John Kelly, a three-time finisher of the notorious Barkley Marathons, has all but confirmed he will be lining up there again this year.
The Frozen Head State Park event in rural East Tennessee is pretty much a local race for him and one he has been an integral part of over the last decade.
He was one of a record five finishers last year and there to watch Jasmin Paris make global headlines as she became the first woman to complete the five 20-mile loops inside the allotted 60 hours.
This year has seen Kelly return to the Winter Spine Race in the UK, where he finished fifth overall, and in Barkley terms he is just one behind Jared Campbell’s record four finishes.
‘My home course’
Speaking recently on the ‘Run Till You’re Done’ podcast, which you can watch via the embed below or listen to on the main podcast platforms, and when asked what might be coming up in the near future, he replied: “It’s pretty well a given that I’m returning to Barkley most years with it kind of being my home course.
“And it really doubles as a visit to family and as a short trip for me, so certainly look forward to being a part of that.”
Kelly’s Barkley expertise and experience has been a huge help to other runners in the race in recent years – and his writing about the event has also helped convey to the wider world just what makes it so special, while de-mystifying certain aspects of it too.
‘An unbelievable moment’
When asked on the same podcast about the moment that Jasmin Paris made history 12 months ago – with just 99 seconds to spare – he added: “It was incredible. I don’t expect I will ever see another moment like that in sport in person.
“It was also a complete mirror experience for me of 2017 when I finished, and I asked where Gary Robbins was – just in my mind, I fully expected he’d finished or he’ll be in any minute now.
“And then he showed up just too late and coming from the wrong direction and he didn’t get the finish.
“Whereas this time we were there and knowing where I saw Jasmin on that last loop and talking with people who had seen her at the Tower, it seemed pretty certain that she wasn’t going to make it.
“Then all of sudden, there she was. My son actually waved down from the other end of camp and shouted ‘there’s a runner coming’.
“It was just an unbelievable moment. And just seeing her push up that last little tortuous hill through camp to get to the gate was amazing – just 99 seconds in a 60-hour race, just another two seconds per hour and she wouldn’t have made it.”
When this year’s Barkley adventure gets underway, you’ll be able to follow it all here.
