33 Insane Details That Make the Barkley Marathons Bizarre and Special

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The Barkley Marathons is the most maniacal and brilliantly constructed sporting event in the world. Full stop. It’s creator, Lazarus Lake (the nom de guerre of Gary Cantrell, a local ultrarunner), purposefully injected various eccentric challenges, tweaking them each year in order for the event to be just too tough to even finish. When a runner completes the gruelling 100ish-mile course in the allotted 60 hours, Lake tends to alter the below eccentricities further, tightening the screws on this, the post bizarre and punishing endurance race on Earth.

Let’s do a walkthrough of the 33ish factors that separate the Barkley from being merely a very long, very hard ultramarathon.

Application & Entry Process

• Secretive Application: There’s no public entry form. Prospective runners must submit an essay titled “Why I Should be Allowed to Run the Barkley” along with a non-refundable $1.60 entry fee.
• Limited Invitations: Only ~40 runners are selected each year, with race director Lazarus Lake (Gary Cantrell) personally managing the selection process.
• First-Time Runners: Must bring a license plate from their home state or country as a “gift” to the race director.
• Returning Runners: Often asked to bring specific items (e.g., socks, white shirts) as their “entry fee.”
• The Human Sacrifice: The race includes a runner dubbed the “human sacrifice”—a participant selected by Laz who is not expected to finish even one loop.

Start Rituals

• Unknown Start Time: Runners only know the race will start sometime between midnight and noon.
• The Conch Shell: One hour before the race begins, Laz blows a conch shell to signal runners to prepare.
• Cigarette Start: The race officially begins when Laz lights a cigarette at the yellow gate.

The Course

• Unmarked & Ever-Changing: The course is completely unmarked and changes slightly each year. Runners are provided with maps the day before the race and must navigate using only map and compass. GPS devices are strictly prohibited and using one results in immediate disqualification.
• Loop Directions:
  • The direction of the loops alternates as the race progresses:
    • Loops 1 and 2: Run clockwise
    • Loops 3 and 4: Run counterclockwise
    • Loop 5 (Final Loop):
      • If only one runner remains, they run the final loop in the opposite direction of their previous loop.
      • If two or more runners remain, the first runner to finish Loop 4 chooses their direction for Loop 5; any remaining runners must run in the opposite direction. This adds a strategic element and reduces the chances of cooperation on the final loop.
• Distance Misdirection: Officially, each loop is called 20 miles, but most runners estimate the real distance at 26–28 miles per loop. That brings the total to 130+ miles (209+ km) over the full five loops.
• Elevation Gain: The race includes over 60,000 feet (18,288 m) of elevation gain, equivalent to twice the height of Mount Everest from sea level. Terrain includes off-trail climbs, dense forests, and unstable slopes.
• Infamous Sections:
  • Rat Jaw: A notorious steep power line cut, thick with sawbriar thickets that shred runners’ clothing and skin. It’s brutally hot in dry weather and a slippery mudslide in wet conditions.
  • Testicle Spectacle: Another brutally steep climb with exposed, eroded terrain that challenges both strength and footing.
  • Danger Dave’s Climbing Wall, Zip Line, Check Mate Hill: Other steep, oddly named sections adding to the course’s legend.
• Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary (The Prison):
  • Runners must crawl through a drainage tunnel beneath the ruins of this historic prison, once home to James Earl Ray, assassin of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
  • Ray’s 1977 escape attempt—covering a mere 8 miles in 55 hours—partially inspired the Barkley. Laz joked he could do better, and the race was born.
• Books as Checkpoints:
  • 13 books are hidden along the course, one per checkpoint.
  • Runners must tear out a page corresponding to their bib number at each book per loop.
  • A new bib is issued each loop, and missing even one page = immediate disqualification.
• Aid and Supplies:
  • The course includes two unmanned water stations.
  • Runners can access personal supplies only at camp between loops. No external aid is permitted.
• Environmental Hazards: Expect dense undergrowth, wild boar, snakes, bears, poison ivy, and severe weather swings from heat to freezing rain—sometimes within a single loop.
• Night Running: At least half the race is run in darkness, with fog, rain, and cold temperatures dramatically increasing navigational and physical challenges.

The Books

• 13 Books on Course: Runners must collect a page from each book on each loop, matching their bib number.
• Page Verification: Missing even one page results in disqualification.
• New Bibs Each Loop: Runners receive a new bib number before each loop to ensure fresh page collection.

The Loops

• Loop Format: Runners must complete five loops in 60 hours.
  • Loops 1–2: Run clockwise
  • Loops 3–4: Run counterclockwise
  • Loop 5: Runners alternate directions based on who finishes Loop 4 first.
• The Fun Run: Completing three loops in 40 hours is known as the “Fun Run” and is considered a major achievement.

The Environment

• Frozen Head State Park: Dense forest, steep climbs, unpredictable weather, and off-trail terrain dominate the course.
• Jail Landmark: Runners must crawl through a tunnel under a Civil War-era prison (Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary), now defunct.
• Weather Extremes: Conditions can swing from freezing rain and fog to heat and humidity—often in a single loop.

Additional Quirks

• Finish Rate: Less than 2% of starters finish the full race.
• No Prize Money: No medals, no awards, only bragging rights and the satisfaction of not being eaten by the course.
• Finish Line: Same as the starting point—touch the yellow gate to finish.
• DNF Tradition: Those who drop out or time out tap the yellow gate to mark their race end and receive a bugler’s rendition of “Taps.”
• No Official Tracking: No live tracking or splits; the only updates come from Keith Dunn’s live posts and camp reports.