France’s Aurelien Sanchez Comes In First At Barkley Marathons In Morgan County, Tennessee

At Frozen Head State Park in Morgan County, Tennessee on Thursday night, France’s Aurelien Sanchez beat American John Kelly, the last man to complete five loops of the Barkley Marathons within 60 hours back in 2017. Sanchez beat Kelly by about 20 minutes in the approximately 100-mile trail run. Many sources say the course is closer to 130 miles; it changes every year. Sanchez’s time was 58 hours, 23 minutes and 12 seconds. Sanchez had a bit of a challenge near the end because a day hiker removed one of the books on the trail, believing the race was over. Runners must tear a page out of the books to prove they have completed difficult parts of the trail run.  Belgian ultrarunner Karel Sabbe, who is also a dentist, gritted his teeth and barely finished with a time of 59 hours, 53 minutes and 17 seconds.  Before this year, the Barkley Marathons had been completed only 15 times since it began in 1986. This year 3 finished the grueling course, considered one of the hardest trail races in the world.  Only 40 runners are selected from around the globe to compete in the annual event.