The Barkley Strikes Back: 2025's Brutal Return to Form

Nearly at the last possible minute, the 2025 Barkley Marathons began on Tuesday, March 18th, at 11:37 AM.
After a record five finishers in the previous year's race, one of the biggest questions heading into this year's event was whether — and how — the course would be adjusted to once again push the limits of human endurance.

The 2024 race had been memorable not just for its record finishers but also for the camaraderie among the elite field. Runners launched an all-out assault on the course, with top navigators fanning out across book locations and relying on collective effort to maintain an advantage. As Lazarus Lake later remarked, with so many elites working together, “the course could not kill them all!”

What would the 2025 field look like? With front-runners like Jared Campbell, Greig Hamilton, Jasmin Paris, Ihor Verys, and Damien Hall absent, how would the veteran presence take shape? How might book numbers and locations change? What new sections could be added to the course?
We would soon find out...

One emerging theme from this year's Barkley was the figurative "revenge" of the course after two consecutive years (2023 and 2024) that saw a combined total of eight finishers.

It's easy to forget amid those triumphs that Barkley is just as well known for long droughts without any finishers at all — stretches like 1996 through 2000, 2005 through 2007, and 2018 through 2022. Looking back at what happened before and after those barren years may offer helpful insights now.

Ten hours into Loop 1, it was clear something was different — chances for a repeat of 2023 and 2024 were rapidly diminishing. After all, no runner had ever gone on to finish the full Barkley after completing their first loop in more than 9.5 hours.

In the howling wind and rain, John Kelly was the lone runner to complete even a “Fun Run” at the 2025 Barkley Marathons, finishing in 39 hours and 50 minutes. Afterward, he took the ceremonial bugle and played his own taps.
In one of the most grueling editions in recent memory — an event that reduced most of the field before the end of Loop 1 and saw no one come anywhere close to completing five loops — John was one of the few runners still moving by Loop 3 and the only one to reach the gate within the 40-hour time limit.

What a performance — in a year that seemed to underscore just how significantly Carl and Laz had dialed up the difficulty.

Following the 2025 event, there will surely be discussion about the recalibration of the course — what happened, why, and whether this version is (finally?) designed to be truly out of reach. Or, as Joe McConaughy recently described it, the Barkley equivalent of the sub-two-hour marathon.

Watch the full documentary for a deeper look at how the 2025 event played out!

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[runsingletrack]

Thanks for watching our 2025 recap of the Barkley Marathons! What were your favorite moments from this year's event? Let us know in the comments below. And if you aren't already, do us a favor and SUBSCRIBE to the channel!! - Finn

[tetchypoo]

Me sitting here with crumbs on my hoodie, “yeah, I guess the conditions were tough, but…*chomp chomp*…no one finished?’

[bobdavidson]

Greatest Barkley tweet ever: "they cannot describe where they've been"

[mlcwildlifepr]

As someone who will never attempt the Barkley (or ever be qualified to do so)- I eat up documentaries about it. Such grit and passion is amazing.

[Cheeseballftw]

2024: Five finishers
2025: And so i took that personally

[emmarunyeard]

I like the idea that not everything can be won, in a world where so much emphasis is put on winning it seems healthy to see something stripped back to a place where humans are prepared to do an event for the experience of soul and body searching rather than just winning... It feels real and raw and deeply deeply primeval... So reassuring in a world of artifice and glamour... Long live the Barkleys and long live this who dig deep ❤

[feelincrispy]

Every year someone makes a barkley doco and as soon as i see it im watching every second of it. It never gets old. The quirkiness, the comedy, the effort, the tears, the blood, no sleep. It always delivers such a raw human experience. Nothing like it

[sublime]

Some say Tomo is still out there on the Barkley course

[samholder]

Kelly blowing his own Taps got me emotional. I fucking love this event.

[heymrguitarman]

John Kelly is an absolute inspiration. I can't imagine what its like being that talented at something, that tough and strong and yet essentially unknown outside of a very niche scene. Yet he must be driven by something most folk cannot begin to understand. What an athlete

[rinrat]

"Provide a venue for people to find greatness in themselves". That absolutely captures it.

[TheVegaoscar]

this is the greatest race ever created. A "100 miler" that takes the top hardcore offtrail runners in the world and makes them look like children. absolutely incredible. Thank you, Laz. I hope nobody finishes this for the next 5 years.

[TerjeMathisen]

I really liked John Kelly's remark about how he thought this new course was marginally possible with good conditions, perfect training and zero mistakes.
Unless they adjust the difficulty down again in the coming years (has that ever happened?) we might not see any finishers in a very long time...

[canningsimon]

This is a truly unique race. The complexities of different challenges, no aids, 1 hour warning of the start within a 12 hour period, the extreme weather changes. Every year, each competitor journey's into the unknown. And despite the now numerous films about the race, Laz has managed to keep the mystery of this epic event. There are loads of really challenging races all over the world. Somehow the Barkley marathon elevates beyond all others. 2025; is there another race in the world where no one finishes?

[artfisher]

The greatest aspect of the Barkley is the founder, Gary Cantrell. Over half a century ago, Gary was a college floormate of mine. I came to know a wonderful friend and human being, who only has good will toward all mankind.

[Bonsaibiku]

Kelly playing taps is so deep- the dude is Barkley- epic year and another Singletrack gem

[alesiabock]

John Kelly, playing his own TAPS- got me in the feels, especially since he was the only one to hit a Fun Run ❤️‍🔥🎺🎺

[SirLlama]

using the keith tweets as timestamps and getting visuals of the scenes as they happen were an incredible choice... nice to see what my imagination was trying to create while following along at home.

[pdb]

Hot year, late start, new book spots, I'm amazed there was even a fun run

[johnappleby]

After last year’s emotional race and 5 finishers This year was always going to be a DNF for everyone