Not a separately entered race distance. Every 50K entrant runs this exact route as far as the course's Decision Point; anyone who has not reached the Decision Point within the cutoff is automatically diverted here rather than being pulled from the race, and anyone who has reached it in time may choose this finish instead of continuing. "They can, with a word, choose to end the suffering and run an easy downhill grade of less than a mile, to record a marathon finish." There is no separate start, start time, or registration category for the Marathon -- it is the built-in shorter finish of the same event.
A 50-kilometer race at Frozen Head State Park, Wartburg, Tennessee, created by Lazarus Lake and Steve Durbin to give runners "a taste of what the Barkley Marathons is all about": the same mountains, some of the same signature climbs, a course map withheld until the night before, and no GPS. Runners who miss the cutoff at the course's Decision Point are diverted to a shorter Marathon finish rather than pulled from the race.
Founded in 2014 by Lazarus Lake (Gary Cantrell, creator of the Barkley Marathons) and Steve Durbin of Durbin Race Management. The 2026 edition is billed by the race itself as "Barkley Fall Classic XIII" (its 13th running), which is consistent with a 2014 first year. UltraRunning Magazine's results archive for the race begins with a "30 Miles" category in 2014, switching to "50 KM" from 2015 onward.
| Mile | Station | Cutoff | Crew | Bag | Pacer | Med | To next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.00 | Start / Frozen Head State Park | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| ? | Marathon Finish | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
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