'I discovered the family atmosphere to this event. In 2012, Fegyveresi became the 12th person to ever finish the Barkley Marathons. John Fegyveresi touches the gate to complete his fifth and final lap. In that time, Ray only made it 13 kilometres. He ran for the hills, where he hid for two-and-a-half days. James Earl Ray, incarcerated for the murder of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr., managed to escape in 1977. Like all prisons, the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary was built to keep the inmates in, but the Tennessee backwoods surrounding it present an added challenge. He started the Barkley with his friend Raw Dog, whose real name is Karl Henn, in 1985, after an argument over a prison escape. He's been coaching runners for decades and organizes a number of races in the region of Wartburg, Tennessee. Gary Cantrell, who also goes by the pseudonym Lazarus Lake, is an ultra marathon pioneer. 'I feel like that didn't really happen,' he says.

He also says he wakes up everyday and wonders how he pulled it off. It's the most poignant experience I've had at any sort of event.' 'It's definitely one of the proudest moments I've ever had in endurance sport for sure,' Fegyveresi says. But, as Barkley regular John Fegyveresi tells Day 6 guest host Rachel Giese, the pain is nothing compared to the pride of finishing. They barely eat, and some won't get any sleep for two-and-a-half days.ĩ8 per cent of the people who try to run the Barkley don't finish.

Barkley co-creator Gary Cantrell, aka Lazarus Lake It's important to be able to maintain your equilibrium when things are not designed to help you out. A successful finisher will have to run 161 kilometres through rough, unmarked terrain, and they'll have to climb the equivalent of Mount Everest. The Barkley Marathons - plural because it's actually five marathons stacked together over 60 hours - is now in its 32nd year. On Saturday, 40 runners will gather in the backwoods of Tennessee for one the weirdest, wildest and most difficult trail races in the world.

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