8543RB Reading for Me Level 6 Part A

Factual
From Prison Escape to
Marathon Race
The annual Barkley Marathons is an ultra marathon trail race held in Frozen Head State
Park in Tennessee. The race was inspired by the 1977 escape of James Earl Ray from a
nearby prison. After a massive manhunt, he was caught and returned to prison. He had only
managed to make it 13 km through the hills and woods after 54 hours.
The creator of the race, Larry ‘Lazarus Lake’ Cantrell, was uninspired by Ray’s efforts and
thought he could get much further than that. Thus the unusual race was born and had its
first running in 1986.
This race has been dubbed ‘the craziest race in the world’ and ‘the race that eats its
young’.
The race statistics
The full course covers 160 km, consisting of five 32 km loops through the wild, hilly
Tennessee terrain. The elevation is extreme and roughly equivalent to climbing Mount
Everest twice.
There is also the ‘fun-run’ option which covers around 100 km, or three 32 km loops.
The race must be completed in under 60 hours.
Each loop has 13 checkpoints, where a book is hidden somewhere nearby. At each
checkpoint, runners remove a page from a book that corresponds to their bib number. All
13 pages must be collected in order to proceed on the next loop.
How to enter
The Barkley Marathons is limited to
40 runners, and registration fills up quickly.
Applicants do not need to be accomplished
runners but it helps if they have a certain
level of fitness.
Although the application process is
generally a secret, some details are wellknown.
This includes a $1.60 application
fee and the submission of a written essay
on why the applicant should be considered.
If selected, there is an entry fee which
changes each year, and sometimes includes
obscure requests for items like socks and
shirts. Runners must also bring a licence
plate from their home town so Larry can
display it at the camp.
The prize
There have only been 15 finishers in over
30 years of the race, so to actually finish
the race is the only prize. After 60 hours
running non-stop, with no sleep, the runners are rewarded with no more running.
50 Reading for Me Level 6 (Part A) 978-1-922843-65-4 R.I.C. Publications ® Prim-Ed Publishing