The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young

This documentary is about a truly bizarre and almost mythic ultramarathon in the Tennessee woods, where runners are pushed to the absolute edge of human endurance on unmarked trails and grueling terrain. The Barkley Marathons is notorious in the running world for its secrecy, strange traditions, and nearly impossible odds—only a handful of people have finished in decades. The film pulls you right into the mystery and madness, introducing you to the stubborn, eccentric founder, Laz Lake, whose sly smiles and inscrutable rules set the tone for the entire event.

What stood out to me most was the cast of runners—not professional athletes you'd recognize, but a mix of everyday ultrarunners, quirky characters, and one guy who just seems dead-set on suffering. Their determination and sense of dark humor in the face of rain, cold, sleep deprivation, and literal thorns are surprisingly inspiring, and for a race with so little actual “spectacle,” the tension is nearly unbearable.

Visually, the documentary makes the grey-green labyrinth of Frozen Head State Park both forbidding and beautiful. The camera work does its best to keep up with the runners, but the most evocative shots are slow pans: fog curling above haunted hills, mud-caked shoes pitifully left at camp, or a lone headlamp bobbing in the pitch-black forest. You really feel the oppressive isolation the runners experience.

On the flip side, the movie can get a little repetitive if you’re not prepared for the format—lots of rainy campsite check-ins and close-ups of ravaged feet. I sometimes wished for a little more background on the contestants, but maybe that adds to the inscrutable nature of the race itself. Still, the pace is lean and the editing sharp, keeping you hooked to the end.

You would enjoy this if you like unconventional sports stories, are curious about extreme human endurance, or find joy in watching wonderfully eccentric people follow their passions to totally unreasonable lengths. It’s as much about the weirdness of people as it is about the feat itself—and it might just make you question your own limits (or your sanity).