Tales From Out There: The Barkley Marathons, The World's Toughest Trail Race

Like many others, I've seen the Netflix documentary about The Barkley Marathons (a few times I admit). In this book, Ed has assumed the role of event historian and captured in amazing and vivid details the stories of the amazing men and women that have attempted "that". This is great and entertaining reading for endurance and data junkies and anyone who enjoys a great retelling of stories. I look forward to one day joining the fraternity of people who have experienced being "out there".

For those who are interested in true adventure and a tortured tale, this is a great book. Told by a frequent participant in one of the toughest races in the world, this book lives up to its billing.Frozen Ed provides an overview of the event and it's history as well as year by year accounts of the Barkley Marathons. A truly critical read for anyone who aspires to participate in the event or just wonders about the make up of the men and women who try to achieve what most would consider unthinkable.

Extremely detailed, well-written, technically accurate, with useful maps and a few black-and-white photos --- Ed Furtaw has done a fine job of recording the history of the Barkley Marathons, one of the hardest races in the world. Some "Famous Inspirational Quotes" from page 99: "I thought this would be the toughest thing I ever did ... it is much worse than that." --- "I sure hope I never come back." --- "This is just meaningless suffering without a point."

I stood by the smokey campfire eating burned Barkley chicken just as an observer at my first Barkley 100-mile race. Also there was a reporter from a national running magazine and the infamous race director, "Lazarus." Colorful characters all. I got to meet the author, Frozen Ed Furtaw, and even hiked South Old Mac mountain to the lookout tower with two other veterans of the race. Against that backdrop I read the new ultrarunning book, Tales from Out There. It was twice as good for having had my toe in the water. Yes, of course it rained out there. I got to stay until the last day, some 59+ hours from the start of the race to see one amazing finisher this year, "J.B.," Jonathan Basham, touch the yellow gate. The Barkley is the race inspired in part by the escape from the nearby Brushy Face Prison in 1977 by James Earl Ray, convicted assassin of Rev. Matin Luther King, Jr. Ray only made it 5 miles in 54 hours moving hard across this unforgiving terrain. Read about the Russians' attempt, read about the Marines. A must read for any serious student of the history of untrarunning.

Really impressed with this! Whether you run ultras, marathons, 5ks or nothing at all I think everyone can take something away from this book. Like others say, its full of facts, times, statistics and other info; you really learn a lot about the individuals running the race, the course itself, and the history of the whole thing. Also decided to write a review just because when you're done with it you really understand what makes the Barkley so great (and not just its sheer volume of mileage, climbs and difficult) but the larger picture of what it represents. Only by going to the brink itself can you come back learning something-- it upends the typical relationship with "failure" people have in the rat race. The 'out there' is a hideous sublime. But I digress-- just read it!Probably will never run that race but feel very inspired to go after my own goal races now!

If you want to learn more about the Barkley Marathons, this book is very informative. I was disappointed in the quality of the writing - someone else may find it easier to read. There doesn't seem to be any other book out there that provides the level of information about the Barkley Marathons - an explanation of the course and terminology unique to the Barkley; summary of each year's race; history of how the race evolved over the year. If you have seen the documentary on the race, this book will give you a deeper understanding of the race.

If you are an ultrarunner, or tend to geek out about race reports AND you have any appreciation for the Barkley Marathons, this is a must read. I have known about Barkley for years and have devoured as much information as I can get about it but somehow missed this book in my quest. I had the honor of running with Frozen Ed in a 50-mile race which he helped create in Colorado, and I learned that he had a significant record of participation at Barkley. One thing led to another and I ended up reading this book. It is a treasure trove of information about the history of Barkley, its creator, and the evolution of the race itself.

Enjoyment!!!

Lectura muy buena, para los interesados en el evento

A+

You will have to be a real ultra running geek to have even heard of The Barkley Marathons. But you only need to read the numbers; an annual race since the '80's, that attracts an unknown number of applicants. Only 35 starters and less than 20 finishers... ever, a less than 1% success rate. The Marathon de Sables is a walk in the park by comparison.Entry fee of $1.60, unknown entry process, no support, no helicopters, no sponsors..... wow!I want to do it, but I struggle to run 100+ miles in the UK across the moors let alone across this type of terrain. But as the author states the race is more about reaching your actual limit and finding out what it is like to give everything and still enjoy a noble failure.Not an easy read; lots of names and statistics. I found that I had to check back a few times to understand what I was reading. But the author is a runner who has written a book, so I think this can be forgiven!I'm not sure whether a non-runner would enjoy this book, I'm not sure why a non-runner would want to read this book! But if you run, or want to run long distance or want to know why people run this kind of event then it is worth the effort.I now want to run it more than ever, but I know that I would be lucky to finish the first lap.To Lazarus!

Amazing book I read this after the Netflix and YouTube programs about the BarkelyInteresting to know the history but reading it made me realise that this is a race I couldn’t runBut defiantly worth it

Perfect book. Exactly as expected, very detailed, one of my greatest impulse buys on Amazon.