. I’m in the boat that’s not the running type, and couldn’t fathom how cross country was enjoyable. While it’s crazy to think that some people want to exert themselves like this, I also get wanting to push yourself to the limit to see just how much you can achieve. I don’t know if it’s worth compromising your health like this, but the human body is full of awesome potential.