A 135-mile race in subzero temperatures was ‘easy’ compared to this exclusive ultramarathon through the Tennessee wilderness

The Barkley ultramarathon is a 100-mile race held at the end of every March in Frozen Head State Park, Tennessee. It consists of one 20-mile circle that racers complete a total of five times. Many consider it the most grueling race in the world including Ed Thomas who ran the race for the first time this year. He was the 15th racer, out of 40, to complete the first circle with a time of 10:49:05, but he couldn’t find a critical course marker during the second round and was forced to pull out of the race. Regardless, Thomas’s account of the experience is nothing short of inspirational and might even motivate you to go for a run, or two.