Toeing the line at Barkley, 2012

Barkley Marathons: the place where dreams go to die.

I had no business being there, but in 2012 I was lucky enough to toe the start line of Barkley Marathons. I ate a lot of humble pie to complete just one lap, well over the time limit, though I retrieved all the pages. I returned home with my tail between my legs.

The race humbled me, but the lessons Barkley taught me will stay forever:

1. To maintain focus on the primary objective, with no wavering or loss of purpose.
2. To persevere in the face of adversity.
3. To constantly think about how to overcome the challenge.
4. That challenges are to be relished, and problems are opportunities in disguise.

Four years later, on the same day in 2016, the 2016 edition was in progress and there were runners out there facing this brutal beast. Good luck to all of them.