On April 1 at 1:42 am, the 2017 Barkley Marathons kicked off with race favorite Gary Robbins predicted to win if anyone could. He came pretty close, but in the end only John Kelly tapped the yellow gate in time to become the 15th Barkley finisher.
Barker (Runner) Race Results
All times from Matt Mahoney’s running summary page and other sources. Numbers at left do not indicate place or bib numbers, just the count of runners:
| Victim | Loop 1 | Loop 2 | Loop 3 | Loop 4 | Loop 5 | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. John Kelly | 9:29:25 | 20:18:50 | 32:58:49 | 46:26:06 | 59:30:53 | Report Rep 2 |
| 2. Gary Robbins | 9:29:27 | 20:18:52 | 32:58:50 | 46:26:07 | DNF * 60:00:06 | Report |
| 3. Sean Ranney | 9:55:42 | 22:38:42 | 37:53:39 | – | – | – |
| 4. Johan Steene | 9:59:49 | 22:38:39 | 37:53:40 | – | – | – |
| 5. Erik Storheim | 10:41:28 | 25:06:00 | 39:03:25 | – | – | Report |
| 6. Rob Youngren | 10:41:22 | 25:05:56 | 39:03:26 | – | – | – |
| 7. Benoit Laval | 9:55:41 | 23:06:49 | – | – | – | – |
| 8. Jamil Coury | 10:54:46 | 23:08:01 | – | – | – | – |
| 9. Mikael Heerman | 10:00:23 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10. Scott Breeden | 10:41:30 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 11. Megan Farrell (2016 F BFC 1st) | 10:51:53 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 12. Michael Versteeg | 10:54:43 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 12. Brandon Stapanowich | 10:54:44 | – | – | – | – | Report |
| 14. Heather Anderson | 11:09:33 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 15. Adam Lint | 11:09:39 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 16. Kathleen Cusick | 11:29:03 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 17. Henry Wakley | 11:33:54 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 18. Dale Holdaway | 12:09:49 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 19. Seth Wolpin | 12:10:00 | – | – | – | – | Report |
| 20. Jason Lantz (2016 BFC Win) | 12:21:11 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 21. Guillaume Arthus | 12:56:08 | – | – | – | – | Report |
| 22. Wen Hsiao Chiu | 12:56:14 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 23. Ed Thomas | 12:56:40 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 24. Gina Fiorini | 13:07:05 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 25. Dewayne Satterfield | 13:09:21 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 26. Hiram Rogers | 13:15:40 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 27+ | DNF | – | – | – | – | – |
| Starters | 40 | 24 | 7 | 2 | 2 | NA |
| Finishers | 26 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 1 | NA |
* Late and off course by at least two miles
Racer Notes
John Kelly finish video on YouTube shows him tapping the yellow gate in his now famous orange hat:
And from John’s first race report:
The toll that that 5th loop took on me was an order of magnitude beyond what 4+ did last year and I haven’t really been able to process and enjoy things yet. I believe in a previous year Jared Campbell jokingly told laz that a loop “extracted part of his soul” and that’s honestly how I feel right now.
Gary Robbins had this to say about his fatal mistake at the end of Loop 5:
I ripped open my map and the gravity of things hit me. I did not have enough time left to correct my mistake by going up and over the mountain again. If I did this I would have finished in maybe 60:05 and I would not be an official Barkley Marathons finisher. Here’s the thing though, that’s exactly what I should have done, and the one regret I have after now sleeping is not doing just that.
Erik Storheim finished a Fun Run in a positive state of mind:
As I touched the Gate for the 3rd (and last) time, a flood of emotions surged through me. I struggled to hold back the tears of happiness and gratitude. The sense of accomplishment was almost more than I could handle.
Race Recaps
The most famous non-finish of all time is recapped in Where Dreams Go to Die‘s recap of Gary Robbins 2016 and 2017 non-finishes:
Canadian Trail Running recapped Gary’s near finish in the article, “2017 Barkley Marathons features one finisher, heartbreak for Gary Robbins.” And the National’s Running Wild article recalled this great quote from RD laz himself:
“I was mostly fascinated by the thought of the escape itself,” Laz continues. “Not that I wanted to be a fugitive, but the idea of being pursued through the mountains by people with dogs sounded intriguing. I was pretty confident that I would never be caught.”
Which is an inspiring way to found a race..or a death match.
Input & More
If you see any other race reports buy runners or crew, or particularly good recaps, let me know. And as always, if you want to learn more about the Barkley, check out the following:
- Barkley Finish Stats
- People of the Barkley (Barkers)
- Terms & Quick Reference
- Top 10 Barkley Documentaries
Peace, and good luck Out There.
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