Volunteers snowmobiling into a frozen aid station in Wyoming, runners braving the flurry in New Jersey, and stormtroopers guarding the medals in South Carolina - it was a wild and wacky weekend of trail racing with 31 events from coast-to-coast.

If the terms “conch shell” or “Rat Jaw” mean something extra special to you, chances are that you, like us, spent much of last week refreshing Twitter for Barkley updates. The final score: 0 finishers, a talking garbage can, and a ride in a police car. You can’t make this stuff up.

The oddity is certainly part of the draw. The race, like its creator Laz Lake, challenges us to reconsider everything we thought we understood.

In this article, Jared Beasely tries to coax Laz into opening up and offering insight into who he really is and what he believes in. Instead, Jared is given a mind-bending math problem as a means of discovery:

ABCDE x A = EEEEEE

Think you can crack Laz’s problem? It might be easier than finishing the Barkley.

🏃No Pressure: You’ve heard it from someone, “I can’t run, I hate running!” But jogging? That somehow feels easier, more inclusive. Ditching perceived pressure and invoking the irreverent, retro culture of jogging helped these 100 bartenders get fit during the pandemic.

🌳Trail Therapy: Five minutes in the forest relaxes the body and quiets the busy frontal lobe, says researcher Florence Williams. More benefits of our nature-based sport: 

• Smelling pine trees strengthens the immune system
• Hearing bird songs increases brain alpha waves making one feel more calm and alert
• Spending 90 minutes moving in nature decreases personal preoccupation and encourages connectedness

🏔️Pole Tips: Know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em. More than just a classic poker song, learning when to apply the axiom is a key lesson delivered in this video that dials in pole technique. Other tips include shortening pole height on steeper grades, how to place the palm for better balance, and avoiding a stride that decreases efficiency

🩳Super Tights: Potential competitive advantage from pacers, poles, or shoes is not a new conversation, but now enter running tights. Researchers believe emerging “superpants”, designed to spring-load the exoskeleton, may increase performance by up to 8%. 

✨Bonus: The last three items ⬆️ rolled into one ironic final word.

👟Buttery Shoes: Lululemon, infamous for their “buttery feel” yoga pants, has taken up running with a first collection of sneakers inspired by feelings. Wonder how they feel about trail lugs?

🐟Gone Fishin': Run a trail marathon, catch four fish, drink craft beer, bring home dinner, and a fishy belt buckle. That’s the short version of Troutman, a new challenge in the niche–but growing–flyathlon category.

💼Dream Job: A popular mountaineering store in MN is looking for someone to take over the reigns as the owner prepares to exit. Determined not to sell to a “faceless corporation,” the founder is hoping to train a motivated outdoor enthusiast with a starting salary of $85k.

📣Mainstream Media: NBC? ESPN? Nope, we happily get our updates via Keith Dunn. If you sometimes feel trail running is losing its grassroots vibe, Brenden Leonard assures us that, at least for the 2022 Barkley Marathons, we’re still as down-home as it gets.