Jared Beasley & The Endurance Artist

Host Scotty Sandow sits down with UltraRunning Magazine columnist Jared Beasley, an author and journalist who never expected to find himself embedded in the sport of ultrarunning and just wrote a new book called The Endurance Artist. The book offers an all-access pass to some of the world's most grueling races — and to the mastermind behind them: Gary Cantrell, better known as Lazarus Lake.

The Barkley Marathons is legendary — a secretive, punishing event with book checkpoints hidden in the woods, and an elevation gain equivalent to climbing Mount Everest twice.

And then there's Big's Backyard, where runners tackle a 4-mile loop every hour, on the hour, until only one runner remains. 

In The Endurance Artist, Jared uncovers the world of a reclusive figure (Laz) determined to rewrite the rules — challenging our ideas about success, failure and human potential.

The Endurance Artist is available now at bookstores everywhere.

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Thanks to our episode sponsor, Drymax