Insanity

Most of the worlds hardest races have been written about at length but there are a few races at the most extreme end of the scale that haven't. The reason is mainly that the running world is divided up as follows:

0 - 99%: Normal Runners (May at some stage run a marathon but mostly 5k, 10k, half marathons at most with the bulk simply recreational running)

99% to 99.99%: Ultra runners including but not exclusive too all the worlds hardest advertised races (Badwater, Hardrock, UTMB, Yukon Arctic etc etc)

99.99% to 100%: insanity.
Insanity is hard for me to really get my head around. The races in this category are instantly dismissed by the majority of even the ultra running community as ridiculous. To the point where most people ignore their existence. Perhaps the most widely consumed ultra running website, the excellent http://www.run100s.com/, doesn't feature any of the below on its lists. These are races without recognition from 99.99% of the running community. In the past I have been guily of dismissing two of them as so totally mental I don't know why you'd bother but crucially, some of the great ultra runners and thru-hike pioneers such as David Horton and Blake Wood have dedicated a vast part of their running careers to finishing these races.

Below is a link to the four races that make up the Badass Slam as devised by Matt Mahoney. These are the most extreme races pretty much anywhere in the world. Its literally impossible to make two of these any harder and still leave people the opportunity to finish. When the finishing rate of a race dips below the 1% mark, clearly there is no room for manoevre. So here's a quick recap stealing some of the information from http://www.mattmahoney.net/wickham/slam.html and other associated individual race websites:

Hardrock: Well advertised. the hardest (greatest elevation changes/ greatest mean altitude of the 100 mile races in the US. This is relatively normal on the scale but the top end of 99.99%.

Badwater: Ditto except this includes the traditional version whereby runners were required to ascend to the true finish of the race, at the highest point in the US 11 miles higher up Mount Whitney to todays finish line. 146 miles non stop. Inevitably this has been made harder by people whom have returned from the summit back to the start at Badwater finishing 'the double'. Danny Westergaard went one step farther this year. after narrowly beating me to the finish of this years race, he ascended to the summit and ran back to the start. Then repeated it. Two more times with minimal breaks to eat and sleep. Badwater sextuple they're calling it. Mental.

Barkley: Pure unadulterated insanity yet some of the great ultra runners and thru-hike pioneers such as David Horton and Blake Wood have dedicated a vast part of their running careers to finishing the race. To quote:

The 100 mile race in Frozen Head State Park TN in late March or early April consists of 5 20-mile loops with 10,400 ft. of climb per loop. 10,400ft per loop. That is utterly incomprehensible, literally straight up and down disgustingly steep unmarked brier ridden mud slides for 100s of feet in succesion. There is no aid, no course markings, and often no trail with long climbs of 50% grade or more. The cutoff is 60 hours with a historical finish rate of 1% and a course record of 55:42. To prove you completed each lap, you must find 9 to 11 books in the woods marked on your map and bring back a page from each book. No pacers are allowed. Runners must alternate directions on the last lap. Weather: fog, rain, wind, sleet, and snow are common. Entry is limited to 35 runners. Entry opens Dec. 26 and normally fills that day. The exact date of the race will not be revealed until your entry is confirmed. Starting time will be announced by bugle one hour before the start. Entry is by invitation. Qualifications: write an essay on "Why I Should Be Allowed To Run The Barkley". Entry fee: $1.60 plus a license plate from your home state.

This race really exists. People try for year after year on the course and some of the greatest ultra runners of our time haven't made it past loop 1: 20 miles.

Wickham 200 mile: I just found out about this, hence I just found out about the Badass Slam. Again a finishing rate of under 1%.

So whatever you get into in the future and however hard it seems, there are people out there pioneering distances and races that defy the limits, not necessarily of physical capability, but undoubtedly breaking the psychological barriers that the rest of the world adhere too. I literally don't think there can ever be anything harder than Barkley that people can finish.

There is a book on it. You can buy it here. Enjoy.

http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Out-There-Marathons-Toughest/dp/145054701X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1287497776&sr=8-1