MORGAN COUNTY, Tenn. — UPDATE: The 2022 Barkley Marathons race has come to an end with no finishers yet again.
The Barkley Marathons is a notoriously difficult race that stretches across 100 miles. Only 15 people have completed the race, and according to Keith Dunn, that number remains unchanged.
In his tweets, Dunn said that the last two runners were Karel Sabbe and Greig Hamilton. Sabbe had found himself in Petros due to navigation errors and mistook a trash can as a person when looking for a ride. Sabbe was able to find a ride with the Morgan County Sheriff.
As for Grieg Hamilton, he was not able to complete the race and was over the time limit when he began loop five.
Original: It's hard to get ready for the Barkley Marathons. As the date approaches, runners will try everything to get ready for one of the most grueling races in the world. But every year, runners sign up to participate and show what they're made of.
This year, they took off from the starting line on Tuesday, sprinting into Frozen Head State Park on the 100-mile journey through Morgan County's many mountains.
The race has been called sadistic, insane, painful and one of the most satisfying achievements runners can achieve. Only around 15 people finished the Barkley Marathons in the past 35 years.
Officials said the route has no markings, but runners can check a map at the start and copy it down To prove they actually reach checkpoints throughout the race, books are placed at each. They are sealed by zip-lock bags to protect them from the elements.
Runners must tear a page out of the book and return with it, proving they ran the designated course.
The only measure of any comfort is the knowledge that one location will always be part of the loop — the now-closed Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary where James Earl Ray escaped in 1977. Runners are allowed to go through a tunnel beneath the prison and emerge at the site where Ray jumped over the stone wall during his escape.
Runners have 60 hours to finish the race. Weather is expected to change dramatically during the race, presenting a whole new kind of obstacle for participants.
Many runners had finished the first loop of the race by 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
A documentary was also made about the race in 2014 — The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young.