"The Barkley Marathons: The Race that Eats its Young"

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jonovision_man
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Re: "The Barkley Marathons: The Race that Eats its Young"

Postby jonovision_man » Tue Apr 04, 2017 8:37 am

Dstew wrote:
tayken wrote:On the bright side...what doesn't kill him, can only make him stronger. A cliche', but true



Not necessarily true. The stress fracture in my left leg did not kill me but it definitely made me weaker. The enlarged heart from too much running did not kill me, but increased the risks of heart issues and forced me change how I view running. Landing on my right hip made me weaker. Compression fracture in my lower back not only made me weaker and lost a year from running, it has also severely impact my psychological view of running. Had a friend who had perfect training, was well on his way to qualify for Boston and it was not his day and was less than 5 minutes away. Never came close again and eventually stopped racing. Another friend trained for his first marathon to be run on the year of his 50th birthday. Hurricane Sandy and stopped doing any races.

I stopped road cycling for two decades after my third big crash in as many years. Completely lost my nerve.

It is a nice cliché that may be true at times but not necessarily.


Dr. Hibbert: Mr. Simpson I’m afraid you’ve just had a mild heart attack.
Homer: But I’m out of the woods now right? I mean whatever doesn’t kill me can only make me stronger.
Dr. Hibbert: Oh no. Quite the opposite. It’s made you weak as a kitten.

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Re: "The Barkley Marathons: The Race that Eats its Young"

Postby Habs4ever » Tue Apr 04, 2017 10:26 am

I don't know if this link has been posted.

http://garyrobbinsrun.com/blog/2017/4/c ... -cigarette

Poor guy, but he recognizes it was his doing/undoing.
I wanna live like there's no tomorrow
Love, like I'm on borrowed time
It's good to be alive, yeah....Jason Gray

Running is a conversation with your body. Sometimes you listen and sometimes you tell it to stop whining and do something. - Ian

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Re: "The Barkley Marathons: The Race that Eats its Young"

Postby tayken » Tue Apr 04, 2017 11:14 am

Emphasis on HIM not YOU....did you read my post and was there a mention of the runner having all the stuff you listed?????? :shifty:

Dstew wrote:
tayken wrote:On the bright side...what doesn't kill him, can only make him stronger. A cliche', but true



Not necessarily true. The stress fracture in my left leg did not kill me but it definitely made me weaker. The enlarged heart from too much running did not kill me, but increased the risks of heart issues and forced me change how I view running. Landing on my right hip made me weaker. Compression fracture in my lower back not only made me weaker and lost a year from running, it has also severely impact my psychological view of running. Had a friend who had perfect training, was well on his way to qualify for Boston and it was not his day and was less than 5 minutes away. Never came close again and eventually stopped racing. Another friend trained for his first marathon to be run on the year of his 50th birthday. Hurricane Sandy and stopped doing any races.

I stopped road cycling for two decades after my third big crash in as many years. Completely lost my nerve.

It is a nice cliché that may be true at times but not necessarily.
On the books for 2017

Winterman 10km - (1st in age group) - Feb 19,
Chilly Half Marathon - Mar 5 (Done)
Around the bay 30k - Mar 26, (Done)
Limestone 1/2 - Apr 30,
Ottawa race weekend Voyager Challenge - May 27-28,
Spring Fling Toronto - June?
World Record Kilt Run Perth - June 24
Foam Fest 5k Ottawa - Jul 22
Pure Protein Night Race - Aug 12
Army Run Vimy Challenge - Sep 17
Marathon Du P'tit Train Du Nord Quebec - Oct 22

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Re: "The Barkley Marathons: The Race that Eats its Young"

Postby jonovision_man » Tue Apr 04, 2017 11:43 am

Habs4ever wrote:I don't know if this link has been posted.

http://garyrobbinsrun.com/blog/2017/4/c ... -cigarette

Poor guy, but he recognizes it was his doing/undoing.


Gawd that could have ended so badly... sleep deprived Canadian drowns in raging river. :shock: Kind of lucky, in a sense.

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Re: "The Barkley Marathons: The Race that Eats its Young"

Postby Spirit Unleashed » Tue Apr 04, 2017 11:55 am

Wow! A river! Coulda' drowned him.
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Re: "The Barkley Marathons: The Race that Eats its Young"

Postby Spirit Unleashed » Tue Apr 04, 2017 12:25 pm

Athlete....Maniac 973....Marathon Maniac 6645
Live the most amazing life you can live - La
marathon runners are awesomeness personified - Ian
Bucket list: http://www.tassietrailfest.com.au/
http://ultramonk.blogspot.com/

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Re: "The Barkley Marathons: The Race that Eats its Young"

Postby Jwolf » Tue Apr 04, 2017 1:55 pm

It was great to read Gary's short report and hear again in his own words what happened.
Looking forward to Gary's full report in a few days.

Also a big shout out to John Kelly (a triathlete!) who became Barkley's 15th finisher.

Meantime, this article includes a statement from the race director about why Gary's finish didn't count. A lot of people are saying he missed it by six seconds, but that's not true. "I wish I had never said 'six seconds.' He failed to complete the last two miles of the course."

http://runningmagazine.ca/race-director ... ns-finish/
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Re: "The Barkley Marathons: The Race that Eats its Young"

Postby La » Tue Apr 04, 2017 2:38 pm

Jwolf wrote:It was great to read Gary's short report and hear again in his own words what happened.
Looking forward to Gary's full report in a few days.

Also a big shout out to John Kelly (a triathlete!) who became Barkley's 15th finisher.

Meantime, this article includes a statement from the race director about why Gary's finish didn't count. A lot of people are saying he missed it by six seconds, but that's not true. "I wish I had never said 'six seconds.' He failed to complete the last two miles of the course."

http://runningmagazine.ca/race-director ... ns-finish/

And even Gary himself said that he was glad that it didn't come down to 6 seconds, and that his failure to have a qualified finish in the race was due to him not following the course, as opposed to not making the time cutoff.
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Re: "The Barkley Marathons: The Race that Eats its Young"

Postby jonovision_man » Tue Apr 04, 2017 3:24 pm

Found this very high level and probably inaccurate map:
http://www.mapmanusa.com/images/post-3d ... n-post.jpg

Tried cross referencing with this map from another race:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H-229Nq3lps/V ... Render.jpg

He was going counter-clockwise and had just got the last book (book 1)... so I think on the second map he got lost somewhere on that Bird Mountain Trail?

But he says this:
"but in my deprived state I didn't assess that I should have rapidly been heading east, and not south for more then a few seconds"

Based on the Start/Finish location on the first map, I don't see where he would have been expecting to go east? Unless that's not really where the start/finish is. And I don't really see what river he wound up in...

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Re: "The Barkley Marathons: The Race that Eats its Young"

Postby jonovision_man » Tue Apr 04, 2017 3:30 pm

... the only thing I'm thinking is maybe he took that trail called "CT" by accident, over to the left edge of the map... then came down, and cut across on the road (thus coming from the wrong direction). Assuming there's a river there somewhere, of course. But again this isn't east, it's west, so I'm still confused.

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Re: "The Barkley Marathons: The Race that Eats its Young"

Postby ultraslacker » Tue Apr 04, 2017 3:32 pm

The course changes every year so don't put too much stock in previous course maps. :)


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Re: "The Barkley Marathons: The Race that Eats its Young"

Postby jonovision_man » Tue Apr 04, 2017 3:40 pm

Alright, I guess I'm done obsessing. For now.

Is there anything this ridiculous in Canada I should know about? I know about the Death Race... sounds similarly ridiculous. That 50k version of the Barkley has piqued my interest. :)

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Re: "The Barkley Marathons: The Race that Eats its Young"

Postby ultraslacker » Tue Apr 04, 2017 4:30 pm

The death race is childs play in comparison... run of the mill ultra.


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Re: "The Barkley Marathons: The Race that Eats its Young"

Postby tayken » Wed Apr 05, 2017 6:59 pm

So, it turns out that Robbins didn't miss by 6 secs, but instead by 2 miles

The Boston Marathon has checkpoints and you have to show up at all of them or you can be disqualified…

That does not mean you are allowed to follow any route you choose between checkpoints. Now, the class with which Gary handled this terrible disappointment at the end of a truly magnificent performance…that was exceptional, and is, in and of itself, a remarkable achievement.

But he did not miss the time limit by six seconds. He failed to complete the Barkley by two miles.

Laz”

Robbins posted a brief recap of the race on Monday where he said the following: “The Barkley Marathons is not an orienteering style race. You do not get to select the route that best favors you between books. You need to navigate between books, off trail, but in a very specific direction of travel. My finish, even if it were 6 seconds faster would not have counted. I put Laz and the race in a precarious situation and in hindsight I’m glad I was six seconds over so that we didn’t have to discuss the validity of my finish.”
On the books for 2017

Winterman 10km - (1st in age group) - Feb 19,
Chilly Half Marathon - Mar 5 (Done)
Around the bay 30k - Mar 26, (Done)
Limestone 1/2 - Apr 30,
Ottawa race weekend Voyager Challenge - May 27-28,
Spring Fling Toronto - June?
World Record Kilt Run Perth - June 24
Foam Fest 5k Ottawa - Jul 22
Pure Protein Night Race - Aug 12
Army Run Vimy Challenge - Sep 17
Marathon Du P'tit Train Du Nord Quebec - Oct 22

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Re: "The Barkley Marathons: The Race that Eats its Young"

Postby Dstew » Thu Apr 06, 2017 9:33 am

tayken wrote:Emphasis on HIM not YOU....did you read my post and was there a mention of the runner having all the stuff you listed?????? :shifty:

Dstew wrote:
tayken wrote:On the bright side...what doesn't kill him, can only make him stronger. A cliche', but true



Not necessarily true. The stress fracture in my left leg did not kill me but it definitely made me weaker. The enlarged heart from too much running did not kill me, but increased the risks of heart issues and forced me change how I view running. Landing on my right hip made me weaker. Compression fracture in my lower back not only made me weaker and lost a year from running, it has also severely impact my psychological view of running. Had a friend who had perfect training, was well on his way to qualify for Boston and it was not his day and was less than 5 minutes away. Never came close again and eventually stopped racing. Another friend trained for his first marathon to be run on the year of his 50th birthday. Hurricane Sandy and stopped doing any races.

I stopped road cycling for two decades after my third big crash in as many years. Completely lost my nerve.

It is a nice cliché that may be true at times but not necessarily.


No need to be so defensive. Was merely pointing out that this cliché one always hears from runners is not NECESSARILY TRUE. I provided my own example and several others that if we want to be picky, you missed.

If we really want to get technical about this as that is where you seem to want to go, you do not know whether this result and race will make "HIM" stronger. How does anyone in the general public really know how the trauma of wondering around the woods until your mental state is completely wrecked to the point you do not recognize someone you had been running with for hours? Does it make him stronger, does it not have any long term impact or does this weaken him physically or otherwise in the next few weeks, months or even years.

My personal belief is that there will be a price to be paid when someone abuses their body as "HIM" has done. It may not be years until that shows up but to be fair, it may be so small in his particularly instance it would not even be noticeable. I have been around some fairly high level athletes my entire life and do not lose sight of the fact that training is damage your body in a controlled way so that when it repairs itself, it is stronger. But how much accumulated damage can a body take. What happens the 6th time, the 1011th time and 10,216th time you have gone just that little too far?

For every Ed Whitlock or a Ken on this board, how many others end up literally running themselves into the ground? I have been to massage therapists and physio who tell me that my legs have a story about how much they have run. When I have told them I am substituting cycling for running and cutting back the events I am doing, the universal response is almost relief as they have told me many others do not do that but continue on as they did when first running. When a couple of ice packs, some tape and they were ready to go the next day. My friend's brother in law is an example of what the caregivers were talking about : he was an accomplished runner who ran Boston until knee surgery. Then excelled in the pool until shoulder surgery. Is now on a bike and they are waiting for whatever will come of that. Which all relates to my point, that by its very definition, a cliché is a trite overused platitude that consequently lacks any import and thus "not necessarily" true is almost a self evident statement, your semantical defense notwithstanding.

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Re: "The Barkley Marathons: The Race that Eats its Young"

Postby Spirit Unleashed » Thu Apr 06, 2017 8:06 pm

Check out this story at marathoninvestigations.com

https://www.marathoninvestigation.com/2 ... edals.html
Athlete....Maniac 973....Marathon Maniac 6645
Live the most amazing life you can live - La
marathon runners are awesomeness personified - Ian
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http://ultramonk.blogspot.com/

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Re: "The Barkley Marathons: The Race that Eats its Young"

Postby Habs4ever » Thu Apr 06, 2017 8:27 pm

Spirit Unleashed wrote:Check out this story at marathoninvestigations.com

https://www.marathoninvestigation.com/2 ... edals.html

Good read, thanks.
I wanna live like there's no tomorrow
Love, like I'm on borrowed time
It's good to be alive, yeah....Jason Gray

Running is a conversation with your body. Sometimes you listen and sometimes you tell it to stop whining and do something. - Ian

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Re: "The Barkley Marathons: The Race that Eats its Young"

Postby tayken » Fri Apr 07, 2017 10:08 am

The focus here is on Boston of course, but this nonsense probably goes on in many other races. It seems people will do anything just to get into a race or claim a time they didn't work for :roll:
On the books for 2017

Winterman 10km - (1st in age group) - Feb 19,
Chilly Half Marathon - Mar 5 (Done)
Around the bay 30k - Mar 26, (Done)
Limestone 1/2 - Apr 30,
Ottawa race weekend Voyager Challenge - May 27-28,
Spring Fling Toronto - June?
World Record Kilt Run Perth - June 24
Foam Fest 5k Ottawa - Jul 22
Pure Protein Night Race - Aug 12
Army Run Vimy Challenge - Sep 17
Marathon Du P'tit Train Du Nord Quebec - Oct 22

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Re: "The Barkley Marathons: The Race that Eats its Young"

Postby Spirit Unleashed » Sun Apr 09, 2017 12:52 pm

http://lakewoodhiker.blogspot.com/2017/ ... ember.html

The story from a different perspective.
Athlete....Maniac 973....Marathon Maniac 6645
Live the most amazing life you can live - La
marathon runners are awesomeness personified - Ian
Bucket list: http://www.tassietrailfest.com.au/
http://ultramonk.blogspot.com/

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Re: "The Barkley Marathons: The Race that Eats its Young"

Postby Spirit Unleashed » Mon Apr 10, 2017 6:22 pm

Interesting writeup with links to race reports:
http://deadspin.com/the-brutality-of-th ... 1794174086
Athlete....Maniac 973....Marathon Maniac 6645
Live the most amazing life you can live - La
marathon runners are awesomeness personified - Ian
Bucket list: http://www.tassietrailfest.com.au/
http://ultramonk.blogspot.com/

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Re: "The Barkley Marathons: The Race that Eats its Young"

Postby Stampie » Thu Apr 13, 2017 12:51 pm

I wish I could find the FB (or was it Twitter) picture I saw from last Saturday's Diez Vista Ultra which is run by Gary's company, Ridgeline Events. There is a picture of Gary in the finishing area in a tent crashed out in a chair. just an FYI, it was absolutely miserable weather for the race last Saturday; rain, heavy at times all day!



ETA: It was Twitter and it was posted by Gary's wife on Saturday. I can't link the picture from here.
PB’s (official race results)
5K – 26:20; 8K – 41:28; 10K – 52:13; 15K - 1:22:43; 21.1K – 1:54:16; 30K – 2:51:34; 42.2K – 4:24:14

What is up for 2018
Feb 11th - First Half Vancouver
TBA
Planning & in my sights
Jun 9th - Puddle Jumper Classic

Run the mile you're in. Not the one behind you, and not the one in front of you - the one you are running now :) - purdy65

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Re: "The Barkley Marathons: The Race that Eats its Young"

Postby Jwolf » Thu Apr 13, 2017 12:54 pm

Stampie wrote:I wish I could find the FB (or was it Twitter) picture I saw from last Saturday's Diez Vista Ultra which is run by Gary's company, Ridgeline Events. There is a picture of Gary in the finishing area in a tent crashed out in a chair. just an FYI, it was absolutely miserable weather for the race last Saturday; rain, heavy at times all day!



ETA: It was Twitter and it was posted by Gary's wife on Saturday. I can't link the picture from here.


It's in this article...

http://runningmagazine.ca/gary-robbins- ... marathons/
Support me in my fundraising for the Boston Marathon, Boston Public Library team:
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Re: "The Barkley Marathons: The Race that Eats its Young"

Postby Stampie » Thu Apr 13, 2017 1:02 pm

Jwolf wrote:
Stampie wrote:I wish I could find the FB (or was it Twitter) picture I saw from last Saturday's Diez Vista Ultra which is run by Gary's company, Ridgeline Events. There is a picture of Gary in the finishing area in a tent crashed out in a chair. just an FYI, it was absolutely miserable weather for the race last Saturday; rain, heavy at times all day!



ETA: It was Twitter and it was posted by Gary's wife on Saturday. I can't link the picture from here.


It's in this article...

http://runningmagazine.ca/gary-robbins- ... marathons/

I'll take your word for it. The full link is not opening due to restrictions on my end here. (at work)
PB’s (official race results)
5K – 26:20; 8K – 41:28; 10K – 52:13; 15K - 1:22:43; 21.1K – 1:54:16; 30K – 2:51:34; 42.2K – 4:24:14

What is up for 2018
Feb 11th - First Half Vancouver
TBA
Planning & in my sights
Jun 9th - Puddle Jumper Classic

Run the mile you're in. Not the one behind you, and not the one in front of you - the one you are running now :) - purdy65

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Re: "The Barkley Marathons: The Race that Eats its Young"

Postby Stampie » Thu Apr 13, 2017 1:10 pm

Stampie wrote:
Jwolf wrote:
Stampie wrote:I wish I could find the FB (or was it Twitter) picture I saw from last Saturday's Diez Vista Ultra which is run by Gary's company, Ridgeline Events. There is a picture of Gary in the finishing area in a tent crashed out in a chair. just an FYI, it was absolutely miserable weather for the race last Saturday; rain, heavy at times all day!



ETA: It was Twitter and it was posted by Gary's wife on Saturday. I can't link the picture from here.


It's in this article...

http://runningmagazine.ca/gary-robbins- ... marathons/

I'll take your word for it. The full link is not opening due to restrictions on my end here. (at work)

Just went on my phone, that is the picture. Gary's wife Tweeted that same picture on Saturday as well.
PB’s (official race results)
5K – 26:20; 8K – 41:28; 10K – 52:13; 15K - 1:22:43; 21.1K – 1:54:16; 30K – 2:51:34; 42.2K – 4:24:14

What is up for 2018
Feb 11th - First Half Vancouver
TBA
Planning & in my sights
Jun 9th - Puddle Jumper Classic

Run the mile you're in. Not the one behind you, and not the one in front of you - the one you are running now :) - purdy65

tayken
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Re: "The Barkley Marathons: The Race that Eats its Young"

Postby tayken » Thu Apr 13, 2017 9:05 pm

Adorable

Image
On the books for 2017

Winterman 10km - (1st in age group) - Feb 19,
Chilly Half Marathon - Mar 5 (Done)
Around the bay 30k - Mar 26, (Done)
Limestone 1/2 - Apr 30,
Ottawa race weekend Voyager Challenge - May 27-28,
Spring Fling Toronto - June?
World Record Kilt Run Perth - June 24
Foam Fest 5k Ottawa - Jul 22
Pure Protein Night Race - Aug 12
Army Run Vimy Challenge - Sep 17
Marathon Du P'tit Train Du Nord Quebec - Oct 22


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