Perhaps this journey first began a few years ago when I first saw the Barkley Marathons documentary or perhaps the collective experiences of my life led me "out there". I am now 45 year old mid packer. I ran cross country in college, but took a long break from running then came back to start running about a half dozen half marathons in 2011-2012. I ran my first marathon in 2012 and as a fledgling road marathoner although intrigued by the Big Barkley event I never expected I would end up “out there” in any way, shape or form. My goal then was mainly to complete a marathon in all 50 States. I really got the Barkley fever following the event in 2016 and 2017. I did not believe I was physically ready to take on the Barkley Fall Classic when I registered for it but was committed to training and educating myself on the event. I had also already decided on some challenging hilly and mountainous races in 2018 and believed that increased mileage and hill training combined with these challenging races would have me ready by the start of the Barkley Fall Classic 2018 (BFC) with the understanding that success is far from guaranteed at the BFC regardless of your expectations and level of training. I also felt now was the time to take my shot as the race has grown in popularity it becomes harder and harder to gain entry. I took advantage of the 2017 waitlist early entry option and secured a spot for 2018. My goal from the beginning was completing the BFC 50k distance and securing the Croix De Barque award. What your resume should include to attempt this race is largely a personal decision based on individual fitness and experience. I had run 29 road marathons since 2012 across 25 states and was seeking harder marathons and ultras since 2016 as I collected more states. I had also completed 4 trail 50k events, The Kettle Morraine 100k and the Rocky Raccoon 50 miler.
In years prior to the BFC my running training consisted of various marathon training plans and some hill and speedwork for certain events but instinctively I suspected success at this race would require a different type of specialized training I had never tackled before. The challenge of the BFC is humbling and I started with the great humility realizing I knew very little of what it would take to succeed in this event. I joined the Barkley Fall Classic facebook group after the 2017 race and started paying attention and asking questions about an event that is still somewhat shrouded in secrecy. I sought out those who had both succeeded and failed at the event to learn what to do and what pitfalls to avoid. There are many seasoned BFC veterans and Big Barkley names in the group as well. Most are very helpful and will encourage your success if your desire is respectful and genuine. I began my training in earnest by ramping up mileage in December 2017. In prior years I may have averaged 30-45 miles a week training for road marathons with a couple 50+ mile weeks thrown in from time to time. My new goal was to average 50 miles a week or at least 200 miles a month. In December of 2017 I reached out to four time BFC and Hardrock finisher John Sharp seeking some specific training ideas to build upon. Some of those suggestions included daily incline treadmill hiking 30-60 minutes a day in addition to consistent large volumes of running, climbing and speedwork. His advice was on point. Many folks emphasize the need to climb and to get in monster vertical sessions in preparation for the BFC. Climbing ability is required for sure as the event features an estimated 10,000 feet of climb, however the need for speedwork and strong cardio base building cannot be overstated. I began with treadmill hiking at 15% for 30-60 minutes 5-6 days a week for a few months and maintained 200+ mile running months 7 out of 9 months leading up to the race. Speedwork consisted of weekly tempo runs and 5-6 mile repeats at a 5k-10k pace effort. My weekly vertical gain was between 3000-8000 feet per week but mostly around 3000-5000 feet. I also incorporated David Roche’s 5 minute mountain legs workout late in the training and wished I had learned of it sooner, it is incredible! I also worked early on with stairmill workouts but thought outdoor trail hillwork would be bettter than the stairmill, this was perhaps a mistake in retrospect. My local hill was located in the Gander Mountain Forest Preserve near the Illinois-Wisconsin border. Gander features single track, several steep lines up the hill and rocky forest roads very similar to some I encountered at the BFC, and a ski hill climbing 100-170 feet per ascent and depending on the time of year it also featured thorns and overgrowth that cut me worse than anything I encountered on Ratjaw. I got in some tremendous workouts at Gander and built up great base leg strength there. This continued training and climbing work served me well as it got me through several tough training races in 2018 leading up to the BFC including the Land Between the Lakes 50 miler in March, where I learned to run more by instinct versus my GPS watch, the April Potawatomi Night 30 miler with 4500ish feet of gain, where I learned to run all night tired with wet feet, Double Blue Ridge Marathon 52.4 mile effort with 7500 feet of climb in April 2018, where I learned to run and hkie major climbs through the night and in blistering heat, the Leadville Trail Marathon with 7500 feet of gain and an ascent of a 14er the next day, where I learned about pace and climbing at altitude, and the Cry Me a River 34 mile trail race with 7500 feet of gain, my last BFC tune up race. As I told Laz and many others, my commitment to BFC focused training improved my performances at most every other race leading up to it including PR efforts at the 5k and half marathon distances as well. I had in fact improved my fitness in this journey, but specifically lacked a key component. What separates the BFC from the other tough races I completed with similar vertical numbers was the SUSTAINED LONG CLIMBING cardio efforts it requires. BFC tradition prevents me from giving you a turn by turn walkthrough and the course will change each year anyway but SUSTAINED LONG CLIMBING and having the ability to run after those climbing sections will always be the cornerstone of the race. If you live in a mountain area where you can replicate 1500-3000 feet ascents you have a BFC training playground. If you are a flatlander like me you must accept that you start at a serious training disadvantage. That being said flatlanders from across the country finish this race every year and find ways to adapt. Smaller hill repeats are great training but do not provide the SUSTAINED LONG CLIMBING and cardio strength required at the BFC. In retrospect I would have skipped some races and committed to one or more trips to Frozen Head State Park to run the park trails. This type of training would have not only prepared me more for some sustained climbing but would have helped me familiarize myself with the park trails. I would also advise training with full hydration bladder and vest with full bottles as many races don't require that level of constant self sustaining hydration I found that the BFC did. The added weight of the vest running and climbing certainly adds another factor to prepare for.
BEYOND THE BRIARS - RACE NUTRITION PLAN
The front runners are out there 9 hours plus. Mid and back of the pack runners are going to be out there a long time, perhaps 11-13 hours for a 50k or even marathon finish. Plan and prepare for sustaining your physical efforts and energy accordingly. SWORD drink is provided at all aid stations and as a SWORD ambassador it was my regular training drink of choice already. You should order and practice with SWORD ahead of time if you have never had it. SWORD is also featured at all Durbin Race Management events. There is plenty of water and SWORD on the course, but do not expect it to be cold like at other ultras you may have attended. These aid stations are small and remote and the water is in in gallon jugs just like the real Barkley water fill! Don’t expect Coke, Mountain Dew, icy or even cold drinks at any point other than maybe the prison where I got an awesome ice and water pour straight from the cooler! The BFC aid stations were more ample than I had read about but offered mostly trail mix, fruit snacks, beef stick pieces, cookies and cut up granola bars. I trained with and packed Poptarts and Clif shot blocks in my vest along with 5 tortillas filled with mashed potatoes that had worked well in shorter training runs. The tortillas proved too dense and cumbersome though for this race to carry for extended periods. I had ample salt stick capsules as well. Train and practice with what works for you and don’t count on anything to be provided, just don’t overload your pack. I had water poured over my head several times as I was burning up along the way but never took advantage of the option of dipping myself in a creek, which many runners did to lower their core temperature. You have several opportunities to do that along the way.
BEYOND THE BRIARS - RESEARCH AND MAPS
Do your homework! Despite the racecourse changing and being secretive you can still prepare and familiarize yourself with how the course is marked, potential trouble spots and where the challenging climbs may occur. Research and study wise I obtained a copy of Frozen Ed Furtaw’s book which provided not only an informative and entertaining narrative of the history of the Barkley and trails in Frozen Head State Park, but his measured distances between points you may find on the race course as well. I read almost every race report I could get my hands on from 2014 to the present. I also obtained a $3 park map right to my mailbox by simply calling the park office. I found the cloth map provided at the race to be more than ample once I was out there, but I also had not only the cutoff times on a notecard but the trail blaze colors on the card in the sequence when I would be seeing them. This knowledge coupled with the provided signage more than carried the day for me navigation wise and I referenced my cloth map only maybe three minor times to doubly confirm some points. It is your race ultimately and don't blindly follow the crowd. This was not really a problem for me as I was alone at the back of the pack most of the race! I never utilized the compass I brought or the additional park map during the race. Get your map early at packet pickup, talk to some friendly veterans about sticky points if you are confused then prepare a small index card laying out the progress of the course, blaze colors and cutoffs, place that card in a sandwich bag, tuck it in your vest and you should be fine. Courses change every year but most of the course remains on park trails so don’t panic about every contour line on the map.
BEYOND THE BRIARS - PACING
Pacing was my biggest mental challenge going into this race. It is a unique challenge to consider when most Ultras reward a slower start and easing into a steady pace. How do you know how fast or how far you have to go to beat the cutoffs? I am not a slave to GPS or other technology by any means but do like to use it to keep a general idea of my pace on roads and trails and overall pace for cutoff purposes in ultra events. Consistent with the rules and spirit of the BFC I had only a Timex marathon watch that served me well. The advice you hear over and over again from Laz and most runners about this race is you have to run the runnable parts of the race and move with a purpose at all times. Let that concept guide you with pacing. Your watch and the cutoffs in terms of hours should instruct your required effort. at my level of fitness the course never really allowed any kind of steady pace anyway for more than a mile or so. That being said I also think the advice to “redline” the whole race is not practical either for most athletes. Many runners are injured or drop in this race from heat exhaustion or other related maladies from undertraining, overtraining, and physical exhaustion or injury. There are even Ranger EMTs providing medical attention to those vanquished. It is also not uncommon for some runners to drop out of the race at the first aid station.
BEYOND THE BRIARS - PHOTOGRAPHY
When I first signed up for the BFC and saw all the amazing photos from previous years I thought about purchasing a GoPro or small camera to document my time out there. This event will take you to amazing places you may never get to again and many breathtaking, shock and awe inspiring views you are not allowed to experience outside of the event day. Some runners carry their phone in airplane mode for pictures. I mean what is cooler than Barkley pictures chronicling your time out there? I will tell you what is more rewarding and cooler, finishing the race. Most pictures and YouTube videos do not do the course justice. You will never likely capture the right angle or depth of field to appreciate the awe inspiring majesty of the Ratjaw and Testicle Spectacle climbs. There are a million photo ops out there and it would also be easy to get carried away taking too many pictures. As I continued my training a member of the BFC veteran advised you can either be a photographer or finisher in this event. I took this advice to heart and took no pictures during the race and have no regrets. I promise your personal experience out there won't soon allow you to forget this unique event. Depending on your mental focus and level of fitness the choice is yours. There are also well positioned professional and amateur photographers on the course that provide free photos online after the race. In addition to the poor quality of your cell phone photos those selfies may eat away your precious time, distract you from the tasks at hand and lest you end up a photographer instead of a finisher.
MY TIME OUT THERE - PRE-RACE EVENTS
Traveling in from Nashville a couple hours had us there within the first couple hours of packet pickup at the Coalfield High School. I would imagine the check-in at this race is normally a energy packed area as the course map is first distributed there, but this year with Laz just making back just in time added another level of positive energy and excitement. We collected the map, shirt and assorted goodies including a compass and safety whistle and Morgan County wildlife guide. I also had the honor to meet 3 time Big Barkley finisher Jared Campbell, who presented as a cool, calm and collected, friendly gentleman. His composure and humility is no doubt one secret of his Barkley success. Jared informed us he would be punching bibs at the prison ladder. I had no idea at the time how important that bib punch would be to my day. There was a sign directing people down the hall to Laz, who had arrived on a redeye flight from Oregon just a few hours earlier after completing the last 16-17 miles of his Lazcon adventure traversing the United States on foot. Laz was sitting with two chairs next to him like a Southern Santa Claus with his walking pole and signature red checkered flannel. There was a brief line to speak to him and as we approached he got up for a smoke break and we followed him outside. He lit a cigarette just as I approached for a picture with him, which was a great moment! I thanked Laz for his down to the wire efforts in making it back in time for the BFC and thanked him for the journey his event provided me. I explained to him how my training had helped me improve through the year in completing some tough race challenges. He wished me a sincere good luck and promised I would be challenged out there pursuing the 50k finish.
We checked into where we were staying and by the time we got back it was time for the pasta dinner and showing of "Where Dreams Go To Die" as well as the Coalfield High School football game that was a new addition to this year's BFC event. It was great meeting many folks from the BFC Facebook group for the first time in person as well as a new friend, Tim Dines, a now 5 time BFC finisher and Big Barkley competitor. Tim struck me as a class act and a serious competitor who did not take himself that seriously, perfect Barkley traits. By the time we were seated in the packed cafeteria area the movie had started and we had to move some chairs for our group as well as Laz and his wife Sandra who joined us. I didn't want to pepper Laz with too many questions as he told us he had traveled all night with little to no sleep and had not eaten in the past 24 hours before the pasta dinner. I asked him how his body responded to not having to walk anymore and he said his body was glad!
After a few words from Laz and Jared the packed cafeteria made its way out toward the Coalfield football field just in time for the National Anthem. With all the sarcasm and joking on the BFC Facebook page I am kind of surprised nobody ever mentioned the Coalfield Football team was ironically named the Yellow Jackets and they had a fitting mascot logo! Laz was honored in a pregame ceremony on the field not only for his completion of the Lazcon United States journey, but more importantly his substantial donations and contributions to the Coalfield High School and Community.
It was great taking in some of the game and exchanging last minute thoughts with many friends new and old on the challenge that awaited us before heading back to the cottage. We also stopped at the new Brushy Mountain Distillery, which sells not only flavored moonshine but also a wide variety of Brushy Mountain Penitentiary logo and souvenir items. The prison in the distance was also eerily foreboding at night! I knew I would be seeing plenty of it in the morning. Getting back to the cottage I did a final map review and gear check and really didn't get to sleep until after midnight. Morning came quick and we were on the road to the race!
MY TIME OUT THERE - RACE DAY
Pulling into Frozen Head State Park in the dark for the first time that race morning was exciting yet unfamiliar despite watching many videos and footage of the park. As we pulled into the lot towards the race start and parking area I was surprised to see non other than Laz himself directing traffic! Several excited folks were approaching him in the middle of the road for pictures while he was waving people through. Although a joint effort to be sure with Steve Durbin it was readily apparent Laz puts his heart into this race and is ready to wear many hats on raceday! As we made our way to the start we lined up towards the middle front. My friend and four time BFC 50k finisher Gina Fioroni was not feeling well at all and I was hoping she could stick it out to keep her streak alive.
Laz issued a brief statement on trail etiquette informing runners who "did not want to finish" to not block the trail for those who wanted to finish and were going to be running up the mountain. With that the cigarette was lit and we were off down the road. I had been told you wanted to get out fast to avoid bottlenecks after the road section once the race hit the singletrack. I took a aggressive but controlled pace down the road and felt ready to climb. About halfway up the first climb I started noticing my heart rate was spiking hard, rather unexpectedly and I slowed down and leaned on a tree off trail several times to let others easily pass by. I made my way to the top of the first climb fairly winded and knew I had a long way to go, especially to make the 50k cutoff. I also made a major mistake not filling my hydration bladder from the start of the race. I had two bottles of SWORD but really could have used some water. After descending and moving pretty well downhill, even passing several of those folks that had passed me I began to climb again and someone later said the first few miles may have featured over 3000 feet of climb. I was winded and out of water having gone out too fast and was grateful to a lady ahead of me that offered me some water twice. I was optimistic the first aid station was close, but another hour passed and when I finally made it there some 8-9 miles later it was less than 30 minutes to the 4 hour Marathon Cutoff. There were also several folks who were quitting at or before that first aid station and I knew I had to get moving. I probably was only about 20-25 minutes ahead of the Marathon Cutoff when I left. The next section I pushed to make up some time but found myself sitting on rotted stumps, rocks and logs. in addition to the spiking heart rate my legs were seizing and cramping like I was at mile 23 of a fast road marathon. I was puzzled and disappointed my body was not responding better on the day I had been gunning for the past ten months, but the only way was forward. After numerous "are you ok?" inquiries and explanations by passing runners one man asked and understood saying "no explanation necessary". After the next bib punch I knew I would have a shot at some more runnable areas with the signature time and soul sucking climbs still incomprehenisbly far ahead. This section was well marked with confidence banners but started with a mud arrow painted on a paper plate indicating to turn left. The only pace I was now concerned with was "cutoff pace" between sections. I pressed on the rocky trail roadish section and avoided a few large water/mud spots in the middle until I couldn't anymore and just plodded through the water dropping to a knee at one point and not thinking much of it as I had raced farther with wet feet before. I finally hit the road section I was anticipating and knew I was close to aid at the church. I pressed hard down the road as the temperatures rose I knew I had little time to spare. When I rolled into the church aid station I was immediately greeted by Jennifer Raby who took expert control of the situation and poured water on my head and neck and hat, for which I remain eternally grateful. I laid my hydration vest down and devoured two pop tarts and some SWORD, a great combo. It was about this time I realized I had about a 30 minute Marathon cutoff buffer and the 50k had slipped my grasp. I had to adjust my goals on the fly and stay positive. I started up Testicle Spectacle and started thinking back to the Barkley documentary and Frozen Ed's saying that named the climb. I laughed and repeated the saying out loud to no one in particular several times and dug into the climb. My Mechanix gloves were put to their first use as I grabbed at briars and any loose cables or vegetation to pull myself up portions of the climb. I knew I still had to summit the climb, descend Meth Lab Hill and a short road section to get to Jared Campbell at the final Marathon cutoff, the prison. I passed several runners along the way and felt my hard earned climbing legs responding for the first time in the race!
As I passed the gate with the Happy Birthday sign a picture was snapped and I knew the worst of Testicle was behind me. I saw several folks sitting down and warned/informed them of the pending prison cutoff as time was slipping away. I thought to myself that I had already endured far too much suffering to miss the cutoff and walk away with a DNF. Then my mind went to a place where I though not only would I DNF but I would not even get to test my mettle on Ratjaw, which still waited beyond the prison cutoff in this years race. I pushed hard down Meth Lab, sliding on my butt steep drop off sections down at points that I would likely go down on all fours backwards if given another chance. I went through a short trail section at the bottom and finally made it to the road. I looked at my Timex and the prison in the distance and hit the road hard. There was tourist traffic ahead as the prison was now doing tours. I navigated some head on car traffic and laughed thinking these folks must wonder what the hell all of us idiots were doing out there running toward the prison. I never stopped running and went through a small neighborhood where some teenagers cheered me on also. Approaching the prison entrance a panicked young volunteer came running toward me from a aid station tent yelling "Sir!!! You have 13 minutes to go .7 miles to the prison cutoff!! What can I get you???" It was the most uplifting and heartwarming moment of the day. A few feet more I took the pack off and a man poured ice and water into my hydration bladder right out of the cooler, then more water on my hat and head. I thanked these guys and kept pressing towards Jared Campbell at the Brushy Mountain Prison. I was pointed to the left side of the prison wall as the tours changed this part of the course from going through the prison cell areas. Although I did not know the prison schematic I was happy to just run through the side entrance and across the prison yard towards the ladders on the wall, which I also later learned were provided by the local fire department. To say the locals get behind this event is an understatement! Upon reaching the ladders a volunteer warned me to be careful ascending and I agreed telling him I hope my legs didn't seize up halfway! I quickly made it up and down the ladders and now was face to face with the 3 time Big Barkley finisher, Jared Campbell once again.
I told Jared that things had not gone as planned for me as is often the case in Barkley events and that his punching my bib with 7-9 minutes left on the cutoff was my "yellow gate moment". I had "made it" but was far from the finish. We discussed some Meth Lab descent tactics and he laughed and sent me towards the prison tunnel. I had a headlamp in my pack but didn't want to exert the effort to get it out so I cautiously made my way through the tunnel with water only lightly running under the very bottoms of my shoes. I had read about the line of concrete down the center of the tunnel but also decided there was no reason to balance on it as the water level was so low. Soon I was climbing out of the tunnel and about to get my first glimpse of Ratjaw in person. Nothing I have seen in gopro videos, documentaries or still photos does it justice, except this one below someone took this year, this is the entrance climb!
The later in the day you end up on Ratjaw you suffer not only hotter afternoon temperatures but less things to grab to pull yourself up it. I had a couple of tufts of grass come out on me sending me sliding down a few feet back. One back of the pack benefit was the well chronicled briars were so trampled by the time I got to them that they were largely avoidable and I had earned worse scratches from Gander Mountain thorns over the summer on my home training course. I had to share my "x marks the spot" ratbite knee photo though!
Climbing up to about the middle of Ratjaw my watch read 4:30 and the 50k cutoff had passed me by miles. I sat on a stump an looked down at the beautiful sky and trees and found it hard to find true failure in that moment. I pressed on to the halfway point where a service/fire road intersects Ratjaw and saw some Park Ranger/EMT folks on ATVs evaluating people who had to be extracted off Ratjaw for heat exhaustion and other maladies. They joked about Laz and diplomatically told a man to get comfortable there as he was safe but had a long while to wait before they could get him down.
I pressed onward and reached the well documented rock/boulder wall section and found my way to the opening through it and passed onward and upward as the climb steepened and I got my first glimpse of the fire tower albeit far away still! It took me about 2 hours total to summit the Rat! As I almost made it to the top the heavens opened up and I got my first taste of random "Frozen Head Weather". It stopped briefly but when I had fully ascended the stairs to the top of the fire tower I got the full blast downpour bonus with my bib punch! The gracious volunteer bemoaned his decision not to bring his poncho as I took in the majestic sights from reaching the highest scenic point in the race and cooled myself off as the rain pounded me.
I worked my way down the last section of trail and wished my feet could travel faster. I wasn't facing any cutoff pressure but still wanted to run when I could. I felt a burning sensation on the bottom of both my feet that I assumed was blisters. It felt like I was running barefoot on hot coals and slowed my progress considerably. I came to find out later my feet had zero blisters but were macerated from getting soaked multiple times earlier and never really drying out due to constant sweating. After considerable run hiking the last trail I finally made it to the trail toward the Laz checkpoint. As one of the last few marathon finishers I was not sure he would even still be there, especially after everything he had been through walking a marathon plus every day the four months prior. My final moment here was not the one I had dreamed about for months as most Barkley moments are not as imagined for most folks. I had visualized with perfect clarity and rehearsed in my mind meeting Laz, collecting my poles from my drop bag and boldly making the cutoff and continuing up the Chimney Top trail toward my Croix De Barque finishers award. The true reality now was that I was 2.5 hours past the 50k cutoff and my drop bag had already been relocated to the finish area. As I came face to face with Laz for the final time, sitting in a camp chair with a yellow rain poncho, I told him I found his 50k event to be beyond my current training pay grade and that my yellow gate moment was with Jared hours earlier on the prison wall just making the Marathon cutoff. I recalled Laz in the Barkley documentary talking about the concept of how participants come to their own understanding and definition of what success and failure is "out there" and in that moment I fully understood the magnitude and meaning of what he was saying as I was neither overjoyed with a Marathon finish but also did not feel the sting of a complete failure or DNF. Laz kindly punched my bib and said it was all ok as I could always come back next year, hook planted in the mouth of a dead fish. I was so mentally and physically exhausted that as I moved away towards the finish I noticed Jared Campbell had relocated from the prison wall and was there the whole time smiling as I was talking to Laz!!
As I made my way down the road towards the end of the toughest 12 hours of my life I heard my name and saw my friend Carey Allen from Virginia cheering me towards the finish and then as I got closer I heard the louder cheers of the entire TEAM SWORD tent calling my name toward the finish and I crossed the line and met Steve Durbin after receiving my dog tag. I told him I would see him at the Tunnel Hill 100 in November and then made my way towards the SWORD tent where I was greeted with much appreciated love and a finishing team photo. Mostly warm all day it did not matter, SWORD kept me in the race, my heart and determination did the rest. I trained with SWORD the past few years and was proud to not quit on them in this race chasing a cutoff of less than 30 minutes for 20 mountain miles.
After decompressing and rehydrating I learned my friend Gina Fioroni overcame her sickness and was still on the course chasing her 5th Croix! I'm not going to tell you the full story of all the obstacles Gina overcame that day as that is not my story to tell, that honor belongs to her. I can tell you though in 2017 she completed a full Big Barkley loop under cutoff time. I had one last epic Barkley moment cheering for her as she crossed the finish line in 13 hours and change less than 8 minutes under the 50k cutoff leaving it all "out there". It was my honor to take this photo of her with Steve Durbin as witness and celebrant of her epic accomplishment.
