Singletrack

John Kelly Breaks Down Barkley Marathons & His Upcoming Appalachian Trail FKT Attempt

Finn Melanson Season 1 Episode 370

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John Kelly returns to the Singletrack Podcast, this time to reflect on the 2025 Barkley Marathons and the insights he has gained from the notorious event over the past decade. He then dives into announcing and discussing his plans to attempt the fastest known time on the Appalachian Trail later this year.


Timestamps:

  • (0:00) - the difficulty of the 2025 Barkley Marathons course
  • (1:36) - the importance of a "pipeline" of Barkley finishers
  • (10:13) - the intentions of Lazarus Lake and Carl Laniak
  • (14:58) - Barkley is not an orienteering event
  • (23:00) - Brett Maune course record reflection
  • (25:02) - whether Barkley will still be relevant after the Laz era
  • (26:10) - Appalachian Trail FKT announcement
  • (33:30) - the difficulty of beating the current fastest known time
  • (37:21) - Appalachian Trail influences
  • (43:14) - opportunities for improvement in the record approach
  • (46:28) - building out support team
  • (50:53) - how much it takes to prepare
  • (01:04:15) - mental performance strategy
  • (01:06:22) - final thoughts


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