Lazarus Lake on Endurance, Uncertainty, and Reaching One’s Potential
Conversations with Tyler
Conversations with Tyler
4.8 • 2.4K Ratings
🗓️ 20 September 2023
⏱️ 52 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Lazarus Lake is a renowned ultramarathon runner and designer. His most famous creation (along with his friend Raw Dog) is the Barkley Marathons, an absurdly difficult 100-mile race through the Tennessee wilderness that only 17 people have ever finished in its nearly 30-year existence.
Tyler and Laz discuss what running 100 miles tells you about yourself that running 26 miles does not, why so many STEM professionals do ultramarathons, which skill holds people back the most, why his entrance fee is no more or less than $1.60, the importance of the Barkley’s opaque application process, how much each race costs to mount, whether he sees a decline in stoicism and inner strength in America, what accounting taught him about running, which books influenced him the most, who's going to win the NBA title next year, how he’s coping with increasing fame, the competition he’s most focused on now, and more.
Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video.
Recorded June 29th, 2023.
Other ways to connect
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Conversations with Tyler is produced by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, |
| 0:09.5 | bridging the gap between academic ideas and real-world problems. |
| 0:13.6 | Learn more at mercatis.org. |
| 0:16.4 | For full transcript of every conversation, enhanced with helpful links, visit ConversationsWithTylar.com. |
| 0:26.1 | Hello, everyone, and welcome back to ConversationsWithTylar. |
| 0:29.7 | Today we have a running episode. |
| 0:32.3 | I am chatting with Gary Cantrell, who is better known as Lazarus Lake. |
| 0:37.4 | He is an endurance race designer and director, as well as a former runner himself. |
| 0:42.8 | He does ultra-marathons. |
| 0:44.9 | His races include the Barclay Marathons, Bigs Backyard Altra, Vault State 500K, a race |
| 0:52.0 | for the ages, and much more. |
| 0:54.5 | Lazarus is also star of a 2014 film, The Barclay Marathons, The Race That Eats Its Young. |
| 1:01.7 | Wikipedia states, and I quote, |
| 1:04.2 | His races are known to be especially grueling. |
| 1:07.1 | Trail runner magazine called him an evil genius. |
| 1:10.6 | The Leonardo da Vinci of Pain, a master of Sadomasochistic Craft, yet his races have developed |
| 1:17.4 | in almost cult-like following. |
| 1:19.9 | My view, of course, as your podcast owes, is much more positive than that. |
| 1:25.0 | Since Lazarus' event at Frozen Head State Park began in 1986, only 17 people have finished |
| 1:31.6 | it. |
| 1:32.7 | In most years there are no finishers at all within the 60-hour time limit. |
| 1:37.3 | Entrance pay, I believe, $1.60 to face the challenge. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Conversations with Tyler, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Conversations with Tyler and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.