The buildings used to house the 10s of thousands of workers remain as apartment complexes in the area.įor our run we mapped out a loop course following the main trail in the state park. The government chose the location for its remoteness but also because there was abundant power necessary to run the centrifuges used to separate out the uranium for nuclear weapons. 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. Not a chance in hell I'd try it myself though.Even if you are not an ultrarunner, you may have heard of the Barkley Marathons. It is heart breaking and it makes for gripping viewing. With no markers and no GPS, can't you cheat? No, there are books at various points in the woods and you have to find them all, tear out the page that matches your race number (that changes each loop) and get a full set. but you only have 60 hours to complete it. Completely solo, no help, no markers, no water stations, intentionally fluid organisation, even no set start time. Most people don't complete 1 Lap, never mind all 5. 5 laps, in daylight and at night, going opposite directions on each loop. Invite only and limited to 40 entrants per year, to tackle a 130(ish) mile course, across mind bogglingly hard terrain that you have to navigate yourself, with map/compass, no GPS. Low-fi homespun logistics tying together possibly the nuttiest and toughest course on the planet. I've heard of The Barkley Marathons before, but this doc really nails it.
Reviewed by garethcrook 8 / 10 Inspiring and heart breaking.
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