In my life I only achieved one result – in the misguided parlance of our time, “medalled” – in competitive sports, coming third in a cross-country race at school when I was 13. Since then, I have run – to fat.
I therefore greeted with a wry smile the suggestion from Gary Cantrall a few years ago that we might meet some day. That name might not be familiar to you, if not you may have heard of “(Laz)arus Lake”, his pseudonym; if not, then quite possibly the endurance event he created 38 years ago: the infamous “Barkley Marathons”.
Last month, a British woman, Jasmin Paris, made history by becoming the first woman ever to cover the five lap, 100 mile course in under 60 hours (with a mere 99 seconds to spare) and so finish, one of only 19 people ever to do so.
Given that this year another female endurance runner, Courtney Dauwaiter completed a 100-mile race in 15 hours 30, and the sub two-hour marathon is only 36 seconds out of reach, how can a race which attracts elite endurance runners (a sport which counts Laz as one of its founding fathers) over a relatively “modest” distance be so difficult to complete? After all, it took 9 years from its initiation until it was first completed, by another British athlete, Mark Williams; so why even attempt it?
Reader, to find the answer to this question, I urge you this weekend to watch “The Race that eats its young” (see the trailer below). You may have no interest in endurance running, you may even question the sanity of those that take part (and if you didn’t before watching the film, you will afterwards), but it’s an entertaining watch. Like “The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner”, this is about more than “just” running.
Anti-hero
Laz is an anti-hero for our times. Despite the fame that the race achieved when this documentary was made ten years ago, the entrance fee is still $1.60; that is, if you can find out how to enter. Entrance is limited to 40 runners, those foolish enough to race a second time having to make a “donation” of socks, T shirts or whatever other apparel Laz is short of. Any previous finishers – members of probably the most elite group of runners possible – have to give Laz a packet of Camel cigarettes.
Cigarettes? Long distance running? Yes, because the race begins when Laz lights a cigarette; that is, after the conch has been blown – which can happen at any time from midnight until noon on race day. The number 1 race number goes to the competitor Laz deems least likely to finish. Running on an unmarked course, with no GPS devices allowed, competitors need to prove their completion of each lap by tearing a page from books – the page number matching their race number, which changes every lap – hidden along the course. Previous books to be so defaced have included “The Valley of Death”, “The Idiot” and “The Body in the Woods”. There may be as few as 9 books or as many as 15, and without your pages at the end of each lap, you’re disqualified.
Finally, there is the small matter of the terrain. Held in Tennessee, the race involves around 16,500 metres of climbing (or close to twice up Everest, sans Sherpas). The national park the race is held in is called Frozen Head which gives you a general idea, but suffice to say the brambles, briars and sometimes frozen terrain mean that runners return from each loop looking from their waist down like extras from “The Passion of the Christ”.
Uplifting to watch
However, I urge you to watch this documentary not for sadistic reasons. Instead, I believe you will find it uplifting. You see, this is not a race which has sponsors; the runners either arrive on their own or with family or friends. They have no support teams. Humour, albeit sometimes of the gallows type, is omnipresent, but more than that, the race is against the almost insurmountable course, not against your fellow competitors. Excepting on the final lap, runners are alongside each other, urging each other on, and those that drop out stay on to support the surviving athletes. The purpose of the race is to find one’s personal limit, and those that take part are humble, not vainglorious.
We’re in dark times. “April is the cruellest month”, and already it’s living up to that promise. This weekend, spend 90 minutes admiring the good that humanity is capable of. The Barkley Marathons may be a form of self-elected suffering, but more than that, it’s a coming together not motivated by fame, or money, but instead a group of people striving, in their own way, to be better, to gain self-knowledge, to tackle the impossible.
We need more Lazarus Lakes in our lives, people who without self-regard, make a positive mark on the lives of others. Watch this, please.
Taking place this weekend (tickets available at time of writing)
Cambridge
Only he would call his stand-up show “A fistful of…”; and if you want to see the irrepressible Julian Clary at the Corn Exchange this Sunday (14th) you better book fast.
Essex
This Saturday and Sunday (13-14 April), step back in time and thrill to the spectacle of Medieval Jousting at Hedingham Castle. A two adult family ticket, with up to three children under the age of 17, is £62.50.
North Norfolk
Fancy some live music? The Boathouse Blues Band are playing Trimingham Village Hall on Saturday 13 April, only a tenner to get in and it’s a charity fundraiser.
Norwich
Save the planet – and those pre-worn clothes you love that need some TLC – with Mend with Friends at Norwich Millennium Library. Free to get in, it’s at 10am this Saturday (13 April).
Suffolk
You’ll recognise his drawings from Time, The Guardian and Punch: an exhibition of the work of David Hughes is being held in Moyse’s Hall Museum in Bury St Edmunds until the 12 May. Last week we published a review of the exhibition by Jenny Rhodes. £5/£3 adults/children.
