The 2025 Barkley Marathons has concluded, and in a surprising twist, no competitors managed to finish the notoriously grueling course. This year’s race saw only a handful of runners, with John Kelly from the United States being the only participant to complete enough laps to earn the informal title of "Fun Run" finisher, managing to complete three laps within the time limits. This striking outcome follows a record-setting 2024, where five runners finished the race, including Jasmin Paris, the first woman to ever do so.
The Barkley Marathons is famous not just for its length, but for its extreme difficulty. Set in the rugged terrain of Frozen Head State Park in Tennessee, the event consists of five 20-plus-mile loops, each offering unique navigation challenges. Runners must complete the loop without GPS, relying instead on maps and compasses while also collecting pages from hidden books along the way. This year’s course had been made significantly tougher, according to competitors and spectators.
The race officially kicked off on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, at 11:37 a.m. U.S. EDT, marking the latest start time in the event’s history. Gary Cantrell, known as "Lazarus Lake," set the tone as he lit his ceremonial cigarette, as tradition dictates. The day began with relatively cool weather, which some had hoped might favor the runners, but the unforgiving course quickly took its toll.
Kelly Halpin, one of the promising female entrants, spoke to the challenging nature of the race after completing her run. "They made the course significantly harder this year and I missed the cutoff by two minutes for finishing loop one. But it was really fun. Hands down, the hardest course I think in history, and they also gave us the latest start time in history," she shared with iRunFar. Halpin couldn’t match her previous year’s finish but made a commendable attempt, completing her first lap in 13 hours and 22 minutes, compared to her previous year’s 10.5 hours.
This edition of the Barkley had only about 35 male runners, and reports indicated that only approximately 10 successfully completed the first lap within the required time. The first few competitors to make it back to the starting point did so significantly slower than in previous races, adding to the struggle the runners faced. Observations from Keith Dunn, a long-time chronicler of the Barkley, indicated that participants were coming back to camp from all directions, some unable to describe where they had been.
The men’s race saw the strongest remain, but the attrition rate was high. John Kelly, Maxime Gauduin, Sébastien Raichon, and Tomokazu Ihara were among the few who managed to complete the first lap. However, as loop two commenced, only Kelly, Ihara, Gauduin, and Raichon made it through on time. This contrast with previous years highlights a stark reality: no competitors reached the ambitious goal of completing even a single lap without succumbing to the course’s merciless obstacles.
Aurélien Sanchez, the only French finisher from 2023, found the additional difficulty especially frustrating. He shared with L’Équipe, "C’est une frustration assez énorme, intense. Ils ont recalibré la Barkley à la hausse," indicating that the course’s new demands were overwhelming in comparison to previous iterations. He also mentioned that he struggled against the pain and the reset challenges imposed on participants for this year.
While conditions appeared favorable, attitudes quickly shifted as the top runners faced setbacks sooner than anticipated. For instance, the first runner back after a valiant effort produced times in the region of 7 hours, significantly behind last year’s marks. Kelly took the lead in the second loop. However, as racers headed into the night, hopes faded again: no runner completed the second loop in time to advance.
Eventually, the time cutoffs for finishing were approached, and hope dwindled. Despite several strong female competitors in the mix, including Dena Carr, Christiana Rugloski, and Isobel Ross, none managed to reach the finish of the first loop within necessary timelines. In stark contrast to the triumph of the previous year, a complete absence of finishers this time left participants and observers alike wondering what the implications might be for the future of the Barkley Marathons.
As the clock struck after nearly 40 hours of racing, and with only Kelly completing the three laps necessary to earn a Fun Run finish, the 2025 Barkley Marathons was officially declared over by Keith Dunn. He shared in a post, "The 2025 Barkley Marathons is over. There are no finishers," encapsulating the events of the year. This outcome amplifies the course’s infamous reputation as a race that seemingly devours its contenders, reaffirming its status as one of the toughest ultramarathons in the world.
Ultimately, the Barkley Marathons continues to challenge the determination and skill of trail runners from around the globe, further so this year when up to 20 recorded finishers in its history became but a distant memory as only one emerged with a Fun Run title.
