The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young

Every year hundreds of people around the world apply for one of the most difficult ultramarathons: The Barkley Marathons.  The race is designed to push participants to their limits and since it began in the 1980s, only 10 people have finished the race.

The Barkley Marathons are held at Frozen Head State Park in Tennessee in late March or early April every year.  Of the numerous applicants, only 40 are selected to compete.  The track is over 100 miles, changes every year, and participants are given 60 hours to complete the race.


In 1977, James Earl Ray escaped from the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary.  He made it 8 miles in 55 hours.  Local runner, Gary "Lazarus Lake" Cantrell thought he could do 100 miles in that amount of time and the race was born.  Cantrell and co-creator "Raw Dog" started the race in the 1980s, but it took years for anyone complete the course.

The race begins at the yellow gate.  Racers go in a circle, each lap is slightly different.  Each lap is 20 miles and many runners don't even finish the first lap.  Completing 3 laps is considered a "Fun Run", and running all 5 laps in 60 hours is the goal.  Filmmakers Annika Iltis and Timothy Kane documented the 2012 race.  At time, only 10 people had completed the race since it's inception.  To date, 14 people have completed the race (the race has been completed 17 times total).

It is a fascinating documentary, even for people like me that have no interest in running marathons.  Iltis and Kane interview runners and the people working behind the scenes.  They also document parts of the actual race and talk to contestants during the race.  For more about the documentary, go to their website http://barkleymovie.com/.

The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young (2015) 89 minutes
Director: Annika Iltis & Timothy Kane
Starring: Gary "Lazarus Lake" Cantrell
Jared Campbell
John Febyveresi
Nick Hollon
Brett Maune