Barkley Marathons

Barkley Marathons is listed for February 14, 2027, in Petros, Tennessee, in the woods of Frozen Head State Park in Morgan County. The distance on the books is 100 miles (160.9 km), run as five loops of roughly 20 miles, each with a twelve-hour limit and a 60-hour cap overall. Cumulative climbing reaches about 60,000 feet, on slopes that can hit 60 percent, and close to nine runners in ten fail to finish.

Nothing about the event is conventional. Created by Lazarus Lake and inspired by a 1977 escape from the nearby prison, it takes no online entries: applicants have to convince the organizer by letter, and only 40 get in each year. The start comes when Lazarus Lake lights a cigarette. Runners navigate by map and compass to find books hidden in the forest and tear out the page matching their bib number. Jared Campbell has finished three times, and Jasmin Paris became the first woman to finish in 2024.