Oak Ridge is a very interesting place in its own right, since it is where the uranium for the Manhattan Project was refined. My friend Brian came along for the ride and we stayed in the town of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. I took the occasion of my 50th birthday to travel down to Frozen Head State Park in Tennessee. Having done a 100 mile ultramarathon myself, that included 18,000 feet of elevation gain, it is hard to comprehend how one can get so much elevation gain over about the same distance. Besides the distance, the elevation gain is 60,000 feet (18,000m). On paper it is clearly one of the most difficult ultramarathons given that it is much more than 100 miles (160 km), that’s why there is an “s”, it’s marathons, as in 4 of them. Since it’s hard to capture an understanding of something unless you see and experience it first hand, I decided to see the course myself to get an appreciation for why the Barkley Marathons are so hard. It’s inspired from the attempted prison escape by James Earl Ray The entry process is strange and secretive Commonly mentioned topics in these articles are: Reason being, there has been an excellent documentary on it, The Barkley Marathon: The Race That Eats Its Young, and many long form articles written about it, including one recently in Runner’s World. A portion of the proceeds will go to support the Carbon Count Environmental Ed Center! Course: 4.Even if you are not an ultrarunner, you may have heard of the Barkley Marathons. Driving into the venue you will be winding along the Lehigh River and into the stunning Lehigh Gorge State Park. The course will wind around a gorgeous lake and along winding streams through the woods. Mauch Chunk Lake Park is located a few miles up the road from the historic town of Jim Thorpe. The format is simple: you must run a 4.167 mile loop in under one hour, you cannot start the next lap until the top of the next hour, and the race continues until one participant remains! It is an amazing opportunity to push your limits and run farther than you have ever done before!

The Backyard Ultra format was made famous by Laz, the founder of the Barkley Marathons in Tennessee. Running 4.167 miles in one hour seems easy, right? Well, how many times in a row do you think you can do that? Come out to the first backyard ultra being held in Pennsylvania and find out!

Download 2023 barkley marathon