Aurélien Sanchez became, on Friday March 17, the first French runner not only to win the Barkley but to complete this legendary ultra-endurance event, which takes place in the Brushy Mountains, a small wooded massif in Tennessee (United States), theoretically over 160 kilometers with 20,000 meters of elevation gain and to be covered in less than sixty hours.
Leaving on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, the 32-year-old Toulousain completed the five loops in 58 h 32 min 12 s, only a few minutes before the American John Kelly (58 h 42 min 23 s) and the Belgian Karel Sabbe (59:53:33).
The three men are the only finishers of the 2023 edition of the Barkley, which had only fifteen since its creation in 1986, and which had not seen one since 2017. “, simply wrote on his Instagram account on Friday Aurélien Sanchez. Forty athletes took the start of this 36th edition. Scotland's Jasmin Paris, the best competitor, finished the fourth loop just after the time limit.
If finishers are so rare, it is because the race is one of the most difficult in the world for multiple reasons. The distance, first, supposed to be 160 kilometers, is often closer to 200. The route, then, kept secret until the last moment, changes every year and you have to find it yourself with map and compass. Most of the time, runners have to navigate off-trail, in wet gorges, steep and cluttered with brush, brambles or tree trunks.
Like in a treasure hunt
As in a treasure hunt, you have to find thirteen books hidden on each loop and tear out the page that corresponds to your bib number to prove your passage. Telephone and GPS are prohibited. In the event of a problem, the competitors are therefore left to fend for themselves. All must also sign the following waiver: "If I am foolish enough to embark on the Barkley, I must be held responsible for all the consequences of this attempt, whether financial, physical, mental or otherwise. »
Selected on file, they must in particular fill out a form with questions such as "Explain the excess of positrons from cosmic radiation" or "How much butter does it take to cook a pound of liver (with onions)?" ".
Successful candidates are informed of this by a letter which reads: "You may, if you wish, spend the months between now and April trying in vain to train yourself to cover the greatest possible distance before your inevitable death. However, since no non-American has completed this race since 1995, it would probably be best to spend this time getting your affairs in order… Update your will, visit friends and family, and adjust everything that needs to be. »
This is one of the reasons why it took until the 10th edition for someone to finally finish it. Before Aurélien Sanchez, only Anglo-Saxons had succeeded.
