I Did the UK’s Barkley Marathons. Is This The Weirdest Ultra Running Event In The World?

130 miles of running over 24 hours this is an event unlike any I've done before 130 Mi of running over five laps with a 24-hour cut off but that's not all this event has up its sleeve I don't know the route yet we change direction on each lap and I have to collect pages from books as we go it could be a disaster just excruciating where's my squad probably the hardest thing I've had to push through this is pretty [Music] The Berkeley Marathons disgusting before you say it this might sound familiar and that's because it is it's based on the infamous Barkley marathons in the United States except I'm in the United Kingdom also in Barkley you can see how this one came about it's exactly the same concept it beit perhaps not quite as crazy but it is endorsed by the man himself Lazarus Lake the founder of the Barkley marathons the hardest thing for an athlete to deal with is UN and the Barkley presents them with endless uncertain I think what makes the barley marathons in the UK different and what makes it so special is we do the whole event for charity now in keeping with the Obscure nature of this event in order to sign on I had to bring along and donate a pair of running shoes in fact I actually had a couple going and also had to add something to the food bank from their list so I opted for shower gel and size six nappies worst thing can happen tomorrow is uh getting lost cuts across and up cannot do that I don't know this area there's a lot of rivers there's also the M5 that runs through the middle of this enough right time to get some sleep see you bright and early tomorrow morning Race day [Music] I'm like weirdly excited but also very nervous I I like to be as prepared as possible for events and you kind of can't for this event I don't really know the course not really meant to know the course I'm don't know how to get to the books because they're in these weird boxes with riddles that you've got to unlock the it could be a disaster but I'm also very excited really oh I feel very Pro today because um the Precision guys have actually come along and clearly I need some help I'm most going to do it in Cheo is that all right yeah don't if you give the okay to I've got some cereal bar that wasn't what I was looking for a boost bar something to look forward to yeah my plan is maybe one or two of them per lap sodium wise I'm a big sweater so it's a hot day I'm going to go fre already fill on with that so 1500s top up with the capsules when you can cool think we're ready yeah still [Music] good okay approaching the first box um Approaching the first box found a friend Mike here running with me uh we sort of split it off into a few little groups but uh yeah time to see how much time we actually waste trying to figure out unlocking this first box there here it is 4us 2 two half of eight he still it for us there we go he's s with this guy that's a thick one that yeah thank you thank you you go much quicker than I thought you would yeah got my page that was that was quick [Music] Approaching the other boxes hey 7 2 6 7 zero zero chest get some of these from you can take [Music] sry right all right here we go again it's bit of an eery one for that 1 6 70 I haven't actually had to do anything yet just been running with these guys and they've been doing it was [Music] good where's my squad where have they come [Music] [Music] I got the raw end of the deal I have to put the book away every time get dropped and then have to catch upo well that's the fourth checkpoint done although found myself in a lovely group of guys and uh couple of them are quite familiar with the area which is Handy but I've kind of found myself kind of coming into each checkpoint last which is great they s doing the equations and the uh riddles for me then I get dropped as I have to put the book away I can't in the bench as well oh the box is there that's literally box what what's this Wizardry the year the tower build plus one where's the sign going to take a picture that it didn't say it in the reals was it on the stone the on the front [Music] here3 one hello yet again Mark contributing massively 1536 or 1636 plus one so end with [Music] seven 1867 I can't get staff these days that sound promising we have to give this a good truck PA it won't open you try both directions yeah it's definitely it's open hes on this side yeah no one look oh the other ones turn the other way don't there 76 76 can somebody remind me of my number as well top of the tower is top of the [Music] tower woo [Music] rather meanly we descended just descended all the way down to the checkpoint now we got to go back up this massive Hill enjoying my sweets a great time a little over halfway aren't we 22 A little over halfway in the first lap… 1/2k um feel all right I am obviously following these guys but the navigation it would have been quite hard and I'm sort of just trying to memorize as much as I possibly can cuz I imagine we're not going to stay together lots of and also ripping the pages out it would appear we catching up the group after yeah that too going to run with me I got a car be all [Music] right hey One V I just one yet 1 28 28 I see other direction way you did it Mark yeah I did it again okay right team what right wel done well rather menacing route planning going on there down the hill back up the hill around the corner then back down the hill whereas I could have just gone from one the next probably about 200 M apart anyway um that is most of the elevation for this lap done I believe and now a Take Along for the next s 15K get back to base stock [Music] up all the other [Applause] [Music] way thought that said s cheese for a second there I was s a lunatic would drink sour cheese drink I might do [Music] that well that's the last checkpoint of lap one done I got all my pag of the book hopefully hope I haven't lost any got a few comets back now alongside the uh the river 7 I'm Shuffling my way back to base stock up that's what I'm doing got another lap in me for sure I am not sure about a third lap but never say never I give it my best like I'm running fine like TimeWise make cut offs at the moment but um I just not sure my End of first lap body is conditioned for this at the moment thank God that's over with right you got the Coca-Cola didn't you got some dandel and berock and a pork pie pork [Music] pie again good definitely you could have done more water out there yeah like the um the water stations really close together like yeah went through the first like oh fill up yeah and then like well I don't need much more yeah so oh fill them up for you we can get another flask do you want them to take another flask with you uh yeah actually we going to do you know what um feeling it a lot more than I was expecting after lap one definitely going out on lap two it's going to be a lot slower it's quite painful almost coming into the Hall after each lap because obviously it gives you a get out oh look at this an old classic C does [Music] it oh yes that hits the spot that's good I've lost 2 and a half kilos after one lap um so when I thought maybe I haven't got enough hydration on board I definitely yeah need to sort out there show on the road again eh looks like you're going to be self-navigating this time you know what actually I knew where I was the entire time it was fine I was actually navigating pretty well it was good though there were a couple of bits where it was nice to get the uh reassurance or don't put it in inside knowledge no no I'm just yeah your teammate yeah you going out on a second well yeah we'll go and try yeah might as well right might well man Lu Start of second lap enjoy it's going to hurt a lot I'm hurting already and I'm going to get lost cuz I'm on my own now or I can't do the maths to unlock the actual boxes do you have the codes written down I did have I sweat too much so I have to do the MK again into game fortunately they're not too hard I did do some of them but right we got to wle down the road a bit while see then I'll get running see [Music] bit on my own now um they first out onto the second lap so um this could all go horribly wrong and I get completely [Music] lost ni it's adventure isn't it I am sort of uh missing my little Squad I was running with however secretly I think we're all kind of wanting to head out on our own for the second lap he have points it's really good having the other people there they push you on at times when you maybe might Mark on his own have just eased up a bit too much but there's other points where you're just having a low patch they're pushing on and actually you'd ideally go a bit slower checkpoint number one done turns out we actually go the same way again on the second lap on the third lap which I guess technically for most people be in the night it goes the other way to really um so actually I just kind of got to follow the same thing same tracks I did on the first lap um I have just got sort like half a kilometer from that first checkpoint and suddenly panicked that I got the same page number as my first lap cuz now my page number has changed from 109 to 33 um but I have got the right one phew we're doing like an ultramarathon all right but you've got to collect pages from books as you go around it'sit schol yeah uh so I've got two sit oh actually can't better two I'm a little bit nervous about this section because I remember thinking as we're doing it these passs just all over the place through these fields and it's hard to see exactly where they went um so might be checking in again in a few minutes time uh completely lost in a field doing L down um I didn't have the code I had Approaching the boxes to do it again with the UV light but all is good we're off again woohooo Point number four incoming when I can get this gate open oh I did it the wrong way they changed on every bloody one you tell I'm losing my sense of humoro here we go again definitely feeling it we got a lot of elevation ahead of me now this is the really tough [Music] Joined by family and moving on bit oh here we go again part of me thinks Paul might be mischievous he's changed around his Little Riddles I'm just going to straight to the topoo oh my goodness I was Lally about to go straight to the top and then look I I found Cassie and a little baby at line and Reggie hello hello I think that deserves a bit of a stop I what I'll do I'll go to top get my my page and then I come down and [Music] see what's it anyone that's ever watched a GTM video before may know and remember I love a boost bar Q romantic [Music] music there it next [Music] checkpoint got a bit of dilemma ahead of me so one lap two at the the dilemma moment um and I have actually got plenty of time ahead of me to probably get as much as four try do the the maps maybe not quite five laps in but four laps for sure if I kept going like this maybe even a bit of a drop off it's very tempting and it's at least to do another lap a third lap and everyone is ging me on to do that but I also know the limit of my body and if I'm totally honest it came to today thinking well the amount of running I've done lately two laps would be awesome don't know oh we just have to see after optimistically considering a The ankle roll third lap things went rather pearshaped for me oh man I'm feeling it ankle is killing now I rolled my ankle towards the end of lap one pretty much in the final kilometer of lap one on typically the flattest part of the course running through a field and I didn't really think too much of it beyond that until about 25 to 30 km later it just started screaming at me out of nowhere now I like to think I've got a fairly High pain threshold but this was something else I just started sweating instantly I felt nauseous I was wincing on every step um and I pretty much just had to stop at times and just sit down and I was just shouting at my ankle um my body feels battered what am I now 70k in so I've got about 16k to go painful H I don't know why my ankle has just started hurting so bad so I rolled it on lap one towards the end it's been fine really like bit uncomfortable but myness it's just The last 15km become excruciating I cannot seem to whatever I do make it better man this is going to be a long last 15K this is so painful I can kind of get about a minute or so of running in and then the pain just sort of reaches a peak oh it's horrible and now that is what this event What this event is all about is all about I am I just paused for a bit actually to take my shoe off and tend my ankle see what's going on and the chat has been running behind me for quite a while I caught up uh stopped and gave me half a banana some crisps and um got in touch with his partner's back at base for to make sure that she could look after me cuz she's a physiotherapist when I get in uh it's just just lovely amazing um so far then update I have strapped my ankle up uh cuz I had some bandage stuff with me um I am going to try and walk and maybe jog a bit all the way back back I got about 11 12K to go could be a long The last 11km for Mark 11 or 12K um hopefully I can get some running in I will get round but my goodness this is hurting still got 8K to go just need to stop feeling sorry for myself and just get on with this oh man [Music] I'm definitely getting tired um just made a well not a big map or navigation mistake but def I spent couple of minutes there trying to figure out what way I was meant to go and I just got really confused and it was actually really obvious so yeah definitely catching up with this tiredness and I think actually a lot of it is just my bloody ankle it's really zapping a lot from me it's amazing what they can do but yeah this is quite a mental battle I'm having to go through right now with that but anyway I'm going to stop moaning or at least try let's get on with this running didn't realize I've had the pocket with all my pages in open 5K The last 5km left looking good got your line of Sanders run on yeah really probably the hardest thing I've had to push through this is pretty disgusting [Music] End of Mark’s race well done thanks that was bit of a mental battle H man very frustrating um I managed to walk back to Mark's reflection about the race base um 16 very slow kilometers so yeah I'm proud I got round two laps three laps was absolutely out of the question and quite frustrating CU I was feeling good up to that point um some amazing people went on to complete three laps I do think four laps is possible um five laps I'm not so sure but never say never U but obviously it isn't just about how many laps you can do there's some incredible people also out there just doing one lap and that was a huge huge life achievement and I really kind of came away from this event just sort of respecting that side of things and just have had had an amazing time meeting these incredible people some new friends and had an absolute B blast I mean who's had to complete and solve riddles partway around Ultra marathons before it was so much fun and we were doing it as a team so I'd like to say thank you to those people and also to Paul the organizer of the event because what I hadn't reals fully before this is this is a nonprofit event everything has donated to charity he donates thousands of pounds every year to charity and has a full-time job alongside this event business so absolutely amazing also precision hydration for popping along and keeping my nutrition on point they kind of probably saved my day if you can call it that um but yeah as I say amazing amazing day if you guys are interested in the Barkley marathons be that the UK or the US definitely check it out the UK one entries are opening I believe as we speak and I think we might have to sort out some entries for you guys so stay tuned and yeah keep an ear out on the gtn channel coming up soon if you enjoyed today's video please give a thumbs up give a like see you next time