North Vancouver’s Gary Robbins went farther than any other racer at the 2018 edition of the famed Barkley Marathons ultra-distance race held in late March in Tennessee, but in the end it was the ridiculously hard course and conditions that won this year’s event.
Robbins was the only racer in this year’s Barkley – known by many as the toughest footrace in the world – to complete three loops of the five-loop course. Completing three bushwhacking loops, a total distance of close to 100 kilometres, in less than 40 hours is known as a “fun run” in the parlance of the devilishly difficult race. Rain, fog, and a mid-race thunderstorm made conditions even worse than usual this year.
The decorated North Shore ultra-runner was competing in his third Barkley, hoping to become just the 16th finisher in the history of the race which was first held in 1986 in Frozen Head State Park.
Last year Robbins became a global sensation when he completed all five loops but missed the strict 60-hour cut-off by just six seconds. An orienteering mistake in the final few miles sent the sleep-deprived racer sprinting towards the finish line from the wrong direction.
In a blog post last week Robbins vowed that he would return some time in the future for a fourth attempt at finishing the Barkley. You can read the racer’s full race report at garyrobbinsrun.com.
