New Lazarus Lake book goes deep on the Barkley Marathons and Big’s Backyard Ultra

In the early 2000s, when writer Jared Beasley of New York City discovered his neighbour in apartment 244B was a grizzled veteran ultrarunner with a mysterious past, he had no idea it would change his life. The Pirate (as he refers to him, since he wouldn’t divulge his full name) didn’t just teach him how to run; he sparked an obsession with the mysterious world of ultrarunning. That led, eventually but inevitably, to an obsession with the Barkley Marathons and its enigmatic creator, Lazarus Lake, and ultimately to Beasley’s latest book, The Endurance Artist: Lazarus Lake, the Barkley & a Race with No End (to be published Sept. 16).

Initially, The Pirate told Beasley about an almost-forgotten, but still legendary, ultrarunner: Al Howie, which led to his first book, detailing Howie’s troubled life and accomplishments in running, many of which seem almost too fantastic to be true. (Howie held the cross-Canada speed record–72 days–for 31 years, and that’s not even his most impressive feat.)

Barkley-obsessed

It’s only a matter of time before a former non-runner who takes up running hears about either the Barkley Marathons, Big’s Backyard Ultra or Laz, a.k.a. Lazarus Lake (whose actual name is Gary Cantrell). Beasley would spend the next few years following him around to his various races and crewing him on his trans-America walks, to get inside the head of this secretive individual, who had created of some of the toughest and most cultishly-followed ultras in the world.

Thrilled to share that In Search of Al Howie has new life. A publisher has picked it up for a second, revised edition. A lot of new material actually. Several people who were very close to Howie reached out to me over the years. Should be out next summer!! 👍 pic.twitter.com/5MRY7O8OoK

— Jared Beasley (@DbJared) July 15, 2025

Many people have attempted to understand Laz, but until now, no one has gone far enough beyond the head-scratching stories and Laz’s own Yoda-like responses to figure out who this guy really is. Many people know he was inspired to create the Barkley Marathons after noting the tangled, inhospitable terrain surrounding Tennessee’s Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary foiled James Earl Ray’s escape, and that a drainage tunnel under the now-abandoned prison is a feature of the forbidding Barkley course. And many people know that the backyard ultra format, also invented by Laz, and which exploded in popularity during the pandemic, has pushed the distances covered into the hundreds of miles, one hourly four-mile loop at a time.

But few know much about Laz’s own ultrarunning exploits, or about his past. Beasley has pieced together a compelling tale from hundreds of hours of interviews with Laz’s wife Sandra, his first wife, his three adult children, his longtime friends and Laz himself–and the result is a read that rips along, alternating between shocking and poignant. 

ANNOUNCEMENT:
The Endurance Artist launches Sept 12 at Barnes & Noble — Murfreesboro, TN – 5pm.

💥 Join us for a conversation with Lazarus Lake and a book signing to follow.
📚 Pre-order here (B&N, Amazon, Indie): https://t.co/opvAsq8ioR#Lazbook #LazarusLake #bm100 pic.twitter.com/2do9EiST8L

— Jared Beasley (@DbJared) June 5, 2025

Watch for our review of The Endurance Artist, to be published in the September/October 2025 print issue.

Click here to pre-order the book.