Knowing that Cantrell was an ultra-runner (covering distances of 30+ miles a stretch), and somewhat of a survivalist, makes me opt for the latter. Did he create the race to mock James Earl Ray because of his backward, racist beliefs? Or did he do it simply because he thought Ray’s physical prowess and survival skills were risible? The documentary has much more ground to cover, keeping the question tantalizingly open. We never discover what exactly Cantrell means. The old man gets serious for a moment as he says, without elaborating, that the reality is quite the opposite.
Cantrell describes getting the occasional email or letter from people admonishing him for honoring Ray with his race.
Thus the idea for his race was born.Īdding to the mystique of Cantrell is what he doesn’t say, or, at least, what the filmmakers leave out. Cantrell himself tells of jokingly remarking at the time that he could easily cover 100 miles in the same 55 hours. Ray escaped Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in 1977, not far from where Cantrell lives, and covered about 8 miles of the treacherous Tennessee mountain terrain in 55 hours before police apprehended him. A close friend tells us he’s a redneck, not too politically conservative, but definitely “not a bleeding heart.” The native Tennessean came up with the idea for the race when he heard about the prison break of James Earl Ray, the man who killed Martin Luther King, Jr. The race’s founder, Gary “Lazarus Lake” Cantrell, is an enigma. What makes it such a successful and entertaining movie is the rich subject matter. The style is a very straightforward look at the history of the race, its founder, and those participating in it. It’s worth noting that there is nothing particularly groundbreaking about the way co-directors Annika Iltis and Timothy Kane shot or edited The Barkley Marathons. We then seamlessly transition into a competition documentary, to watch and wait for who – if anyone – will be able to complete the 60 hour, 100+ mile trial by misery. The documentary The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young is about the few brave souls who gladly, and in many cases repeatedly, answer “Yes!” The film examines the event’s history and the athletes participating in the 2012 race, including their personal philosophies about life and what compels them to sign up for such a grueling few days. “Who on Earth would do such a thing?!” You’d be right to answer that way, and not many people would fault you for doing so. “No,” would be the honest and sane answer. Would you be interested in participating in an athletic event that’s been held annually for almost 30 years, attempted about 1200 times, and finished by only 10 people? It’s a race so punishing that most people quit before they’re even a fifth of the way through the course.
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