The 2025 Barkley Marathons has ended without a single finisher as the new course picked off every last runner over a 40-hour period.
After Jasmin Paris made history in 2024 by becoming the first woman to complete the 100-mile course – something founder Laz said would never happen – the course was made harder than ever.
It worked.
The 40 runners who start at Frozen Head State Park in Tennessee have just 12 hours to complete each 25-mile lap, and this year only nine made it to the second lap in time. Keith Dunn, who provides the only commentary of the obscure race via X, announced no runners had completed the second lap within 24 hours.
However, three exceptionally tough runners continued to fight on for the Fun Run (and that's Type 2 fun, if you're wondering), which is achieved if you manage three laps within 40 hours. John Kelly, who was going for his fourth finish, made it in time in 39:50:27, while Sébastien Raichon tapped himself out without finishing the third loop and at last report, Tokyo's Tomokazu Ihara was still out on the course somewhere.
Dunn had earlier reported that navigation was more of an issue than usual on the overgrown and poorly marked trail, probably owing to the fact that they're not allowed to use their GPS watches, or any GPS navigation at all for that matter.
"Seems a few people this year had ‘follow a veteran’ as their navigation plan. It didn’t work out for them. laz was unimpressed and described that mindset in strong words," says Dunn, later reporting that "a runner may be running down Hwy 62."
No finishers is nothing new for the race, which has seen zero finishers over a dozen times since the first race in 1986, however recent years have seen an uptick of finishers with an unprecedented five in 2024.
In the end, the only winner of this year's Barkley Marathons was the Barkley Marathons itself.
