Barkley Marathon si svolge ogni anno at the end of March on Brushy Mountain in Frozen Head State Park, deep in the Cumberland Range west of Knoxville. Brutal. Terrifying. Inhuman. The organizers of the Barkley Marathons dont care what you call the toughest trail-running competition in the world, as long as you dont finish it. (...) The first Barkley was held in 1986, but its inspiration was the 1977 escape of James Earl Ray from the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary. On June 10 of that year, Martin Luther King Jr.s assassin broke out of the maximum-security prison in a remote valley and headed into the mountains. Ray was out there for 54 hours until he was found cold, hungry, and scratched to ribbons, hiding in a pile of leaves. His captors reported that he seemed genuinely relieved to have been found. In all, Rays 54 hours of bushwhacking had netted him only a few miles of freedom. Upon learning of Rays futile escape attempt, Cantrell, a Tennessee ultrarunner, remarked to his friend (and future race codirector) Karl Henn that in two and half days he could have covered a hundred miles. Thus was the demon seed planted, and in 1986, the first Barkley was staged. (...)
Posted on: Sat, 26 Oct 2013 19:44:55 +0000
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