Back in the days of the COVID pandemic, a race popped up on my radar that was just an hour's drive from home. It was a 55km trail race in November, and it would mimic some of the traits that are more commonly associated with The Barkley Marathon. This new race was Bar-ka-koo - 5 laps of 11km, run in alternate directions, where one had to collect and carry a log on every lap as proof you'd been to each of the checkpoints. With a 10-hour cut off, it was either a very generous time limit even with the snow, or it was going to be one heck of a tough course. It turned out to be the latter, and with just 4 solo finishers that year and no teams finishing, it began to gain a reputation for being a darn hard race. I was one of the finishers that year in 9 hours and 4 minutes - whether it was the deep snow and bitter cold weather that year that made it a hard slog, or whether it was the brutal course that had my body aching for a week afterwards I don't know, but I knew one day I'd want to go back.
Being a November race, one of the things that appealed to me was running in the snow. The trails at Chickakoo can be run any time of the year, but very few run during the winter as it brings the extra challenge of the cold and the snow. I loved that extra challenge when I raced it back in 2020, but whilst I've wanted to do Bar-ka-koo as a soloist again, I refused to do it when the trails are bare - the one year they did have snow again, I was over in the UK and was unable to compete.
This year, the fall weather has been mild yet again, but I felt drawn back to Bar-ka-koo and really wanted to do it for a bit of fun to finish off my racing year. It came just a month after the Worlds and I wasn't sure how I'd feel. I decided that rather than soloing, I'd ask my good friend Barb if she fancied doing it as a two person relay team - of course she said yes, and so we found ourselves registering our team as The Almost Golden Oldies, and waited in anticipation for race day.
Race day arrived and the weather was perfect for running - 4 degrees with a sun and cloud mix, and the ground 99.9% bare of snow. I was still hoping that we'd have some snow on course, but all we had were slight dusting here and there, which did turn icy as the day wore on making for some quite tricky stretches.
We arrived with plenty of time to spare, and having grabbed our bibs, we set up our mini camp which consisted of just a hammock chair, a poncho and blanket, and supplies of food and drink for the day. Barb would be heading off first, completing legs 1 and 2, I'd be doing 3 and 4, and assuming we still had time, we'd complete the final leg together.
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| Waiting for the start :) |
It was a sell out year for the race this time around, and the start was certainly far busier than the inaugural year back in 2020. We had no expectations for the day - the goal was to have fun and hopefully finish within the time limit. We had two hours to complete each lap which sounded like plenty of time, but then I knew how tough the course was and there was a possibility it might be tight - I guess time would tell.
I had a good couple of hours to wait until Barb finished her first lap, so I busied myself by reading for a short while, and then just people watching. I also got to have a chat with a few friends who were helping out or waiting to run their relay leg, and it was actually quite nice to just sit and relax for once. The sun was out but it wasn't exactly toasty warm when sitting around, so I ended up changing into warmer clothes and throwing a blanket around me. I enjoyed some lentil soup whilst waiting and endless cups of tea, and after about 80 minutes, runners started coming in.
Due to the lack of snow, the organisers had added an extra kilometre or so to each lap in an attempt to make the course as challenging as possible. Given the extra distance, I was surprised how fast everybody was completing the first leg. My interest of course was on how Barb was doing, but I was curious about the ladies race - I've held the course record for five years now and I knew there were some speedy ladies racing today - I was convinced the record would fall, and when the first lady ran a little over 90 minutes, there was absolutely no doubt in my mind. I knew I'd be sad if it did go, especially as there was no snow like the year I ran it, but then records are meant to be broken!
Barb did extremely well on leg 1, completing it in 1.45 as she handed over the first disc for stamping. She seemed happy enough and was looking good, and having ng dropped her jacket at the end of lap due to it being far warmer than we thought, she headed off to complete the loop in a clockwise direction. I think I heard her say, "gosh, that was hard!" but I couldn't be sure....
Given Barb's excellent run so far, I anticipated that she'd be back in another hour and fifty minutes, so I started to get myself ready for my stint out on the course. My laps would mostly be in the dark, so I needed to ensure I had a head torch as well as sufficient clothing to keep me warm, just in case the temperature dropped more than expected and I started to feel the chill.
By 3.30pm, I figured she'd be through within the next 10 or 15 minutes, but when I was still waiting for her arrival half an hour later, I began to get concerned. It was starting to go dark, there's no cell service out there, and I was worried that she'd either got lost or had fallen and hurt herself, and was taking a while to walk back.
Thankfully, just after 4pm, I saw her running into the transition area, calling to me that she'd got lost. I didn't care - I was just glad she was ok. Now it was up to me to make up any lost time I could, and hopefully give us enough time to finish. Once Barb had checked in, I took the two wooden discs she'd already collected and tucked them in my belt pouch - I needed to show them at each checkpoint to confirm I'd not skipped any.
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| Relay handover :) |
Being late afternoon, the sun had already started to set, and so I was sure to take my head torch with me as it was guaranteed that I would be running in the dark for the next few hours. It hasn't gone too cold at that point and I was feeling somewhat overdressed with two layers and a vest, but it was highly likely that it would go a little more chilly as the evening wore on.
As I started lap 3, there wasn't anybody else close by, and I was definitely running solo for quite some time. It has been a good 5 years since I'd last done this race, the course had changed slightly, and given that it would soon be dark, I was a little concerned that I too would get lost. Whilst the course is marked, it is minimal, and runners really needed to pay attention to ensure they stayed on course.
The first checkpoint was at the Warden's cabin, and I vaguely remembered that it was only a couple of miles or so away. I recalled some single track trails with lots of steep ups and downs, and it wasn't too long before I hit that section of the trail. I wasn't running particularly quick, but I caught up a few of the solo runners and due to the nature of the course, I couldn't immediately pass. I sat in behind them, but when we hit the climbs, I really felt the strength in my legs and found myself powering past them. I was feeling great and given the lack of snow, I was moving pretty quickly and it wasn't too long before I heard the chatter at the first checkpoint.
There were quite a few people at the Warden's Cabin checkpoint, some of which I knew, but I didn't want to waste too much time there as I really wanted to give Barb and I as much time as possible on the final leg to ensure that we received a finisher's medal as opposed to a DNF. I showed the volunteer the two discs Barb had already collected, I collected the third one, and continued on my way.
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| In my happy place on lap 3 |
The section after the cabin started off on a downhill but whilst I could kind of see where the trail went based on how flat the vegetation was. there were not clear markers to indicate I was going the right was. In the snow, it would have been easy to just follow the footprints, but it was definitely more difficult to be certain of the route in these more wooded and overgrown sections. I hesitated at one point, not really sure whether I needed to go up or down - up seemed the most likely, so I started going up the trail. A minute or so later, I bumped in to some of the runners I'd just seen at the cabin, but they were going the opposite way, and I then realised my mistake. I asked the next runner if he was on leg 3 and when confirmed that he was, I promptly started to follow him. As we made our way back down the trail, I spotted the section where I had just gone wrong and committed it to my memory - next time I came through, it would be well and truly dark and likely fewer people around, so I needed to be sure I had a marker that I would recognise so I didn't make the same mistake again.
The next couple of miles, I was running solo again, and the route was easy to follow. I entered the section where the short sharp steep ups and downs came, made more difficult as things started to turn icy as the cooler night air moved in. At one point I slipped and almost fell, and I scrambled to grab a nearby branch only to find myself holding on to a thorny bush instead, filling my fingers with tiny painful spines that kept catching on my clothing. I walked a short distance as I used my teeth to pull them out of my hands and once clear, I started my slow plod along the trail.
I reached what I called a ridge which I remembered from the race back in 2020, and I was expecting a trip down to the scout camp. The change in the course though meant that this was no longer part of the race - instead, we wove our way through the trees before joining a double track through the woods that included a long and steep climb. I was still feeling pretty strong and made great progress up the hill. I wasn't familiar with these trails, but I had a sense that I must be close to the transition area. The steep up was followed by a steep down, and then we rejoined the single track again, encountering more short climbs that were getting icy.
Checking my watch, I had been going to about 1 hour 45 minutes, so I figured another 10 minutes of running was needed to get me to the end of the lap. Sure enough, it wasn't long before I saw the gate, and I ran over to the timing truck to get my disc stamped. Barb came over to see how things were going, and I grabbed a few nibbles and a drink, left one of my layers behind and took my spare head torch as I wasn't sure how much longer my light would last me.
Loop number 4 was done clockwise, it was much quieter out there with fewer runners, but thankfully I find my way without any problems. I was still feeling strong on the climbs and making great progress, but there was no doubt that I was starting to get very hungry and also needed a good drink. I hadn't really stopped too much in between the laps as I was trying to make up for the time lost when Barb had got lost, and I was certainly looking forward to having a bit of a slower lap on loop 5 when we would get to run together.
Although lap number 4 took me about the same length of time to run as my previous loop, it felt like it had gone much more quickly. I was having so much fun out there, talking to myself, laughing at myself, and just generally enjoying being out on the trails in the dark. Every so often, I would hear the snapping of tree branch in the darkness and I'd wonder if it was the moose that folks had seen earlier in the day. Thankfully, bears and cougar are not commonplace at Chickakoo, but I was kind of hoping I would see a critter of some sort - the only thing I spotted was a mouse, and an owl flying across the open sky above.
I collected the fourth disc at the cabin again, tucking it safely in my pouch, and kept on pushing forwards as I made my way along the slippery single track towards the end of the lap.
As I entered the transition area for a second time, I knew we had just over 2 hours to finish within the time limit - it was going to be tough, but I was looking forward to finishing as a team with Barb. Whilst back at the timing tent, Barb once again came over to check on me. I was feeling great - a little tired in the legs from the climbs, but generally still good, although I was really hungry and needed a huge drink. I'd now ran 25km and had drank just a litre of water and eaten a few jelly beans - I needed more in my tummy to get me around on the final lap. I asked Barb if she was going to be ok as it was going to be tight, but she said that she wouldn't be joining me as she didn't think we would finish in time if we went together. I felt disappointed that we wouldn't be able to finish together, but I still wanted us to finish as a team, so I was happy to go back out on my own and bring it home.
Trevor, the race organiser, told me I had 5 minutes before I had to start the final lap otherwise we would be pulled from the race. He said I needed to grab some fuel and get back out there ASAP. I did just that. Barb refilled my water bottle whilst I grabbed a handful of chewies and a packet of crisps, and then I went back out on the course. I think I was the last person to leave on lap 5, but I was going to do everything I could to make sure we finished under 10 hours.
I walked the first 400m or so, frantically stuffing crisps into my mouth and washing them down with the icy cold water from my bottle, and feeling the effects almost immediately as my energy levels were boosted up a notch. It was flat running for the first mile or so, and I ran as quickly as I dared, keeping an eye on the time. The single track followed, and as I weaved my way up, down and around the trails, I could see a couple of lights ahead. I passed by some runners that were still out on their 4th lap, waved a cheery hello, but just kept pushing forwards. Entering the Warden's Cabin checkpoint for a third time, there was no dilly dallying for me, and I swiftly took my disc and headed off into the darkness.
Things were now starting to get really icy and I was wishing that I had worn spikes, but my La Sportiva shoes were doing ok and serving me well. There seemed to be far more of the climbs on this lap, but I knew in reality that wasn't the case - it was just the feeling of wanting to finish and also the fatigue in the legs. Some of my mile splits were still 13 or 14 minutes - that's how tough the terrain is, especially in the dark - and a couple of times, I tripped on a tree root or stump, almost falling but managing to right myself but pulling my glute muscles in the process.
I think for the next hour, I ran without seeing or hearing anybody. It was so weird just being out there on my own, running for what some would perceive to be no apparent reason. But I was on a mission, and as I checked my phone for about the hundredth time, I had about 45 minutes to finish with around 3 miles still to go. Normally that would be no problem whatsoever, but the dark, the ice, the climbs, the lack of fuel - all were likely going to slow me down and make it close to the wire.
It seemed to take a while before I hit the double track again, and when I did, the steep climb seemed much harder. I caught up a soloist who was also racing to finish on time, and we ran together briefly before he disappeared into the darkness ahead of me. On leaving the double track and going back on to the single, time was ticking by quickly and I still had a good mile and a half to go. I bumped into a few more runners here, and on one particularly steep section, somebody slipped and couldn't get their grip, I was unable to pass, and I had the awful feeling that I would now miss the deadline due to being stuck waiting for somebody else. Thankfully they managed to get moving again, and at the first opportunity, I nipped passed them, pumping my arms to get the legs moving more quickly as I rallied to the finish line.
At last, I hit the final 150 metres to the finish. I could see the fire pits ahead, I could see the lights in the tents, and I sprinted as fast as I could towards the timing tent. I heard Barb in the darkness, "Is that Del? Oh my gosh, it is Del - you did it!" I was so flaming happy that yes, WE had done it, and we still had 8 minutes to spare. We collected out finishers medals afterwards, and wore them with pride.
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| Finisher Medals :) |
It had been a simply amazing day out there, and whilst I had been concerned about Barb sitting around waiting for me for 5 or 6 hours, she had been perfectly ok, and it was reassuring to know she had been there waiting for me.
I really enjoyed doing the race as a team, and I would love to do it again but as a 5 person relay next time. Doing Barkakoo again this year has also given me the bug to want to attempt it solo again - I may just be back to do that next year if I can't get some willing volunteers as a team. I was also surprised to hear that despite no snow this year and despite no chilly temperatures, my ladies' course record of 9.02 still stands - I truly must have had a bloody good run there back in 2020, and it's something that I likely will not be able to do again, but will give it a bloody good try!
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