"I was on a mountain, collecting 13 pages of a book - part of the marathon," Robbins said in his unmistakable but oh-so-friendly Newfoundland accent. "It was a little foggy and I made the wrong turn off the mountain."
Remarkably, Robbins takes something positive away from the experience. "If you're going to be successful at anything, you're going to fail," he said before pausing and thoughtfully stroking his bushy, red beard. "And it's OK to fail. I've learned the greatest distance in the Barkley is the space between your ears and hearing all those voices that keep saying 'no'."
Most people would take their weary bones and muscles, pack their bags, their lifelong memories, their earned pride and never share another fleeting thought of repeating. Most people, that is. Robbins not included. "I wouldn't be able to sleep if I didn't go back," he said, flashing his trademark smile. "Besides, a Canadian has never finished The Barkley.
This past weekend, Robbins did just that and headed back to the treacherous Tenessee terrain for his third attempt at the Barkley. Under less than ideal conditions, including rain, lightning, and frigid temperatures, the course ultimately won as no runner managed to finish. Robbins, however, was the only competitor to finish the "fun run", which requires a runner to complete three 32-kilometre loops in less than 40 hours.
And we can't help but wonder what line combinations the incredible Robbins came up with this time.