However, when night fell on day one, so did freezing rain. Runners seemed to favor this, with a total of 30 out of 38 runners completing the first loop and starting a second. The race started cold but warmed up a lot during the day. on Tuesday, relatively average Barkley conditions awaited. There were concerns that the earlier time slot could create more difficult weather challenges, but when the conch was blown at 5:54 a.m. Additionally, he held the race in the middle of the week with the race starting on Tuesday, March 8. The 2022 edition was particularly heavy on international runners after the cancellation of the 2020 edition and pandemic-related travel restrictions for the 2021 race.įor the 2022 race, Barkley creator Gary “Lazarus Lake” Cantrell threw one of the biggest curveballs in race history, holding the event three weeks ahead of when it normally runs around April 1.

Other runners like Amelia Boone, Gary Robbins, and Johan Steene were originally slated for the 2022 race, but dropped out due to injuries, moving on, and testing positive at the airport, respectively. RELATED: The Good, The Bad and the Barkley: What Went Down at Barkley 2022

This included a mix of Barkley veterans like Courtney Dauwalter, and 2017 and 15th-person ever Barkley finisher John Kelly and strong Barkley virgins like Big’s Backyard record holder Harvey Lewis, 2017 Big’s champion Guillaume Calmettes, and Appalachian Trail FKT holder and Belgian dentist Karel Sabbe. An incredibly deep field was lined up to face the beast.

Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members!įor the fifth year in a row, there were no finishers at the infamous Barkley Marathons.

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