Short Suck #48: The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young

Timesuck with Dan Cummins

Dan Cummins

Cults, True Crime, Adult Humor, Religion, Conspiracies, Society & Culture, Education, History, Conspiracy, Biographies, Comedy, Dark Humor

4.8 • 22.4K Ratings

🗓️ 26 December 2025

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this Short Suck, we head into the brutal hills around Tennessee’s old Brushy Mountain prison to explore the Barkley Marathons— the nearly-impossible 100-mile ultramarathon. And we’ll meet Lazarus Lake, the cigarette-lighting, Dr Pepper-drinking madman who designed a race meant to break people, complete with secret applications, sadistic course changes, and “human sacrifices” who have almost no chance of finishing.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Have you ever heard of the Barclay Marathons?
0:03.2	Unless you're particularly into ultramarathons, meaning marathons longer than the typical breezy
0:08.5	walking the park race of 26 miles, you know, just that little tiny little race, or unless
0:14.3	you're somebody familiar with the niche coverage of these events, I'm guessing you have not.
0:19.3	Almost 40 years ago, two runners founded the Barclay Marathons,
0:22.7	a now infamous 100-mile foot race through incredibly unforgiving terrain. And yes, it's called
0:29.1	marathons, plural, not marathon, because the course keeps changing, known to its many disciples
0:35.1	as the race that eats its young.
0:38.4	The Barclay is considered one of the most, if not the most difficult ultramarathon in the world.
0:44.0	With 59,100 feet of climbing, it is the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest, not just once, but twice in a single continuous race.
0:54.7	As a result of this terrain and as a result of the marathon's bizarre and stressful rules,
0:59.6	some of the best runners in the world have tried and failed to even make it halfway.
1:04.6	Out of the 1,000 or so runners who have attempted the race over the years,
1:08.7	about 20 have finished, and that's exactly how its founders want it.
1:13.9	Words and ideas can change the world.
1:16.8	I hated her, but I wanted to love my mother.
1:18.9	I have a dream.
1:19.9	I'll plead not guilty right now.
1:21.4	Your only chance is to leave with us.
1:27.7	Welcome to another edition of TimeSuck Short Sucks. I'm Dan Cummins.
1:31.6	And today I will be sharing the fascinating and very entertaining story of the Barclay Marathons.
1:37.3	We don't usually cover sporting events here.
	...

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