Three Barkley Marathons finishes
Completed the five-loop event in 2017, 2023, and 2024, with all three finishes inside the 60-hour limit.
Source-checked athlete record · Updated Aug 17, 2026
John Kelly
Three-time Barkley finisher, Spine Race winner, and FKT setter
John Kelly is a three-time Barkley Marathons finisher who won the 2020 Spine Race and set long-distance records on the Pennine Way and Wainwrights.
🇺🇸 United StatesM40–44
The record so far
John Kelly is an American mountain ultrarunner and long-distance record setter. He completed all five loops of the Barkley Marathons in 2017, 2023, and 2024, becoming one of only two people to record at least three finishes at the event.
Kelly won the 2020 Spine Race in 87:53:57 on the winter Pennine Way course. He later reclaimed the supported Pennine Way fastest known time in 2021 with 2 days, 10 hours, 4 minutes, and 53 seconds, the first recorded sub-60-hour performance on the route.
In May 2022, Kelly linked all 214 Wainwright summits in 5 days, 12 hours, 14 minutes, and 43 seconds. Fastest Known Time continues to list that mark as the supported benchmark for the open Wainwrights course.
Defining performances
Performance history
| Date | Event | Performance | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tor des Géants330 km mountain ultra | 88:28:53 | 22nd overall | View ↗ | |
| Winter Spine Race268-mile winter ultra | 87:55:32 | 5th overall | View ↗ | |
| Barkley MarathonsFive-loop mountain ultra | 59:15:38 | Finisher · 2nd overall | View ↗ | |
| Long Trail272-mile supported FKT | 4d 04h 25m 50s | Supported overall FKT at the time | View ↗ | |
| Barkley MarathonsFive-loop mountain ultra | 58:42:23 | Finisher · 2nd overall | View ↗ | |
| Wainwrights 214Supported mountain round | 5d 12h 14m 43s | Supported fastest known time | View ↗ | |
| Pennine Way268-mile supported FKT | 2d 10h 04m 53s | Supported fastest known time | View ↗ | |
| Winter Spine Race268-mile winter ultra | 87:53:57 | Winner | View ↗ |
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