The Barkley Marathons had been ultrarunning’s best kept secret (with a cult following) – until last year.
For in 2024 it made global headlines as Britain’s Jasmin Paris became the first female to finish the race – and just the 20th person overall in its 30+ year history.
Books and films had been written and made about the brutal 100-mile challenge in Tennessee’s Frozen Head State Park in rural Tennessee but it still remained shrouded in secrecy – and even with the interest in Paris, there’s still so much we don’t know about it. So if you’re here on the back of what happened 12 months and want to find out more then read on…
Fight Club parallels
Much like the 1999 movie Fight Club, there are strict rules around information which can be shared by those fortunate enough to be accepted into an exclusive club.
Finished by only 20 people since 1986, the five-lap, 100-mile Barkley Marathons makes the underground fighting ring in the classic David Fincher film look like a walk in the park.
Runners must find aptly named books hidden around the course and tear out the page corresponding to their race number, and should they fail to present a page at the end of a loop – in front of the famous yellow gate – they will be disqualified.
At the heart of the event in rural East Tennessee, the enigmatic race creator Laz Lake, who handpicks a ‘sacrificial virgin’ ahead of the race, is the character somewhat akin to Brad Pitt’s Tyler Durden.
A legendary figure in the running community and the person behind the increasingly popular Backyard Ultras concept, ‘Laz’ and his friends concocted the Barkley Marathons as they believed they could better the prison escape attempt of James Earl Ray, the killer of Martin Luther King, which saw him captured after covering just eight miles in 54 hours.
Now closed down, the prison still features on the route and serves as a reminder of the origins of the crazy annual event.
Eerie surroundings in Tennessee
Indeed the terrain of the Frozen Head State Park where the Barkley Marathons take place has echoes of another 1999 film, The Blair Witch Project, which takes place in an eerie forest in the Black Hills in Maryland.
There is no application or entry system for the Barkley Marathons, nor a website or social media presence – those looking to be considered must find out from a previous competitor when and where to send an email.
They then must produce an essay detailing why they deserve to race, and should their application be accepted, they will be one of just 40 people to receive a ‘letter of condolence’.
However, successful entrants must remain tight-lipped about their inclusion, with Lake demanding that the start list remains a mystery until the day of the race.
One bonus for runners is that the entry fee is just $1.60 plus a car license plate from the runner’s home state or country, though Laz might request an additional offering such as an item of clothing; socks, shirts, or whatever he is short of at the time.
While the runners know the start date, the method by which they are notified of the start is brilliantly eccentric – the blowing of a conch cell signifies a one-hour countdown until the race begins.
After that hour, Lake lights a cigarette to signal the beginning of the gruelling challenge.
Limited information
Another of the many huge obstacles for Barkley Marathons competitors is that they are completely in the dark with regards to the route – which is 80% off-trail and features no aid stations – until the day before, so there is no opportunity to scope out the area.
They know they will be tasked with completing five 20-mile loops and more than 54,000 feet of ascent, but that’s all.
Asking a former competitor isn’t an option either, as they are forbidden from sharing any information about previous runs, although parts of the route change each year anyway.
GPS devices are also outlawed meaning previous runners can’t even review the route they took, and fans are unable to follow the action.
The only updates fans receive are from Keith Dunn’s X account, which notifies when a competitor has completed a lap or been timed out.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on that and looking for other clues as we attempt to decipher exactly what is going on at the 2025 version of the race – click here to follow along!
