A couple of weeks ago, we came across an interesting documentary on Netflix called the Barkley Marathon. Some of you may have heard of it (especially if you’re an avid trail runner) but to most of us, the name does not ring a bell.
To be honest, we watched the documentary out of curiosity; one being the name of the marathon itself and two… the race tagline :The Race That Eats Its Young.
What caught our attention was the unique characteristics of the race; it is only limited to a small number of racers specially picked by the organizer (we’re talking about 35 – 40?), an entrance fee of $1.60 BUT not before you submit an essay convincing the organizer why you should be allowed to join the race, no markers on the trail so the racers will have to find their way around using a map & compass, running in loops, different bib numbers assigned at the start of each loop and finally the requirement of the race itself; treasure hunting around the trail looking for hidden books to rip out the pages from the book according to the assigned bib number.
Sounds interesting? We recommend that you read this article brilliantly written by Leslie Jamison, who was personally there as supporter and spectator of the race when her brother was selected to run in the Barkely Marathon. That, or you could also catch the documentary itself in Netflix 🙂
source: Netflix / https://www.believermag.com/issues/201105/?read=article_jamison
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