We now know the identities of the first four – and only remaining – runners at the infamous Barkley Marathons at Frozen Head State Park in Tennessee.
There’s no other ultramarathon like it – click here for our beginner’s guide and here to learn more about its enigmatic creator Laz Lake.
Just 20 runners have finished the five 20-mile loops since the event started back in 1986 and this year saw the earliest ever start, with the conch blown on Saturday 14th February.
Normally the first lap is clockwise and then the direction alternates but not this year, with the first two both run in an anti-clockwise direction.
And the first of those, which started at 6am local time, saw the 40-strong field whittled down to just 12 – here’s our report on what proved to be something of a Valentine’s Day massacre.
Big reveal
So onto loop two and the forecast rain had come early just to make things even tougher for the surviving dozen.
And the carnage continued in ‘The Race That Eats Its Young’ as they were soon down to 11, then 10, nine and eight as Keith Dunn – who is the sole source of reliable information – confirmed: “Eight runners remain on loop 2.”
But as the clock ticked on we then started to get the first names revealed.
“Old French guy” from loop one did indeed turn out to be our best guess of Sébastien Raichon, the winner of ‘Britain’s most brutal’ ultramarathon just last month, the Winter Spine Race.
Dunn posted: “The first loop 2 finishers: Sébastien Raichon in 22:35:40; Mathieu Blanchard :42; Damian Hall :44. At the same time, another loop 2 runner has quit and is tapped out.”
Ultra legend Blanchard, who holds both French and Canadian citizenship, booked his spot by virtue of his victory in last year’s Barkley Fall Classic.
And Britain’s Hall has unfinished business at the Barkley Marathons, having come agonisingly close to finishing it in the past, with Dunn reporting the following exchange with Laz Lake: “laz: How’s it going Damian? Damian Hall: Probably exactly how you want it to be going.”
Max is back
A fourth name was then thrown into the equation: “Max King finished loop 2 in 24:06:38.”
American star King was the brilliant winner of the 2024 Dragon’s Back in Wales but had a nightmare Barkley debut in 2025 when he was the first person eliminated after a nasty knee injury.
He said at the time: “This scenario was never on my radar but yet here I was. That, as you can imagine, is a huge disappointment that leaves me with a lot of unfinished business. I’ll be back.”
Asked if he would get an automatic place in 2026, he added: “Not automatic but I think they [Lake and race director Carl Laniak] felt sorry for me.”
But it soon became obvious that time was running out for the remaining runners – with 26:40 the cut-off after loop two.
And that was how it panned out, Dunn saying after the time expired: “There are still 2 runners on loop 1, 3 runners on loop 2, and 4 runners on loop 3. One of the runners still on loop 1 has a 100 mile PR of just over 15 hours. We are 27 hours into the #BM100.”
That perfectly illustrates the extreme challenge that the Barkley Marathons present for the world’s best runners.
CLICK HERE for our review of the entire 2026 Barkley Marathons.
