Tales from Out There: The Barkley Marathons, the World's Toughest Trail Race
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- Create Date：2021-06-12 07:54:16
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Frozen Ed Furtaw
- ISBN：145054701X
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Summary
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。
Reviews
Max
，
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 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。 。。。more
Shane Orr
，
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。 Yo 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。 。。。more
Shawnee
，
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。 :-） 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。 :-） 。。。more
Thomas Hunt
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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。
Katie Stanton
，
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 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。 。。。more
Paula。Luzt-Online。De
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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 t 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。 。。。more
Sus
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Way too technical。 Enjoyed a long blog post about the same race so much more！
Jason Zimmerman
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If you are a Barkley geek this is the only book for you。
Arunaabh Shah
，
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 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。 。。。more
Amanda
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Folksy but interesting。
Colleen
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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 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。 。。。more
Toph White
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Little more background on this silly thing。 Wants you to see how much you can hurt before making the decision to quit。
Zachary Lemon
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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。 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。 。。。more
Molly Walker
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Interesting to learn about the history of the Barkley Marathons from the perspective of a participant。 The writing was difficult to follow at times and often felt bogged down in names and numbers。
Alicia （thriller_chick） Rideout
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It's ok， I enjoyed the documentary on Netflix better （so rare for me to say something like that）。 It's ok， I enjoyed the documentary on Netflix better （so rare for me to say something like that）。 。。。more
Matt Skains
，
For a competition that doesn't have much information readily available， this was a good look at the history of the event from one of it's earliest participants。 The guys who finish the Barkley are incredible and I am blown away by the dedication the race has。 For a competition that doesn't have much information readily available， this was a good look at the history of the event from one of it's earliest participants。 The guys who finish the Barkley are incredible and I am blown away by the dedication the race has。 。。。more
Joe
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Historical reference only
Nick Pannone
，
"Tales From Out There" is an account about the Barkley Marathons that are arguably the toughest footrace in the world。 I have recently become interested in these types of races， but I don't desire to run one。 Furtaw's account is something that I am definitely interested in。 The Barkleys don't entice me at all， except that I'd love to be there just to witness the race。As for the book， it is mostly a documentary that Ed Furtaw put together about a race that was created and managed by Gary Lazarus "Tales From Out There" is an account about the Barkley Marathons that are arguably the toughest footrace in the world。 I have recently become interested in these types of races， but I don't desire to run one。 Furtaw's account is something that I am definitely interested in。 The Barkleys don't entice me at all， except that I'd love to be there just to witness the race。As for the book， it is mostly a documentary that Ed Furtaw put together about a race that was created and managed by Gary Lazarus Cantrell。 While this book is mostly a report as the majority of the chapters are arranged following each race year-by-year through 2009， it is at the same time very whimsical。 Chapter 30 captures what Furtaw really believes about the race: "Hopefully the reader has perceived by now that the Barkley Marathons is a special event。 It is out there on the edge of possibility。 The great majority of attempts to run the Barkley end in failure in the sense of the runner not completing the completing the full five-loop distance。 However， those few attempts that end in success are tremendous accomplishments of human endurance。 Only the most fit and dedicated endurance athletes have attained this accomplishment。。。Barkley Training is when we push ourselves to extreme limits to try to get tougher and stronger。 Barkley Training is when we accept seemingly meaningless harsh conditions and find meaning in it， because it helps us accept the difficulty and hardships that we know we will face during the Barkley。 It pushes us to extend ourselves toward unreachable goals。 In this way， the Barkley helps us to be happy with what we can do， even though we cannot do everything toward which we struggle。"In essence， the book takes us through the creation and history of an ultra-marathon called the Barkley Marathons。 It is a race in the mountains of Frozen Head Park in Tennessee that have evolved into a 5 loop， 20 "Barkley Miles"/loop， 100 mile race that is to be completed within 60 hours。 It is grueling only lending itself to 1% finishing rate at the time of this book。 One of the most helpful portions of this book is the map on page 8 and the chart on page 9 that is repeatedly referred to throughout the course of the documentary。The best part of the book is the personal nature from which Frozen Ed Furtaw writes as one of the participants。 No one reads this book because it is a masterpiece of modern literature， rather one reads this because there is a mythical quality that comes with this endurance race and Furtaw's report does not take away from the legend， but only enhances it。 On page 166 he records another racer: "In the end [a reporter] had captured what she came to find: the real Barkley， the greatest race among men and mountains。 The real Barkley doesn't end in victory。 Its rare finishers are what statisticians call 'outliers。' The real Barkley chases down its strong talen， its brightest stars， and annihilates them。 It never ends the way it should。 That is the real thing。"This book made me want to witness the race not as a racer but through the environment if anything because it would be fun to watch and talk with the sinister creator， Gary Cantrell。 It's a good story that encompasses many shorter stories。 The race tests the limitations of mankind both physically and psychologically。 I'd like to see that kind of human feat。 Its a heckuva thing to watch man take on something for which he knows he will fail。 I recommend this book because it inspires and its just a grand story。 。。。more
Raven
，
A highly entertaining account of a race that I am grateful that I never have to run， from someone who has been running it throughout most of its history。 Frozen Ed gives us an insider's guide to the development， refinement， and ratcheting difficulty of the Barkley Marathons， complete with howlingly funny and terrible stories about experiences that one never wants to have。 Weather， exhaustion， sleep deprivation， mental breakdown。。。 these runners do it so that we don't have to。 Like many adventure A highly entertaining account of a race that I am grateful that I never have to run， from someone who has been running it throughout most of its history。 Frozen Ed gives us an insider's guide to the development， refinement， and ratcheting difficulty of the Barkley Marathons， complete with howlingly funny and terrible stories about experiences that one never wants to have。 Weather， exhaustion， sleep deprivation， mental breakdown。。。 these runners do it so that we don't have to。 Like many adventure books， much of the experience they have seems concerned with the liminal， a mix of strategizing against something much bigger than yourself and discovery of the boundaries of human potential achievement。 We hear a lot of stories of failure and a few of success。 As other reviewers have noted， there is some repetition as the book goes on， but that's hard to avoid in an event that the author ran most years。 。。。more
Amar Pai
，
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。 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。 。。。more
Eric
，
An interesting history to a fascinating race and the almost unbelievable runners who attempt the Barkley Marathons。 Probably of more interest to those runners involved， but it is a good retelling of many races。 Worth checking out if you are interested in the world's most difficult ultramarathon。 An interesting history to a fascinating race and the almost unbelievable runners who attempt the Barkley Marathons。 Probably of more interest to those runners involved， but it is a good retelling of many races。 Worth checking out if you are interested in the world's most difficult ultramarathon。 。。。more
Aaron
，
I'm glad I read this book so I don't have to put myself through this race。 Not the kind of challenge I aspire to but definitely a compelling test of endurance。 I'm glad I read this book so I don't have to put myself through this race。 Not the kind of challenge I aspire to but definitely a compelling test of endurance。 。。。more
Lori
，
Someone with only a casual interest in the Barkley may not enjoy this book， but someone who is familiar with ultra running races and the ultra running community will surely get a kick out of the humorous anecdotes and the edge of your seat tales of competition contained in this book。 Of particular interest are the chapters detailing the events of the first finisher of the 100 mile race， the controversial disqualification of two 100 mile finishers and the breaking of the course record on the 20th Someone with only a casual interest in the Barkley may not enjoy this book， but someone who is familiar with ultra running races and the ultra running community will surely get a kick out of the humorous anecdotes and the edge of your seat tales of competition contained in this book。 Of particular interest are the chapters detailing the events of the first finisher of the 100 mile race， the controversial disqualification of two 100 mile finishers and the breaking of the course record on the 20th running of the Barkley。 Furtaw's cheerful approach is refreshing and the philosophical musings he includes are insightful。 The writing style itself is simple and sometimes repetitive， but ultimately， this is a very satisfying read。 。。。more
Nick
，
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 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。" 。。。more
Vasilis
，
A very extensive reading about the Barkleys Marathon。 The author shows his obsession with the specific run something that is thrilling to read and learn about the stories from "out there"！ A very extensive reading about the Barkleys Marathon。 The author shows his obsession with the specific run something that is thrilling to read and learn about the stories from "out there"！ 。。。more
Todd Salzer
，