• Running
    • Where Should I Run?
    • Running Advice
    • Race Reviews
    • Race PR’s
  • 50 Marathons, 50 States
  • Reviews
    • Gear Reviews
    • Fitness Class Reviews
  • About Me
    • Fits On The Road
    • Matilda the Vizsla
    • Contact Me
  • The Right Fit Coaching

The Right Fits

Where Fitness and Fashion Meet

Fits Do Race Reviews: The “Barkley 5k”

November 29, 2016 By Jessie Benson 8 Comments

matilda-barkley-f

I listed the Barkley Marathon in my Five Favorite running documentaries list HERE.  If you haven’t watched it, definitely check it out!

Now, I wasn’t the only one in my family that was fascinated by this crazy race- my sister Cresta was too! So as the host of Thanksgiving this year, she organized a family fun run version of this race- our own “Barkley 5k.”

Rather than 100+ miles like the real Barkley Marathon, ours was a much more managable 3.1 miles.

I’ll remind you that each year, my family runs some sort of race together- either an organized Thanksgiving race, like this year, or an independent family one like last year.  We’ve been doing this as a family for many years, so no one was surprised when my sister announced that this year would be a “Barkley 5k”, loosely based on the Barkley Marathon.

If you haven’t heard of the Barkley Marathon, here’s a quick synopsis:

“Every year, 40 international runners descend upon a small town in Tennessee to test their mental and physical limits against the Barkley Marathons. Devised as a mockery of James Earl Ray’s historic prison escape gone awry, the race has seen only 10 finishers in its first 25 years. The race’s co-founder Lazarus Lake is as weird, unpredictable, and irresistible a character as the idiosyncratic event he has created. With a secret application process, unknown start time, and treacherous terrain, the Barkley has gained cult-like status with ultra-runners and amateurs alike. This award-winning, oddly inspiring, and wildly funny documentary invites you to the sports world’s most guarded secret; where pain has value, failure is spectacular, and it only costs $1.60.”

The Barkley Marathons is an ultramarathon trail race held in Frozen Head State Park near Wartburg, Tennessee. Runners may elect a “fun run” of 60 miles (97 km) or the full course of 100 miles (160 km) (distances are approximate). The race is run over a 60-hour period in late March or early April of each year.

Runners of the 100-mile version run this loop five times, running loops two and four in darkness, taking a counterclockwise direction for loops three and four, followed by each runner alternating direction on loop five, after the first-placed runner’s choice. Runners of the 60-mile “fun run” complete three circuits of the loop.

So our  “Barkley 5k” took place on a one-mile loop at a nearby park. Runners ran one direction for loop 1, the opposite direction for loop 2, and “runner’s choice” for loop 3, somewhat similar to the Barkley.barkley-map

At three spots along the course, books were left in ziplock bags (just like in the real Barkley!) Each runner had to find the page that corresponded to their bib number, bring it back to the start to my mom, who would check off our bibs accordingly.
barkely-book
My favorite book along the course was the above book of poetry- this page seemed to work well with the vibe of the Barkley Marathon:
solitaire-poem
The winner received this trophy:
barkley-winner
And “last” first place received this one (The Barkley Marathon always has a ‘human sacrifice’ i.e. a runner who is accepted into the race who is grossly unprepared!)
human-sacrifice
And there were bibs of course!
barkley-bibs
Some might say our race director is just as quirky as the real Laz Lake 🙂
race-director
Our family version of the Barkley was a blast. Everyone participated, from the canines to the kids to the grandparents.
barkley-5k
Some of the kids rode their bikes instead of running but everyone got into the fun and was active before the feast!
barkley-finish
If anyone dropped out, my dad played ‘taps’ on his bugle.
http://www.therightfits.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/IMG_0274.m4v
Oh, there were race shirts too. Cozy cotton ones!
laz-lake
My brother in law Todd won first place, Dustin/Matilda came in second.
dustin-matilda-barkley
My brother in law Brent came in last, mostly because he started much later than the rest of us.
But you can’t control what happens in the Barkley- even if that means a finish line collision like the one in this video!
http://www.therightfits.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/IMG_6737.MOV.m4v
 Great race – thanks for organizing Cresta/Laz 🙂 Can’t wait to see what we have to do next year!
(Visited 450 time, 1 visit today)

Filed Under: 5k, Barkley Marathons, Fits Do Race Reviews, running, Thanksgiving Run Tagged With: Barkley 5k, Barkley Marathon, family fun run, Fits do Race Reviews, Thanksgiving Run

« Weekly Recap: Happy Thanksgiving!
Weekly Recap: Not the best start to Boston training… »

8
Leave a Reply

avatar
4 Comment threads
4 Thread replies
1 Followers
 
Most reacted comment
Hottest comment thread
4 Comment authors
EricEriJessie BensonKatie Bangs Recent comment authors
avatar
  Subscribe  
newest oldest most voted
Notify of
Katie Bangs
Guest
Katie Bangs

This is the most wonderful race ever!!! Your family is probably the coolest. So fun! I think your sister could really blow this up if she wanted to- I think the idea would be really appealing to a lot of runners!

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Jessie Benson
Author
Jessie Benson

Aww, thanks Katie 🙂 I think my family is pretty cool too…most of the time, haha!

Yeah, there were lots of other people running at that park who might have wanted to join! Maybe next year.

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Katie Bangs
Guest
Katie Bangs

PS- I haven’t seen the Barkley Marathon documentary. Is it on Netflix? How can I watch?

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Jessie Benson
Author
Jessie Benson

I watched it on Netflix, but it looks like you can rent it on Amazon for $0.99!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018376TJ2/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thrifi-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B018376TJ2&linkId=25eca5cb8f3c7b9d118e467040b2489d

Vote Up1Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Eri
Guest
Eri

sounds like a very fun and well organized race!!!!!!!

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Jessie Benson
Author
Jessie Benson

Thanks Eri, it was a blast 🙂

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Eric
Guest
Eric

This was awesome! Thanks for sharing. The actuary in me panicked for a moment with the bib numbers, fearing that consecutive bib numbers would be used, which would create issues when tearing out book pages (since tearing out a page removes 2 consecutive #s). But it appears that “Laz” did not leave this issue to chance! Perhaps she is overqualified for the position!

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago
Jessie Benson
Author
Jessie Benson

Oh my gosh Eric, I can’t believe you noticed. To be honest, the sister who handled the bibs is a social worker by education…she had to redo some of them when she realized the book situation 🙂 Don’t tell her I told you….

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
3 years ago

Thank you for stopping by!

This is my blog about finding The Right "Fit." I'm an avid runner, marathon enthusiast, and fitness experimentalist who uses my little space of the internet to share my passion for and experiences with running and fitness (...and a little about fashion.)

I write mostly about running and my quest to run a marathon in every state. But you'll also find some information about different fitness classes in the Twin Cities and more.

Welcome! Read More…

First Time Visitors Banner 300 x 250
www.therightfits.com
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
Load More...Follow on Instagram
Tweets by @TheRightFits

Sign up for The Right Fits!

What You Missed

Popular Posts

  • Fits Do Fitness Class Reviews: Boxing at TITLE Boxing Club
  • Tilda Tuesday: Guest Post- Training Your Vizsla to…
  • Fashion Friday: Stitch Fix Review #9
  • Fitness Fashion Friday: Putting Your Name on Your Race Shirt
  • Friday Five: The Best Running Shorts for MEN
  • Fashion Friday: A Bento Box from MM. LaFleur
  • 50 Marathons, 50 States
  • Failed Fit: Thong Under Bikini
  • Friday Five: Five Running Documentaries You Should Watch
  • About The Right Fits
Winter Sale! Save $20 off your purchase of $150 or more + Free Shipping! See site for details
24 Hour Fitness - $0 Initiation on select All-Club Memberships

Copyright © 2019 · Beautiful Pro Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

wpDiscuz