The famed ultramarathon, the brainchild of runner Gary Cantrell (better known by his nickname Lazarus Lake or “Laz”), takes place in Tennessee’s Frozen Head State Park. The route was inspired by the 1977 prison escape of James Earl Ray, who assassinated the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
It’s an incredible race. I do Adventure and Endurance races regularly. These are 8-hour to 3 day ordeals involving land navigation, trekking, boating, biking, rappelling, and so forth, and cover dozens or a hundred miles. Compass-only, carry your food and water, etc. I know hardcore racers who won’t go anywhere near the Barkley.
Qualifying to do it isn’t easy.
Potential entrants must complete an essay on “Why I Should be Allowed to Run in the Barkley,” pay a $1.60 application fee, and complete other requirements subject to change. If accepted, an entrant receives a “letter of condolence.” Upon arriving, first-time Barkley runners, known as virgins, are required to bring a license plate from their state/country as part of the entrance fee. Previous racers are required to bring an additional “fee” which in the past has included things such as a white shirt, socks, or a flannel shirt, as a donation for being a non-finisher. These donations are apparently based on the current needs of Lazarus Lake at the time. Prior finishers of the marathon who return to run again must submit a pack of Camel cigarettes as part of the registration fee. Race bib number one is always given to the person deemed to be the least likely to finish one lap out of all who have applied; a “human sacrifice,” as Cantrell calls it
Anyone who gets to even two checkpoints gets immense respect. Finishing? Furrfu.
Okay, excellent… but… what’s up with the James Earl Ray connection?!? Can you history-splain this to me?
James Earl Ray escaped from Brush Mountain prison in the late 1970s. He was out for around 50 hours, but only covered a dozen miles. Gary Cantrell, the founder of the race and known in the. Endurance racing community as someone who designs especially difficult but amazing courses, thought to himself “hell, I could have covered way more than that.” And so the race was born. Racers have 60 hours to complete it. That’s not unusual for an Endurance race—time limits are the norm. The Sea to Sea has a 72-hour limit, and Adventure/Endurance races are designated by time, not distance. Sea to Sea is generally around 300 miles, but there are lots of strategies to complete it.
It was first run in 1986, and first finished in 1995. Years go by with no finishers. It’s brutal.
ETA: Sea to Sea
I should have included that the race covers the area James Earl Ray trekked through in his escape.
What I want to know is – what happens with the resulting by-product? 
Polyethylene meringue pie?
Salted caramel meringue pie?
Which, now that I’m thinking about, sounds positively awesome!
I mean, I would hope they could harvest and recycle the plastic out of it instead of just storing it somewhere.
The entry criteria are too limited. But it’s a start to assess the value of these programs.
Absolutely. Any purge of books in a school or library that doesn’t include the Bible is admitting it’s all a farce. There’s nothing in any other book that holds a candle to the stories contained therein.
Food, like housing and education, should be supported by the entire community. I hope this gains traction.
