VANCOUVER — A North Vancouver man says he is haunted by a last-minute mistake that put him six seconds short of becoming the 16th person in history to finish a gruelling 160-kilometre ultramarathon.
Gary Robbins says in a blog post chronicling his second attempt at finishing the infamous Barkley Marathons that he took a wrong turn in thick fog about three kilometres from the finish line, which put him just over the 60-hour cutoff time.
The Barkley Marathons are made up of five 32-kilometre loops through Frozen Head State Park in central Tennessee and are described as one of the most difficult foot races in the world.
Between 35 and 40 runners are allowed to participate each year, and more than a thousand have attempted to complete the event since its inception in 1986.
The cost to apply is US$1.60, and successful applicants must pay an entry fee that ranges from providing a licence plate from their home state or country, to a pack of cigarettes, depending on whether they've participated previously.
Race director Gary "Lazarus Lake" Cantrell has commended Robbins in a social media post but says the Canadian runner's finish would not have counted because Robbins diverted from the race course.
