Thomas Van Woensel: inside the Barkley marathons with a (Barkley) virgin

Thomas inspired me to go on my run across Belgium.

So, when I heard he was going to be part of Barkley, I just couldn't wait to hear everything about his experience.

I thought I knew a thing or 2 about the race. I've probably watched every Barkley documentary out there.

So, I was shocked to hear it's so much more intense than I thought it was:

• Sliding down hills & falling trees


• Memorizing the course while keeping up with the veterans


• Trying to get your calories in while scrambling up and down constantly


• Going from freezing cold to sweating your ass off


• 2 water stops on a 12h-loop

And I could make the list much longer.

Needless to say, this was a fascinating conversation, where we talked about:

• How Thomas prepared Barkley in the Swiss Alps


• How he experienced the race


• Why the race is so hard to finish


• What he'd do differently


• What's next on his horizon

He didn't inspire me (yet) to make an attempt at Barkley myself. But he did inspire me (again) to just go after the goals I care about, however silly other people think it might sound.

Thanks for the inspiration, once again, Thomas!

And to you, reader, I wish you a joyful and insightful episode!

P.S. Thomas is currently running his way across the Canarian Islands with @runthemarenostrum. So, I hope he gets to see this!

Instagram of thomas