You might have heard about the historic achievement of Jasmin Paris last week, when she became the first woman in history to complete the Barkley Marathons. Widely regarded as the hardest footrace in the world, only 20 people had previously finished, since its inception in 1986.
Attempting the Barkleys is crazy enough, but imagine being the person who came up with the hellish course. We went and met him a few years ago…
He was born Gary Cantrell but more commonly goes by Lazarus Lake, or simply Laz. Characterizations of him vary, from terms like “sassy” and having a “flair for the dramatic”, to recognizing him as a savvy ultramarathon organizer. Some, perhaps understandably when looking at his creation, even say he’s a sadist.
A native of Tennessee, where the race takes place, the idea came to him back in 1977 after James Earl Ray, the man who assassinated Martin Luther King Jr. escaped from prison. Ray was a free man in the Tennessean mountains for 55 hours and covered 12 miles across.
“I could do at least 100,” mocked Laz.
Less than a decade later, he began asking runners from across the world to do exactly that. While Ray had 55 hours, Laz extended this ever so slightly to 60 hours, but this is the firm time cut-off during which the race has to be finished.
This year, Jasmin Paris, a 40-year-old senior veterinary lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, completed the grueling task in 59 hours, 58 minutes and 21 seconds. She collapsed over the finish line and has since spoken about the physical and mental challenges, including hallucinating as the challenge wore on.
“I always see animals in races,” she told the Guardian. “There were trees that looked like a mountain lion, or a big dog, or pigs lying down, until I got closer.”
“It’s not the fact that it’s 100 miles that’s the problem – it’s about the terrain,” Paris continued. “Immediately after we set off we went up a slope so steep that at times my foot would slide back down, and I would have to go again. There were a couple of places we were climbing on our bellies. And this year, there was also a new section that used to be used for hillside mining, it was all covered in brambles so our legs got slashed to pieces.”
Laz was the mastermind of this heroic suffering.
The race begins, as is now tradition, with Laz lighting a cigarette. From the second the embers glow, the 60-hour clock is ticking.
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The route entails five rounds of the same unmarked 20-mile loop. It is run twice clockwise, twice counterclockwise, and for the fifth and final lap the runner in the lead – if anyone is left, that is – decides which way to go. In total, there are over 50,000 feet of accumulated ascent, with the varying terrain underfoot also making speed so challenging.
Navigation is a serious challenge, due to the lack of markings on the way. Those taking part are only allowed a map and compass, and throughout the course they need to locate hidden books as proof of completion. It seems a brutal way to go out, but these checkpoints dotted along the route have seen athletes come unstuck.
Brazilian athlete Enzo Frigers once completed the 100 miles, but struggled to navigate and couldn’t locate the books in time. “It was then I knew that Barkley had won,” he said.
The idea that the race itself can win is one furthered by the man who invented it. “It’s good that sometimes no one finishes,” Laz says. “Because the Barkleys should win sometimes too.”
Want to read more about extreme running? Check out this story on the Mont Blanc Ultra:
