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Hi runners, Jessy here with newsletter #453! 🎉

Happy Wednesday! The 2025 Barkley Marathons have started, so we've got a packed newsletter for you today!​
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Here's what I have for you today:

• 📣 The 2025 Barkley Marathons are underway, and only 20 runners have ever even finished—Will we see more added to Barkley’s elite list this year?​
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• 🚨 Don't miss a second of the action by following our Barkley Marathons live updates!​
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• 🌲 The Barkley Marathons are full of mystery and nuance, but here's everything you need to know about the grueling event.​
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• 🫀 WATCH: The ZONE 2 Conversation: Brady Holmer on Zone 2 for runners​
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• 🏃‍♂️ With the Barkley Marathons underway, you might be inspired to give a 100-miler a shot. Here are our top 10 tips for your first 100-mile run!
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• 📈 Not ready for a 100-miler? Neither am I! The good news is we also have a training guide made just for beginners!​
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• 👟 WATCH: The Nike Pegasus Premium l The Most DIVISIVE Running Shoe of 2025?

Get ready to get faster!

Jessy Carveth
Senior News Editor

​🚨 Follow Our Live Updates of The 2025 Barkley Marathons Here​

Our staff will provide regular updates and insights into the Barkley Marathons, considered by many to be the most difficult (and certainly the most eccentric) ultramarathon in the world.

​🌲 How the Barkley Marathons Works: What You Need to Know​

The Barkley Marathons is one of the most mysterious and brutal ultramarathons in the world.
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Each year, a small, elite group of runners descends on Tennessee’s Frozen Head State Park to test their limits against an unforgiving course with nearly impossible odds.
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​If you’re following along and need a quick refresher on how the race works, here’s what you need to know.

​📣 The 2025 Barkley Marathons Begins with John Kelly Chasing a Historic Fourth Finish​

The infamous Barkley Marathons is underway at Frozen Head State Park, as three-time finisher John Kelly seeks to make history while the rest of this exclusive field takes on the world’s most punishing ultramarathon.
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​Will we see a finisher in 2025?

​🫀 WATCH: The ZONE 2 Conversation: Brady Holmer on Zone 2 for runners​

Thomas sits down with Brady Holmer, 2:26 marathoner, science writer, and author of the Run Long, Run Healthy newsletter for a comprehensive conversation about all things Zone 2, and how runners can use Z2 in their training - while busting some myths along the way.

​🏃‍♂️ Our Top 10 Tips For Your First 100 Miler, From Our Ultrarunning Coach​

Training for your first 100-mile run?

First off, congratulations on deciding to take on such a tough challenge!

You’ll have your ups and downs, love it and hate it, but in the end, there will be nothing more satisfying than crossing that finish line.

​📈 Our Beginners Running Plan + Training Guide To Kick-Start Your Running Journey​

Beginning to run can be a bit overwhelming when you start to think about the new terminology to learn, gear to get familiar with, and, of course, how to actually begin to train.

In this guide, we will help answer all of those questions, complete with a beginner's running plan to get you started on your running journey whenever you are ready, or even better, today!

Parkrun Organizers Rob 83-year-old Runner Of His Age Group Records

​👟 WATCH: The Nike Pegasus Premium l The Most DIVISIVE Running Shoe of 2025?​

Senior Editor Alex Cyr tests and runs in the Nike Pegasus Premium, the company's top workout shoe of 2025. With its heavy heel, its super-responsive foam and fancy Air Zoom midsole, the Pegasus Premium has quickly become the most divisive running shoe on the market.
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Some love its power, others hate its weight. Alex wore them on a long run on Boston's famous Newton Hills, and reviews them in full here, and tells us how they helped him steal a Strava podium spot from a certain American Olympian.

QUICK SPRINTS

• ​The Science Behind The Warm-Up
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• ​​Side Stitch Won’t Go Away? 9 Likely Causes + How To Get Rid Of Them
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• ​​Mindset: The Secret To Improving Your Running And Racing​