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Still processing
the incredible fury of Saturday's activities and emotions
- WoW!
We are all this
and more, we have Dared Greatly (some more than others
- last poke).
Every Barkley has a runner called the
Human Sacrifice; we were no different, and for good reason
they represent the essence and spirit of Barkers.
The Barkley is not a race against each
other, it is a test of human limits. A test that every
individual that toes the start line and steps over that
line undertakes to find the limits of their endurance,
physically and mentally. That is why the Barkley Marathons
model is hard, because maximum effort should be hard,
the course, the day should seek to find the pinnacle of
an individual's limit.
In our event, bib number 1 went to Anthea,
we suspect that she found out that the limit of endurance,
the summit so to speak, for her was a little bit higher
at the sound of taps, than when she started the day.
A few days before the race Anthea had gone out for a run
and put in a respectable hour and covered a few kilometres,
commenting that she wasn't sure how she was going to do
next weekend. So imagine the growth that comes from spending
hours on the Sudbury Barkley course and travelling nearly
20 KM.
During the Sudbury Barkley Anthea was tested and stepped
up to discover an Everest of endurance, for her, for the
course and for the day. This is the very essence, the
spirit of Barkers, to sacrifice, to set aside one's ego,
to test the limits of being human - The Human Sacrifice.
Only one is given this badge of honour however, that person
represents all of us. Anthea you dared greatly, you came
back with a smile; you are a most honorable Human Sacrifice
- Thank-you!
All Sudbury Barkley Barkers were tried
and tested, all of you in your own ways were emblematic
of what it is to be provided a Letter of Condolence to
participate in the Barkley. You found a suitable challenge;
you found you could do hard things. Barkers, you discovered
new levels of effort and endurandance that you didn't
know existed till you step forward at the puff of smoke.
As the Sudbury Barkley organizers we congratulate
all of you and stand in awe of your accomplishments. We
thank you for your courage and the trust you placed in
us to challenge your limits of mental and physical endurance.
Ok enough already:
Some may have noticed posters for an October 5-6, 2024
BBBackyard Ultra at our very own Walden Mountain Bike
Trails in Lively. Please take some time to follow the
link to more information and registration.(www.bbbackyard.com)
You will be receiving a questionnaire in the coming days,
perhaps weeks, about the Sudbury Barkley. We want to give
your wounds a bit of time to heal and pain to subside
before we ask you how to make the Sudbury Barkley harder
- we had Finishers.
Please note that the participants' emails are not hidden
this time, we invite you to stay in contact with us and
each other, to build community. We have shared a ton of
photos of the day. Feel free to review, download or add
your own to this link. If you have additional photos please
upload them. We did try to edit some of the pictures (no
people edits) from the game cam so please don't be too
alarmed by the fuzzy parts.
While you were on course, we kept your loved ones up to
date on a group chat. That chat was captured and saved
with the photos.
That's all for now. We hope you have an amazing summer.
We look forward to catching up with you between laps at
the BBBackyard Ultra.
Thank you for taking a leap of faith and
putting your trust in a group of anonymous sadists. We
hope you will come back next year. (If we accept you.....)
The Geezers,
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The Geezers
Creator - Andre Dumais
Ultra Human - Helen Francis
Wise Trail Wizard - Vince
Perdue
Perfect Picture - Cindy Fowler
Coughing Race Starter - David Crockett
_________________________________________________________________________________
On the start line
We
Are:
Small Canadian Woman - Shelley Walushka - Finisher
Tall Guy with Stache - Michael Rouleau - Finisher
Big Talker - Jake Geale - Finisher
Guy with Head Scarf - Jeffery Paul - Fun Run Finisher
DNF
Let's FG - Lisa Zych - Fun Run DNF
Bearded Guy - Stacy Halonen - Fun Run DNF
Small Billy Goat - Mat Legault - One Lap DNF
Blond Lady - Cassidy McAuliffe - DNF
Tall Lady with Dark Rimmed Glasses - Yvonne Marrello -
DNF
Human Sacrifice - Anthea Bradley - DNF
Didn't Make it:
Kris Cacciotti - DNS
Jenny-lynn Pelland- DNS
Dilyn Gilbert-Leduc - DNS
Beau Williams-Orser - DNS
Lindsay Henderson - DNS
Dennis Legault - DNS
 
Race Start instructions
by The Creator and the dreaded lighting of the cigar by
Coughing Race Starter to officially start the event
All pics below
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1jvV4apuWyoOdaGu2XeUjziFerRioa3Ey
__________________________________________________________________________________________
For the Record
Lap 1 was completed by:
Jake Geale Jeff Paul Shelley Walushka
in approximately 4hrs 44 mins
Stacy Halonen, Mat Legault, Michael Rouleau
and Lisa Zych came in just slightly after at 4hrs 46 mins
Jake, Jeff, Michael and Shelly left at
11:20 am exactly (5 hrs since the beginning of the race,
having spent 16-14 minutes at the Interloopal)
Lisa and Stacy left at 11:25 am (having
spent 19 minutes at the interloopal)
Mat retired.
Lap 2 was completed by:
Jake, Shelley, Michael and Jeff completed
second lap after about 4 hrs 14 minutes – coming
in at 3.34-3.35 pm
Jeff retired
For lap 3 Shelley and Michael left Clock
wise and Jake left Counter Clockwise at 15:57 (almost
4pm – spending 22-23 minutes at interloopal)
Lisa and Stacey came in after being on
the course for approx. 10 hrs 55 minutes, for a 5:15pm
finish. Last loop 5 hrs 50 minutes
Lap 3 was completed by:
Shelley and Michael - coming in just after
9pm (for a negative split and a 4hr 3 min ish loop)
Jake came in (I am less certain on this
timing but approximately 925-9.30pm, for a 4 hr 28 min
ish loop)…
3 lap finishers
Small Canadian Woman -
Shelley Walushka - Finisher
Tall Guy with Stache - Michael Rouleau - Finisher
Big Talker - Jake Geale - Finisher
____________________________________________________________________________________
One Finisher's
Perspective
Shelley Walushka
Jun 10, 2024, 8:41 AM (1 day ago)
Thank you to the amazing
organizers for creating such an incredible and wild day.
I love the concept of Barkley,
and am a super fan of the "real" event but the
thought of participating in a similar style event both
got me excited and left me feeling very unsettled.
As the days grew closer to
the event I got less and less excited, perhaps a fear
or stress started to overcome me. The unpredictability
of not knowing the route, how far we would go, would I
lead myself and others in the wrong direction etc. left
me feeling unprepared and uneasy. I was also nervous this
would turn in to a Lord of Flies situation and everyone
would be gunning for each other, rather than working together
and the shared experience I was hoping for.
As it turns out, as soon
as the cigar was lit the experience became all I could
have asked for and more.
A personal highlight was
getting through the first 3 books as a collective and
bombing down the face of Mount Ramsey. Pure Joy! And in
retrospect that first decision to go "off trail"
was an important one to shaving precious time off the
course, in the pursuit to complete 1 loop before the cut
off.
A few other highlights and
memorable moments for me included:
Mr. Crockett lighting the
cigar. My heart immediately filled with joy and hope just
seeing you at the start line
Small Billy Goat's infectious energy throughout loop 1
- ??
The determination in Human Sacrifice's eyes near Moonlight.
She was not going down without a fight. So proud of you.
My Bearded Guy's confident short-cuts. SOOOO Happy you
decided to participate!
Let’s FG pushing herself hard to make that first
cut off. You did the work, you came prepared and you sent
it! Congratulations!
Blond Lady and Tall Lady with Dark Rimmed Glasses perseverance
to go back out on Sunday to find the books they missed...
seeing you both at the bridge Sunday morning filled my
heart with warmth. Such determination! You inspire me!
Marco….. Marco…..
Big Talker’s random off-trail adventures –
always finding his way back, always looking so strong.
Mad respect for you my friend! JAKE! JAKE! JAKE! JAKE!
Mud Pits
Guy with Head Scarf giving me the tough love I needed
to get it done as he drove away to parenting duties
Tall Guy with Stache and I almost losing our Achilles
at the final Beaver Damn crossing….
And too many more awesome moments to count
Wishing everyone speedy recoveries
and happy trails in the future,
Anyone want to run a victory
lap of the course on Sunday? ??
From the Small Canadian Woman
(probably the nickname I am most proud of in my entire
life)
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