Ray’s escape has been a subject of folklore. He spent more than two days trying to get away in the very rugged Cumberland Mountains where the Barkley later was established. Ray was the convicted assassin of Martin Luther King Jr. The inspiration for creating the Barkley in 1986 was the 1977 prison escape by James Earl Ray from Brushy Mountain State Prison. Directly opposite of most ultras, the course is specifically designed to minimize the number of finishers. If they lose a page or miss a book, they are out. They are just given a one-hour warning when the conch is blown. To prove that they run the course correctly, books are placed a various places on the course where the runners must tear out a page from each book matching their bib number.

The entrance fee includes bringing a license plate from your home state/country. Runners are given the course directions the day before the race and aren’t told when the race exactly starts. Those seeking entry must submit an essay. For the 2018 race, 1,300 runners applied and only 40 selected. It is a mystery how to enter, It has no course map or entrants list is published online. The Barkley is an event with a mysterious lore. It is held in and near Frozen Head State Park in Tennessee, with a distance of more than 100 miles. The Barkley Marathons, with its historic low finish rate (only 15 runners in 30 years), is perhaps the most difficult ultramarathon trail race in the world. Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Pandora | iHeartRadio | Stitcher | JioSaavn | Podcast Index | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More By Davy Crockettīoth a podcast episode and a full article Get my new best-selling book about the history of crossing the Grand Canyon

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