Sports you play as an adult

The lesson to be learned is not to run the Barkley the year after multiple finishers. John Kelly was the only runner to finish three loops this year. Sounded like runners were getting lost all over the place, then the weather turned. I can’t grasp why anyone would subject themselves to that misery.

303abuser yeah I also don’t get the mass appeal, it’s basically an orienteering event in the middle of nowhere so you can’t judge it from year to year

I do enjoy following the race and the stories that come out of it, I’m glad there are people who want to run it, it seems like madness to me. Although I’m sure most think what runners like you and I do is madness too, so it’s all relative I guess.

Even the name of this thread is absolutely fucked up

Have I mentioned I’ve been absolutely ledging the ole table tennis recently?!

seanc80 lol

Smallman1 I’m ledging it at Pickleball now on Friday nights, hollywood

303abuser that event is pure madness and like you say it’s great people want to compete. It’s definitely aimed at those who want to challenge their mental capabilities as much as their physical capabilities.

This kind of stuff is very impressive imo, like the bloke who ran the length of Africa and now the length of New Zealand. He seems to embrace the obstacles he faces as that drives him to achieve the goal more than just the running part.

rhouses gym sessions for table tennis

303abuser yeah that’s the one. Sent a presentation he did after the run Africa event. It was a mental thing he did, but when he talks about the things he did prior to that, like bury himself alive for a week with only water and pull a car the length of a marathon. You realise it’s all challenging his mental self as much as physical. Very impressive.

Impressive is probably an understatement. It’s amazing to see people push the limits of what they’re capable of doing. I figure if I can capture a sliver of that, I’m moving in the right direction.

rhouses makes more sense, thought you were in the gym doing weights so you can pick up that heavy table tennis bat

303abuser is it though? No one knows what the course is year to year, last year could have been half the distance than this year, we don’t know?

5 finishers last year suggest an “easier” lap and JK’s fun run this year could be the best ever in terms of toughness and distance

This is my problem with it and most people have no way of quantifying the effort.

That being said, I do think it’s a unique and mystical event and glad there are crazy things like this going on to test the limits of human endurance

Hursty I’m interested to see what John Kelly has to say about this year’s race. Most of what I know about it is from his interviews. I get the impression that the course doesn’t really change that much year to year, unless there are finishers. The rumour I heard from this year is that one of the books was moved from the top of a climb to the bottom of a 1800 foot descent. Last year everyone said the weather was perfect, so I know that was a big factor.

I think all of the speculation and ridiculousness is what makes it fun for those of us following it. I know it’s longer than the 100 miles it’s listed at.

I was hoping to see Ihor run it again. I have a friend who’s relay team won the canadian death race the last two years. In 2023, he said some guy running solo destroyed their team and didn’t look tired at the finish. That was Ihor.

Hursty John Kelly just posted this about the race …

That 3 loop “Fun Run” hurt more than my last two 5 loop finishes. Yes, the course was harder - about 10% more vert, bringing it to _15K feet per loop. The weather was tougher too - 77F / 25C is toasty for Barkley (2 nights earlier had 4 inches of rain w/ a tornado watch, 1 night later had snow flurries ). But I also made a lot of mistakes.
It’s actually pretty intriguing, it being back to something I’m not sure I’m capable of doing. But the best measure of difficulty isn’t whether I, or anyone else, can finish. The race is meant to have goals that are out of reach but maybe possible for the full spectrum of participants. When only 10 people finish 1 loop, and only 4 finish 2… then yeah, maybe it was a bit difficult. The course, and the runners, will continue to recalibrate. And the weather will continue being unpredictable.
Rigid pre-race goals are great for motivation & prep, but for post-race evaluation they often fail to account for the actual circumstances. After each of my events I now distill my satisfaction down to two seemingly simple questions:

1. Did I do my best?
2. Was it (or would it have been) worth it?
   The answer to both questions should be the same. This time they were both yes.
   Possibly the greatest thing ultrarunning has given me is simply the ability to honestly answer both of those questions. It requires knowing what my best is, and what my best takes. Far too often people have no idea what they’re capable of and think “I gave it my all” when it was really just “I experienced mild discomfort.” What our best is isn’t nearly as important as simply being able to actually give it & having something in life that’s worth it.

303abuser aye exactly that, the mistakes element he talks about also throws in another huge variable, how long do people spend searching through undergrowth for a book in the dark?

I’ve done orienteering before, great fun but a pain in the arse when you are off piste hacking through brambles