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Tales From Out There: The Barkley Marathons, The World's Toughest Trail Race
Tales From Out There is the story of the Barkley Marathons, arguably the world's toughest long-distance trail foot-race. In this book, the 24-year history of this event is covered in detail, with all known runners and their results listed. Numerous photographs, charts, and maps are included. The runners have had some interesting experiences out there during the Barkley races. Some of those experiences have been humorous, some dramatic and harrowing. Many physical and psychological obstacles have been incorporated into the design of the event to test the limits of human endurance. The result is that most runners fail to finish the race. The stories in this book describe the epic struggles of the Barkley contestants, including some of the world's best endurance runners, against this extreme challenge. Tales From Out There will captivate the reader with true stories of both heartbreaking failures and awe-inspiring victories.
224 pages, Paperback
First published February 2, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
June 22, 2018
I'll be frank, this was probably the worst written books I have ever read.
The formatting was all off, the author forgot to do a spellcheck and it looked like he simply printed a huge MS Word file on to 215 pages and published it.
And even the content in itself was repetitive, like an engineering student trying to fill up his assignment with additional words. The last 2 chapters(2008, 2009) were written in a different tone than the rest of the of the book.
But somehow, in some weird way, this was a book full of good stories, albeit poorly told.
While the writer did a poor job for most of the book(barring the route maps and calculations; which he goes on to repeat 20 times in the course of the book), the subject matter of the book saves it. Gary "Lazarus Lake" Cantrell and his race, "The Barkley Marathons" create such a subject matter that even the most poorly written content seems interesting.
If you are planning on attempting the "Barkley Marathons", this book is highly recommended:
1. It has a lot of information that might come in handy in terms of preparedness
2. Reading this book is an exercise in self-control and a true test of your willpower to not throw away something you have in your hands, just because it stopped making sense to you a long time back.
The formatting was all off, the author forgot to do a spellcheck and it looked like he simply printed a huge MS Word file on to 215 pages and published it.
And even the content in itself was repetitive, like an engineering student trying to fill up his assignment with additional words. The last 2 chapters(2008, 2009) were written in a different tone than the rest of the of the book.
But somehow, in some weird way, this was a book full of good stories, albeit poorly told.
While the writer did a poor job for most of the book(barring the route maps and calculations; which he goes on to repeat 20 times in the course of the book), the subject matter of the book saves it. Gary "Lazarus Lake" Cantrell and his race, "The Barkley Marathons" create such a subject matter that even the most poorly written content seems interesting.
If you are planning on attempting the "Barkley Marathons", this book is highly recommended:
1. It has a lot of information that might come in handy in terms of preparedness
2. Reading this book is an exercise in self-control and a true test of your willpower to not throw away something you have in your hands, just because it stopped making sense to you a long time back.
July 8, 2015
This race sounds thoroughly unpleasant. 120 miles, cumulative 60,000 feet of elevation gain/loss, running in the dark through briar infested patches of rock and mud... who would do such a thing? Reading it has motivated me to try 5% harder at my own runs though. I even crashed through the brush on a trail the other day to find a shortcut! I didn't find it, I emerged with thorns in my socks and scratches on my legs. I felt ready for Barkley Marathons.
February 23, 2021
The Barkley Marathons are considered to be the world's hardest endurance running races. In loops of 20-25 miles you need to navigate yourself to 12 hidden books. From each book you need to collect a page to bring back to the starting point. In order to win, you need to complete five loops. So naturally, in the time span of the book, only 8 people finished the race. More people finished what is considered the "fun run" of three loops.
I first came across the Barkley Marathons when I stumbled upon a short film on YouTube by the Ginger Runner, "Where Dreams Go To Die". This film is about a man who desperately wants to finish the race. He tried several times, and one year finished the five loops, but not within the given time limit. The grueling race caught my attention: not to run for myself, definitely not. But as a event to follow, and ever since I've been devouring everything Barkley related.
Not many books are written, because relatively not many people ran this race. The author of this book, Frozen Ed, was the first man to finish a fun run of three loops and has been trying to beat that for more than ten times. During these attempts he kept a very thorough logbook & developed a big appreciation for "the race that eats its young". This book is a collection of the years 1987 up to 2009 and contains names of starters, finishers and a race report of each year.
If you're just casually interested, don't pick up this book. Go watch the documentary. This book is very in depth and is great for freaks and addicts of running statistics, like me, lol. The writing is not the best, especially in the beginning of the book. There is a lot of repetition and referencing to other chapters in the book. While you'd expect that to cause clarity, it only confuses because you're hopping through the whole book the whole time.
If you are intrigued by Barkley like me, and devour everything on this race that exists, you'll love this one.
I first came across the Barkley Marathons when I stumbled upon a short film on YouTube by the Ginger Runner, "Where Dreams Go To Die". This film is about a man who desperately wants to finish the race. He tried several times, and one year finished the five loops, but not within the given time limit. The grueling race caught my attention: not to run for myself, definitely not. But as a event to follow, and ever since I've been devouring everything Barkley related.
Not many books are written, because relatively not many people ran this race. The author of this book, Frozen Ed, was the first man to finish a fun run of three loops and has been trying to beat that for more than ten times. During these attempts he kept a very thorough logbook & developed a big appreciation for "the race that eats its young". This book is a collection of the years 1987 up to 2009 and contains names of starters, finishers and a race report of each year.
If you're just casually interested, don't pick up this book. Go watch the documentary. This book is very in depth and is great for freaks and addicts of running statistics, like me, lol. The writing is not the best, especially in the beginning of the book. There is a lot of repetition and referencing to other chapters in the book. While you'd expect that to cause clarity, it only confuses because you're hopping through the whole book the whole time.
If you are intrigued by Barkley like me, and devour everything on this race that exists, you'll love this one.
March 18, 2019
There is a delicious irony in the negative reviews for a book about a 100+ mile race that only 15 people have finished in 33 years. This book isn’t a cosy Eat Pray Love style narrative about a personal journey of enlightenment found through being outside. The author has taken part in countless iterations of the race and has years of records of the course, elevation profiles of the sections and information critical to prepare for the race. This account is an imperative manual to anyone hoping to take on the Barkley marathons, and wasn’t written as a breathtaking tale of adventure. If you have no existing interest in ultra marathon running or the Barkley marathons, this probably isn’t for you, but if you do - it is an exceptional read from an expert on this topic.
November 29, 2012
I started reading this book on my way to bed one night, when I was pretty tired, but it quickly grabbed my attention and I was surprised to find that I read a few chapters that first night. The Barkleys are incredible, as anything you read about them suggests. I don't think I have any interest in signing up, but I'm very happy to have read this book, and would be interested in taking a weekend at Frozen Head to check out the area.
I was surprised, after I ordered this book, to find how dense the pages were with text. At a glance, there's quite a bit of content in these 200+ pages. However, after a few introductory chapters, the author settles into a chapter-per-year historical account of the races - course notes, who was there, how they did, any notable stories, and stories of the author's own runnings. While it's easy to see these chapters as formulaic, there's still some fantastic gems buried in them. Also, even in the first few chapters we find that the author is quite thorough in his writing style, bordering on repetitive, though not getting quite there. Of course, as first official winner of the Barkley Marathons, he deserved nothing but respect.
A few quotes:
15: Another factor that contributes to the difficulty of the event in a rather obscure way is the near-requirement to camp at the campground where the loop starts and ends. Camping is not literally required, but one of Gary's customs is to not announce the starting time in advance. In recent years he has blown a conch shell in the campground on the morning of the race as a signal that the race will start in one hour. [in later chapters, the author reveals that there's not even a starting "Go!", just the lighting of a cigarette]
22: However, a more infamous maximum-security prison, the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary, is located along the edge of the Natural Area. This penitentiary gained national attention when, on June 10, 1977, James Earl Ray escaped from it, and headed into the Brushy Mountains. Ray was the convicted assassin of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ... Ray was captured 54 hours later. His escape and the ensuing chase through the Frozen Head area became part of the historical inspiration of the Barkley Marathons.
25: Thus the pre-Barkley candidates for "toughest" ultra were mostly races at least twice as long as Barkley, and every candidate for the "toughest" title prior to Barkley had had at least two finishers. In view of these pre-Barkley considerations of the toughest ultra, it is not surprising that when the first Barkley had no finishers, it was a significant phenomenon in the world of sports.
42: It is remarkable to note that Clifton's time of 5:50 for the first loop of the 1988 race remains as the fastest time ever run on any loop in any Barkley race through 2009. [we're talking maybe 20 miles... that's a record pace of ~20 minute miles]
45: Thus Gary turned victory into a form of punishment. Because the Barkley had been finished, he was going to make it even more difficult.
48: For several years beginning in 1989, this guardhouse was one of the book locations. In some years, runners actually had to crawl under the chain-link fence to get to the guardhouse to retrieve a book page.
59: Thus, several other runners headed out on their third loop. These other runners included David Horton, who had decided to drop out after two loops. but when he learned that Suzi and Nancy were doing a third loop, he took off in an attempt to catch them. He eventually did catch them, allegedly stopping to kiss their shoes, and then passed them. (I can totally see Horton doing all of this)
81-2: Mark was the only runner to keep going. He finished the fourth loop in 45:06, at about 4 AM Monday, and took another nap, as he had during the first night, after loop two. This time, he rested for just over two and a half hours, some of that unintentionally. He slept through his alarms, and overslept by about 40 minutes longer than intended. With just under 20 minutes to spare before the cutoff time to start the fifth loop, he headed out there one more time.
Mark Williams made history that day, by becoming the first person ever to finish the Barkley Marathons 100-mile race. His finishing time of 59:28:48 beat the 60-hour time limit by 31 minutes and 12 seconds. He had done what most of us really believed was impossible.
88: This unfortunately took them to the back side of the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary. They were immediately apprehended by armed prison guards, who were understandably concerned about this pair of strangely-dressed men approaching the maximum-security prison.
89: I was elated to get to the Garden Spot, and then to Coffin Springs, without getting lost! I was so happy and proud of myself, that I decided to head directly back down to camp to celebrate this moral victory. In other words, I once again took the Quitter's Road back to camp and quit. I was beginning to realize that I really enjoyed hanging around the campfire on Saturday night and Sunday with Gary and the rest of the quitters.
92: I recall vividly the awesome beautify of Barkley's most remote spots.... These images are indelibly imprinted in my memory as some of the most rugged yet serene and beautiful places on earth.
95: The most frequent use of the bugle that weekend would be to play Taps, the traditional military tune signifying the end of the day, or death. But in this case, Taps would be played for each runner who reached the end of his or her Barkley run unsuccessfully. The first phrase "tapped out" thus became synonymous with DNFing the Barkley. To add a little ego-deflating insult, Taps would be played even for those who successfully finished the three-loop run, but did not complete the 100-mile.
118: ... they eventually found their way back to camp, arriving at 22:14 race time. They thus set a new record for the longest time to return from a first loop.
131: Most of us Barkley followers immediately recognized that this was the most awesome performance that we had ever seen at the Barkley. No only was it a new 100-mile record by a substantial margin, it was done as a solo effort, on the toughest course yet, by a Barkley first-timer, an athlete who was not even a regular ultramarathon runner. ... It had a large dose of the usual wet weather, and even a significant amount of the much less usual snow. Cave Dog had not slept during his entire race duration of nearly 57 hours, and his time in camp between loops had totaled only about an hour and 45 minutes. ..
It i shard for me to comprehend Cave Dog's ability to do this. It was another mind-opening breakthrough that forces me to expand my belief in what is possible. This expanding of our limits is one of the most powerful lessons to be derived from the Barkley Marathons.
155: As Gary wrote in UltraRunning: "The new record for Barkley futility: 31:42:27 to cover a grand total of 2.95 miles on course."
165: "There seems to be a common thread among the decisively small group of finishers. Of the elite six, three have masters' degrees, two have doctoral degrees. They are engineers, scientists, professors, Navy SEALs, and a former Brown University student body president."
I was surprised, after I ordered this book, to find how dense the pages were with text. At a glance, there's quite a bit of content in these 200+ pages. However, after a few introductory chapters, the author settles into a chapter-per-year historical account of the races - course notes, who was there, how they did, any notable stories, and stories of the author's own runnings. While it's easy to see these chapters as formulaic, there's still some fantastic gems buried in them. Also, even in the first few chapters we find that the author is quite thorough in his writing style, bordering on repetitive, though not getting quite there. Of course, as first official winner of the Barkley Marathons, he deserved nothing but respect.
A few quotes:
15: Another factor that contributes to the difficulty of the event in a rather obscure way is the near-requirement to camp at the campground where the loop starts and ends. Camping is not literally required, but one of Gary's customs is to not announce the starting time in advance. In recent years he has blown a conch shell in the campground on the morning of the race as a signal that the race will start in one hour. [in later chapters, the author reveals that there's not even a starting "Go!", just the lighting of a cigarette]
22: However, a more infamous maximum-security prison, the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary, is located along the edge of the Natural Area. This penitentiary gained national attention when, on June 10, 1977, James Earl Ray escaped from it, and headed into the Brushy Mountains. Ray was the convicted assassin of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ... Ray was captured 54 hours later. His escape and the ensuing chase through the Frozen Head area became part of the historical inspiration of the Barkley Marathons.
25: Thus the pre-Barkley candidates for "toughest" ultra were mostly races at least twice as long as Barkley, and every candidate for the "toughest" title prior to Barkley had had at least two finishers. In view of these pre-Barkley considerations of the toughest ultra, it is not surprising that when the first Barkley had no finishers, it was a significant phenomenon in the world of sports.
42: It is remarkable to note that Clifton's time of 5:50 for the first loop of the 1988 race remains as the fastest time ever run on any loop in any Barkley race through 2009. [we're talking maybe 20 miles... that's a record pace of ~20 minute miles]
45: Thus Gary turned victory into a form of punishment. Because the Barkley had been finished, he was going to make it even more difficult.
48: For several years beginning in 1989, this guardhouse was one of the book locations. In some years, runners actually had to crawl under the chain-link fence to get to the guardhouse to retrieve a book page.
59: Thus, several other runners headed out on their third loop. These other runners included David Horton, who had decided to drop out after two loops. but when he learned that Suzi and Nancy were doing a third loop, he took off in an attempt to catch them. He eventually did catch them, allegedly stopping to kiss their shoes, and then passed them. (I can totally see Horton doing all of this)
81-2: Mark was the only runner to keep going. He finished the fourth loop in 45:06, at about 4 AM Monday, and took another nap, as he had during the first night, after loop two. This time, he rested for just over two and a half hours, some of that unintentionally. He slept through his alarms, and overslept by about 40 minutes longer than intended. With just under 20 minutes to spare before the cutoff time to start the fifth loop, he headed out there one more time.
Mark Williams made history that day, by becoming the first person ever to finish the Barkley Marathons 100-mile race. His finishing time of 59:28:48 beat the 60-hour time limit by 31 minutes and 12 seconds. He had done what most of us really believed was impossible.
88: This unfortunately took them to the back side of the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary. They were immediately apprehended by armed prison guards, who were understandably concerned about this pair of strangely-dressed men approaching the maximum-security prison.
89: I was elated to get to the Garden Spot, and then to Coffin Springs, without getting lost! I was so happy and proud of myself, that I decided to head directly back down to camp to celebrate this moral victory. In other words, I once again took the Quitter's Road back to camp and quit. I was beginning to realize that I really enjoyed hanging around the campfire on Saturday night and Sunday with Gary and the rest of the quitters.
92: I recall vividly the awesome beautify of Barkley's most remote spots.... These images are indelibly imprinted in my memory as some of the most rugged yet serene and beautiful places on earth.
95: The most frequent use of the bugle that weekend would be to play Taps, the traditional military tune signifying the end of the day, or death. But in this case, Taps would be played for each runner who reached the end of his or her Barkley run unsuccessfully. The first phrase "tapped out" thus became synonymous with DNFing the Barkley. To add a little ego-deflating insult, Taps would be played even for those who successfully finished the three-loop run, but did not complete the 100-mile.
118: ... they eventually found their way back to camp, arriving at 22:14 race time. They thus set a new record for the longest time to return from a first loop.
131: Most of us Barkley followers immediately recognized that this was the most awesome performance that we had ever seen at the Barkley. No only was it a new 100-mile record by a substantial margin, it was done as a solo effort, on the toughest course yet, by a Barkley first-timer, an athlete who was not even a regular ultramarathon runner. ... It had a large dose of the usual wet weather, and even a significant amount of the much less usual snow. Cave Dog had not slept during his entire race duration of nearly 57 hours, and his time in camp between loops had totaled only about an hour and 45 minutes. ..
It i shard for me to comprehend Cave Dog's ability to do this. It was another mind-opening breakthrough that forces me to expand my belief in what is possible. This expanding of our limits is one of the most powerful lessons to be derived from the Barkley Marathons.
155: As Gary wrote in UltraRunning: "The new record for Barkley futility: 31:42:27 to cover a grand total of 2.95 miles on course."
165: "There seems to be a common thread among the decisively small group of finishers. Of the elite six, three have masters' degrees, two have doctoral degrees. They are engineers, scientists, professors, Navy SEALs, and a former Brown University student body president."
January 14, 2023
“One cannot make exaggerative claims about the difficulty of Barkley, because no matter how extreme the claim, the reality is worse.”
There is something about this race that captures my imagination. I’ve watched the documentaries over and over again. Running The Barkley Marathons, finding yourself out there, is like heading to Mars - something on the very edge of human possibility.
“The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”
- Albert Camus
The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young - https://youtu.be/bG97F6b_6o4
Where Dreams Go To Die - https://youtu.be/NDZdsqbcGTU
Out There: A Journey to the Barkley Marathons - https://youtu.be/Jt3XPQFLOF8
Last Woman Standing - https://youtu.be/dJAW8STfiko
There is something about this race that captures my imagination. I’ve watched the documentaries over and over again. Running The Barkley Marathons, finding yourself out there, is like heading to Mars - something on the very edge of human possibility.
“The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”
- Albert Camus
The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young - https://youtu.be/bG97F6b_6o4
Where Dreams Go To Die - https://youtu.be/NDZdsqbcGTU
Out There: A Journey to the Barkley Marathons - https://youtu.be/Jt3XPQFLOF8
Last Woman Standing - https://youtu.be/dJAW8STfiko
April 6, 2022
It’s ok. Pretty technical with regards to the Barkley course. Frozen Ed certainly has details re: Who ran,what year, what each of their loop times were, and other tidbits of info people really wouldn’t find interesting to be honest…Ed also included each of his own personal letters (from 1985 to 2009) requesting admittance into the race since he became hooked on keeping everything Barkley…Details galore.
I read this wishing I knew some of these participants but not really wishing I was unfortunate enough to be chosen to run such a crazy 100mile trail run. There’s a great YouTube video of Gary Robbins’ attempt at the five loops in 2015 or so. The book was already published so no info in there. Overall a three star wishing for more stories because I kept wishing for more details about what makes the event so special. Frozen Ed spent copious amounts of energy with the details but the heartache and mood from his interviews with the participants seems distant and distracting.
I read this wishing I knew some of these participants but not really wishing I was unfortunate enough to be chosen to run such a crazy 100mile trail run. There’s a great YouTube video of Gary Robbins’ attempt at the five loops in 2015 or so. The book was already published so no info in there. Overall a three star wishing for more stories because I kept wishing for more details about what makes the event so special. Frozen Ed spent copious amounts of energy with the details but the heartache and mood from his interviews with the participants seems distant and distracting.
February 7, 2024
Love the cult like craziness around this event, and just how difficult it is. I highly recommend reading about it
April 7, 2022
From the horses mouth. A quite stunning read from Frozen Ed Furtaw. recommend for everyone. This will answers loads and also pose a whole lot more questions about what we humans are capable of. Recommended.
March 2, 2022
Not a great work of literature, but a must read for lovers of ultrarunning or barkley marathons. So much stories of the earlier years. Loved it!
December 27, 2018
I think you have to be really fascinated with the Barkley Marathons to really like this book. One year ago I have seen the popular documentary of the race on netflix and I immediately was fascinated. I was gifted this book for Christmas and was really excited to read it. If you are not familiar with how the Barkley works, the author describes it and the mentally of the race and the director very well. Most interesting for me were the stories of the different runners on the course. The good and the bad. Because the author himself was nearly at any race himself, the reader can get a good inside in the race. The only thing I did not really like, was that every chapter started with an extensive list of everyone who was there and what was changed on the course. But that was not really a bad thing, because if you ever wanted to race the Barkley Marathons it would help you a lot to get to know the course. Overall I really liked the book and in the end you kind of feel like an insider.
May 11, 2020
A couple of years ago, I became fascinated by the Barkley Marathons after seeing a documentary about the world's toughest trail race. That's the kind of hyperbole that might be used by different races, but by any objective measure it’s true in this case. This race has been going on for over 30 years in the mountains of eastern Tennessee and less than 2% of runners have been able to complete all five 20+-mile loops. This is an account of the race up to 2008 by one of its most frequent runners. You really get a great account of all of the quirks that have made this race the most difficult over the years. And if you still want to learn more, watch the documentary.
February 16, 2018
If you find yourself intrigued by the awesome and crazy Barkley Marathons, you'll probably enjoy this book, but I have to admit the writing isn't the best. Most of the chapters are a recap of a single year's race, and after a few years, it becomes a bit formulaic. I kind of felt like I was reading a book report, though one I found very interesting. It might not be for everyone.
The best parts were to the first few chapters that gave an overview of the race, and the last chapter which was Frozen Ed's reflection on the Marathons in general.
The best parts were to the first few chapters that gave an overview of the race, and the last chapter which was Frozen Ed's reflection on the Marathons in general.
July 4, 2017
Granted this author is no Hemingway- and he doesn't pretend to be. What makes this book special is his all consuming passion for The Barkley and what it means to him. For that reason I think this book is essential to trying to understand (and especially preparing to attempt) this incredible challenge. At times the level of detail can be a little dry, but there are plenty of great stories from this legendary to keep you engaged.
August 18, 2019
An insightful and captivating read which, for me, is the perfect accompaniment to the Netflix documentary. Probably more a read for enthusiasts over the casual reader, but for those, it is fascinating.
October 31, 2019
Not what I expected, this book chronicles the Barkley Marathons year by year. Lots of interesting tidbits of stories and lots of data (that I skimmed over). I would love to go hang out in camp, but I'll leave this race to the mega-badasses out there. :-)
June 11, 2016
Historical reference only
February 12, 2017
It's ok, I enjoyed the documentary on Netflix better (so rare for me to say something like that).
January 30, 2018
Little more background on this silly thing. Wants you to see how much you can hurt before making the decision to quit.
June 24, 2018
If you are a Barkley geek this is the only book for you.
October 25, 2025
“I go to test myself against something that to me is impossible. But in so testing myself, I see how far I can go, and then must learn to live with that self-limitation. Therefore, the Barkley is an exercise in self-knowledge and humility.”
“Since most runners finish most ultramarathons they start, they are using a measuring stick that is similar than they are. But the Barkley is the biggest measuring stick known to running…Not everybody likes confronting their own limits and failing.”
“Thus Barkley brings meaning to the apparently feudal attempt against the impossible. And doing so, it teaches us the important lesson, applicable to all of life, the meaning and happiness are to be found in the effort to achieve something, not only in the accomplishment of the final goal of that effort.”
“Since most runners finish most ultramarathons they start, they are using a measuring stick that is similar than they are. But the Barkley is the biggest measuring stick known to running…Not everybody likes confronting their own limits and failing.”
“Thus Barkley brings meaning to the apparently feudal attempt against the impossible. And doing so, it teaches us the important lesson, applicable to all of life, the meaning and happiness are to be found in the effort to achieve something, not only in the accomplishment of the final goal of that effort.”
August 6, 2021
This book is written poorly but the subject is so interesting that you'll fight through it. The philosophical aspect of the stories of this incredible race make it worth reading. An archive of the race is the most accurate way to describe it.
If you have seen the documentary on this race and want to learn more of the history, please read the book.
If you have seen the documentary on this race and want to learn more of the history, please read the book.
April 3, 2024
One of my favorite books written by an amateur writer. Furtaw clearly loves this race. Not sure I agree with him calling it the toughest race when it's more of an obstacle course that requires navigation skills (any course can have a low finisher percentage if there's a goat headbutting you in the crotch every five miles), but this was a fun read.
July 5, 2021
Great historic recap of the finishers and the race events. As a runner I loved all the detail and the race report standings, it was fantastic to see people try this race multiple times! It sounds crazy.
November 12, 2023
While this book could have benefited from a grammar check and some peer reviews, the structure was somehow off, and the central chapters are plainly repetitive. Nevertheless, it remains the best source of information for the Barkley Marathon.
May 10, 2018
Folksy but interesting.
January 5, 2022
Great stories not so great writing . It's out there thats for sure
February 9, 2024
Loved this book. Gives you a much better understanding and appreciation for the Barkley Marathons. Highly recommend if you’re a fan of the race.
April 2, 2024
Must read for anyone interested in the Barkley Marathons. Great historical account of the race.
January 5, 2025
Great read as a personal memoir about a very crazy event...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews