It is no surprise that it won a series of awards after its release in 2014. It feels like a handheld camera documentary as we get up close and personal with ‘Laz’ and those taking on his fiendish race without the film ever looking and sounding like one. The movie is warm and endearing while offering a genuine fly-on-the-wall perspective of what many regard as the world’s toughest race.

The Barkley Marathons documentary – The Race That Eats Its Young – does a brilliant job of capturing the uniquely crazy Barkley experience. After all, even entering the race is hard enough. Race Director Gary ‘Lazarus Lake’ Cantrell revels in its obscurity and the near impossible challenge the course presents to even the best runners. In an age when publicity and slick marketing have increasingly come to the fore in trail and ultra-running, the Barkley is unashamedly the opposite. Failure to present a page from every book at the end of each loop results in disqualification.Īnd if you’re after more details on why the event features ‘sacrificial virgins’ and many other quirky aspects, then check out our ultimate jargon-busting guide and read our piece on why this is arguably the world’s craziest race.įew things encapsulate that more than the Netflix film that in many ways gave the Barkley Marathons the legendary status it now enjoys – ‘ The Race That Eats Its Young‘.The Barkley Marathons is an iconic yet elusive race like no other. The creator and organiser of the race is the mystical Lazarus ‘Laz’ Lake – real name Gary Cantrell – and here’s our profile of him as well as 10 famous quotes which encapsulate the race.Īnd talking of quotes, each competitor has to find books hidden around the course and tear out the page corresponding to their race number. We spoke to him about what it takes to complete the race and also asked his advice for Barkley Marathon first-timers – maybe Sanchez took all that on board! Legendary status Our in-depth guide explains what makes the race so special, when it takes place, how to enter, what we know about the route, course records and more.Īs mentioned above the last person to finish it was Kelly so who better to give us the inside track on the event. The Barkley Marathons is an ultra-running event like no other but we’ve done our best to de-mystify it.

Download barkley marathon youtube