North Vancouver runner says he will run again in 'The Race That Eats Its Young'

Gary Robbins only had one half of a lap left in the Barkley Marathons — a gruelling 160-km ultramarathon through the Tennessee woods that only a few people have ever officially completed — when he realized he just wouldn't be able to able to finish in the time required.

"I knew about halfway through the final loop I wasn't going to make it under 60 hours. I had also not slept in the better part of 90 hours and was hallucinating for over 24 hours," said Robbins, who lives in North Vancouver.

Robbins ran the ultramarathon earlier this month, hoping to be the first Canadian to ever complete the race that only 14 out of a total of 800 runners have ever officially finished in its 30-year history.

Equivalent of climbing Everest twice

The race is said to be the hardest footrace in the world, and was the focus of the 2014 documentary The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young.

"What makes it so challenging is that the course has over 66,000 feet of climbing and descent, which is the equivalent of going up and down Everest twice," Robbins told B.C. Almanac host Gloria Macarenko.

The race consists of five loops of 32 kilometres that return to a campground, and on each loop the runner has to find a dozen or so books in the forest and remove the page that corresponds to their race number as proof they have completed the lap. The runners get a new race number at the start of each lap.

The race — which is limited to 40 runners each year — also has no markings on the course or any aid stations.

"It is definitely not the definition of fun for most people. If I skew my own definition, it goes into slightly being fun," Robbins laughed.

The 39-year-old may not have been the first Canuck to finish the race, but he did make it further in the race than any other Canadian ever has.

He is confident that he'll be able to complete it the next time he does the race.

Only starting endurance running in late 20s

Though Robbins has come very close to completing one of the most challenging races on earth, he said he only really began running extensively when he was 27.

He said before that he had only run less than a hundred miles his entire life.

"I know that conclusively because there were many times in my life that I decided I was going to be a runner and I started running and I thought I was going to fall in love with it and I didn't. It just wasn't the right time in my life," he said.

"It took me a long time to fall in love with what it was. So I've come through no experience to get to where I am in the last 10, 11 years."

That's why Robbins, who is also a running coach, understands how easily one can get injured as well as the mental challenges that people face when running.

He said one of the best ways to break down the mental barrier preventing someone from running in some type of race or marathon is to find a run clinic or group, volunteer at a race, or even just watch the race.

"When I started again at 27 … it was very foreign to me and very scary, and I went and volunteered and viewed [races] and got to see the broad spectrum of the people that were doing this," he said.

"That breaks down that initial barrier. 'Well, if that person can do it, and they're out here right now, maybe I can do it as well.'"

With files from CBC's B.C. Almanac

To hear the full story listen to the audio labelled: North Vancouver runner says he will run again in the Barkley Marathons, aka 'The Race That Eats It's Young'