The story goes, that the Barkley Fall Classic (BFC) was created to give the masses a small taste of the Barkley Marathons. The 2025 version of the BFC delivered much more than a taste – especially if we’re talking about the finisher rate. Throughout the history of the Barkley Marathons, the finisher rate has been 0%, but in recent years, like 2023 and 2024, the finisher rates were a whopping 7.5% and 12.5%, respectively. Historically, the BFC has had a 50k finisher rate around 25–33%, but this year the figure was just under 5%. Imagine that – the BFC is harder than the actual Barkley Marathons.
Due to construction in Frozen Head State Park, a unique start/finish route from Brushy Mountain Penitentiary added to the course difficulty this year. To start the race, we climbed the “Fifth Wall.” When the prison was active many years ago, the surrounding mountains were colloquially known as the “fifth wall” for prison escapees.
The BFC has a feature (maybe it’s a bug) that allows runners to drop down to a marathon distance from the 50k at “the decision point.” The decision point is where, if you arrive before a given cutoff time, you can elect to either finish the marathon or continue on for the 50k. This year’s theme was: IT is waiting. More on that later.
This was my third year in a row attempting BFC. In the previous two years, I gave the course a healthy respect but also had zero doubts about my ability to finish under the time limit. This year was different. The doubts started with the course reveal on Friday night, which is kept secret until the day before the race during packet pickup.
I’m not sure what it says about me, or the quality of friend or person I am, but I keep bringing more people to the race each year. Last year, I brought Micah with me, and this year we added Sam to the fold. Maybe it’s a twisted form of evangelism, but this race is perfect for soul-searching.
We arrived, collected packets, talked with some friends and volunteers, and then unrolled the map to see what was in store for us.
First glance: “Oh, ok, that’s not so bad.”
Second glance: “Well, that part, and that part, and especially that part are going to suck.”
Rumination through dinner/gear prep: “The cutoff is going to be really, really tight… like, I probably need an extra hour on top of the published cutoff – maybe an hour and twenty.”
The start of the race was perfect. Micah, Sam and I were well positioned in the field, squarely in the first 100 people to hit the first (off)trail section after a mile of circles on pavement and manicured grass. We moved well on the lower pitches of the climb with Micah setting the pace. The climb slowed with congestion as the race field began cutting trail through the sawbriars en route to the fire tower. The stairs ascending and descending the fire tower were somehow even more crowded.
The next 5 hours were spent on candy-ass park trails. I mis-managed my fluid refill at aid 2 and got a little behind on hydration, so I rushed to get to the next aid station and unintentionally gapped Micah and Sam on the final climb before aid 3. Another long climb in the park followed aid 3, and I synced with three other guys to march methodically upward. I reconnected with Sam near the top of Chimney, and we completed what you might call the “easy part” of the race.
At the fourth aid station, we were a little over 20 minutes behind our (personally set and determined) schedule. Our first off-trail descent awaited, and I was still optimistic we could claw back some time and position ourselves for a 50k finish. The descent started to shred that optimism as the temperature climbed and dust filled our eyes and lungs. More doubt.
Leaving the prison a second time, a section short on mileage but long on “steep and up” awaited. The lower third of the first climb is when the doubts really compounded. Feeling hot and tired, it seemed it was not going to be my day. I turned Sam loose and he gapped me quickly. The clouds of doubt began to solidify around the fact that my race was going to be shorter than I had hoped. I slowed my pace but continued on to the turnaround aid station, where we would double back to the start/finish area. I met Sam near the turnaround and told him my race would be over once I got back. At this point, I would still have time to continue officially, but my pace was too slow to complete the course under the time limit (see the pre-race doubts).
After the turnaround, I saw Micah and we discussed the future – and near end – of our races. The return was eventful, and it was nice to see a few familiar faces along the way. Anyone I saw at that point was doomed to not finish the race, but they trudged on anyway, and that was inspiring.
At BFC, “DNF” is spelled a couple of ways – and one of them is “marathon.” I arrived at the decision point with time left on the official clock, but between 20–50 minutes behind what I needed based on my current condition and pacing. I opted for the marathon this year. Sam, Micah and I all collected marathon finishes and left feeling as successful as we could for this year. We would not get to face IT—and I’m certain I didn’t have what IT would take on the given day. The BFC is a unique challenge unlike any other race of the same distance. Maybe next year I can bring a third, fourth or fifth poor soul to Frozen Head.