If you're curious why, the most recent finisher at Barkley, John Kelly (a PhD Data Scientist, to maybe tie it to HN a bit more), blogs a good deal about the 'why' questions on his 'Random Forest Runner' blog (yes, a ML pun). https://randomforestrunner.com/upper-kelly-camp/the-decision...

I still have no interest in doing it, but it was a very interesting look into the thoughts of someone who does.