This month, we’re crowning a champion. One outdoor thing that rises above the rest. Fill out your bracket below and predict how the tournament will unfold. Each matchup will be decided by community voting , with new rounds opening (see schedule below) until we crown a champion on April 6 . Scroll down to start making your picks. Bracket Entries close Wednesday, March 18 at midnight MST . The most accurate bracket wins the Grand Prize  (see scoring below). We’ll also raffle o

The conch shell echoed through Frozen Head State Park at 5 a.m. It was the perfect start time. Cold, but not too cold. Clear. Still. The kind of weather that makes you think maybe, just maybe, something special could happen. The field was stacked, many with experience on last year’s course. The only major change was the direction. After 40 years, the Barkley Marathons would begin anti-clockwise. The table was set. Maybe there would be a finish. Before getting into race day, t

Heat training has become a popular topic in endurance sports, often framed as a newer performance strategy supported by modern research and technology. In reality, the idea of using heat exposure to improve performance has been around for a long time. Long before endurance athletes were using saunas, hot tubs, or environmental chambers, scientists studying physical labor and environmental stress were documenting how the body adapts to repeated exposure. What modern research h

This is the gear I am taking to try to set the record on the Appalachian Trail heading southbound in August 2025!