The Barkley Marathons :: Description Place Essays

I. Course Description The Barkley Marathons are run in the Frozen Head State Park and Natural Area near Oak Ridge in Tennessee. The park is bordered by two prisons and a coal mine and is thirty five minutes away from closest the city. The course consists of a twenty mile loop, which for the most part traces the border of the park. The actual length of the course is an issue of large debate however. The twenty mile figure was derived by the race director from a topographic map. Most that have run the loop feel that it is longer, since the distance associated with elevation change and winding trails isn't taken into account. Some feel that the loop could be as long as twenty six miles. At the other end of the argument is the distance that was derived from a survey crew in who measured the park to make a new map in 1993. The distances they got for many portions of the course were actually shorter than Gary Cantrell had listed them to be. On any account the distance assumes that the runner does not get lost, which is a rarity at the Barkley. The course is run on a variety of surfaces, none of which come close to ideal . Around 10% is run on rough dirt roads while 10% is run on old dirt roads which are now overgrown with grass. Approximately 20% is run on rough trails with 40% being on old abandoned trails which are said to be easily mistaken for the deer trails that are actually better. The remaining 20% is run on no trails at all but is actually bushwhacking through the forest. To add to the difficulty of the trails is the extreme elevation changes. The re are ironically enough thirteen climbs which result in more than 10,000 feet of climb per loop. This is obviously accompanied by an equal amount of descent. One runner described it as climbing 100 floors of stairs in your first mile, going back down on second mile and continuing this for twenty miles. The course amasses an average grade of over 20% and between 50 and near 100 percent grade on the abandoned trails and bushwhacking sections. The grade is the reason that the trails have been abandoned or not built in the first pace. Each climb bears a unique name which in many cases gives a good idea of their nature.