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đź“šBook Announcementđź“š
Back at the Barkley firepit this year – and thrilled to announce THE ENDURANCE ARTIST is now available for pre-order! This rare look into Lazarus Lake will be published by 80/20 and distributed by Simon & Schuster. #BM100🔗bit.ly/3FuwNe5
It began withn through Laz’s life, his races, and my encounters with him: “What makes you quit?” And what started as a simple biography morphed into something else altogether.
There’s hard, insanely hard, then there’s Laz’s creations. He’s been called everything from a hillbilly genius to an evil mastermind to “the Willy Wonka of the Woods.” Through jeerleaders, taunts, and non-standardized (often unknown) distances – Laz questions whether our obsession with fairness ultimately limits our potential.
His Barkley Marathons is widely regarded as the most difficult and ingenious ultramarathon ever devised. Set in the thorny wilds of Tennessee, runners hunt for hidden books in hills, hells, and hollers. In 38 years, only 20 runners have reached the finish line. His Backyard Ultras upend our notions of winning and losing—a race with no finish line, where “speed kills” and the best finish last.
The Endurance Artist offers the reader a ringside seat to these crucibles and punches through the gore to expose a surprising humanity beneath. Along the way, an unflinching portrait of Lazarus Lake emerges – an aimless hippie-turned hospital orderly-turned accountant, who took a simple idea – that failure has to hurt – and made it into an art form.
"I was captivated. The suffering, striving, and dreaming of the ultra-community is right there smack up against the unanswerable yet irresistible question: Why does anyone do this? So many insights into Laz and his legacy, while never losing track of the basic mystery of the man." —Tom Foreman, Emmy-award-winning journalist at CNN
"Beasley finally delivers the tale so many of us have waited to read, a book as rambunctious, bloody and—yes, beautiful—as its subjects. If you're a runner—you'll devour it. If you're not a runner—you'll devour it. " —Chris Solomon, Contributing editor at Outside magazine
“Whether you run or not, you will love reading about the quirky, brilliant, hillbilly genius of Lazarus Lake who, like Bob Dylan, isn’t afraid to experiment. He doesn’t care about expectations or what others think of him. The Endurance Artist will... leave you simultaneously laughing and cringing as you meet a cast of characters as exceptional as they come.”
—Marshall Ulrich, best-selling author of Running on Empty and Both Feet on the Ground. Endurance athlete, speaker, and Route 66 UltraRun race director.
📢I'll be covering this year's Barkley for The Guardian. Stay tuned!
#TheEnduranceArtist #lazbook #ultrarunning
Back at the Barkley firepit this year – and thrilled to announce THE ENDURANCE ARTIST is now available for pre-order! This rare look into Lazarus Lake will be published by 80/20 and distributed by Simon & Schuster. #BM100🔗bit.ly/3FuwNe5
It began withn through Laz’s life, his races, and my encounters with him: “What makes you quit?” And what started as a simple biography morphed into something else altogether.
There’s hard, insanely hard, then there’s Laz’s creations. He’s been called everything from a hillbilly genius to an evil mastermind to “the Willy Wonka of the Woods.” Through jeerleaders, taunts, and non-standardized (often unknown) distances – Laz questions whether our obsession with fairness ultimately limits our potential.
His Barkley Marathons is widely regarded as the most difficult and ingenious ultramarathon ever devised. Set in the thorny wilds of Tennessee, runners hunt for hidden books in hills, hells, and hollers. In 38 years, only 20 runners have reached the finish line. His Backyard Ultras upend our notions of winning and losing—a race with no finish line, where “speed kills” and the best finish last.
The Endurance Artist offers the reader a ringside seat to these crucibles and punches through the gore to expose a surprising humanity beneath. Along the way, an unflinching portrait of Lazarus Lake emerges – an aimless hippie-turned hospital orderly-turned accountant, who took a simple idea – that failure has to hurt – and made it into an art form.
"I was captivated. The suffering, striving, and dreaming of the ultra-community is right there smack up against the unanswerable yet irresistible question: Why does anyone do this? So many insights into Laz and his legacy, while never losing track of the basic mystery of the man." —Tom Foreman, Emmy-award-winning journalist at CNN
"Beasley finally delivers the tale so many of us have waited to read, a book as rambunctious, bloody and—yes, beautiful—as its subjects. If you're a runner—you'll devour it. If you're not a runner—you'll devour it. " —Chris Solomon, Contributing editor at Outside magazine
“Whether you run or not, you will love reading about the quirky, brilliant, hillbilly genius of Lazarus Lake who, like Bob Dylan, isn’t afraid to experiment. He doesn’t care about expectations or what others think of him. The Endurance Artist will... leave you simultaneously laughing and cringing as you meet a cast of characters as exceptional as they come.”
—Marshall Ulrich, best-selling author of Running on Empty and Both Feet on the Ground. Endurance athlete, speaker, and Route 66 UltraRun race director.
📢I'll be covering this year's Barkley for The Guardian. Stay tuned!
#TheEnduranceArtist #lazbook #ultrarunning
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"Walk of Life," a documentary on Karl Bushby by Werner Herzog, will be one to look for. I just wrote a piece on Herzog's own walk from Munich to Paris for Ultrarunning.
Bushby walked across the globe-31,000 miles-took him 28 years. apnews.com/article/karl-b…
Bushby walked across the globe-31,000 miles-took him 28 years. apnews.com/article/karl-b…
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Jared Beasley retweeted
SIR PATRICK STEWART (1940-2026)
Before everything else, Patrick was defined by being born and bred in Yorkshire, the proud county in the north of England which he loved to the end. You could hear it in his accented voice and in the stern honesty with which he told you what he hiremen have no truck with half-truths or avoidance of big issues. He wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love.
We first met as ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company half a century ago but we weren’t in the same productions. My first strong memory was a few years later, meeting him in the street in central London when he told me about an offer to take over a leading part in 'Star Trek'. “But Patrick think of your stage career in the UK. Do you really want to risk—getting lost in Hollywood for years and years?”. Well, he took the risk and thank goodness for us all that he did for not just his devoted Trekkies but film and theatre audiences, who marvelled at his using international celebrity to star in a string of cinema successes ('X-Men' of course) and in great classical plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Peter Shaffer, Pinter and Beckett at Stratford-upon-Avon, in London’s West End and on Broadway.
America was his adopted home, where he met his adored Sunny who has cared for him through sickness and health, through thick and thin. But he never forsook his origins: and the proudest achievement of the most respected and beloved actor of his generation on either side of the Atlantic, was his appointment as Chancellor of Huddersfield University in Yorkshire.
His farewell performance in 'Avengers: Doomsday' is yet to be seen.
Ian McKellen 29 October 2026
Photo: University of Huddersfield
Before everything else, Patrick was defined by being born and bred in Yorkshire, the proud county in the north of England which he loved to the end. You could hear it in his accented voice and in the stern honesty with which he told you what he hiremen have no truck with half-truths or avoidance of big issues. He wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love.
We first met as ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company half a century ago but we weren’t in the same productions. My first strong memory was a few years later, meeting him in the street in central London when he told me about an offer to take over a leading part in 'Star Trek'. “But Patrick think of your stage career in the UK. Do you really want to risk—getting lost in Hollywood for years and years?”. Well, he took the risk and thank goodness for us all that he did for not just his devoted Trekkies but film and theatre audiences, who marvelled at his using international celebrity to star in a string of cinema successes ('X-Men' of course) and in great classical plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Peter Shaffer, Pinter and Beckett at Stratford-upon-Avon, in London’s West End and on Broadway.
America was his adopted home, where he met his adored Sunny who has cared for him through sickness and health, through thick and thin. But he never forsook his origins: and the proudest achievement of the most respected and beloved actor of his generation on either side of the Atlantic, was his appointment as Chancellor of Huddersfield University in Yorkshire.
His farewell performance in 'Avengers: Doomsday' is yet to be seen.
Ian McKellen 29 October 2026
Photo: University of Huddersfield
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Fascinating read
“Try it: Ask your friendly robot intern about the spiral protocol of the lattice resonance. Or the mirror architect of the frequency. Does it echo?”
@skestenbaum reports on a new movement of spiritual seekers communing with chat bots.
harpers.org/archive/2026/1…
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I plan to be in Bell Buckle, TN next October. On-the-ground coverage. It's going to be epic.
It always is.
It always is.
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The Belgian duo has stopped.
They completed 124 Yards.
124 hours of running.
Ignored 124 chances to quit.
A new World Record. đź‘Ź
They completed 124 Yards.
124 hours of running.
Ignored 124 chances to quit.
A new World Record. đź‘Ź
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I wrote about these two in the Laz book.
It was 2023:
"Ivo crossed the line, mere seconds left, and staggered backwards into the corral. Laz rang the bell. Ivo stumbled. A competitor caught him, pulled him across the start line...Ivo ran on."
👇
amazon.com/dp/B0DV4NBP4S?…
It was 2023:
"Ivo crossed the line, mere seconds left, and staggered backwards into the corral. Laz rang the bell. Ivo stumbled. A competitor caught him, pulled him across the start line...Ivo ran on."
👇
amazon.com/dp/B0DV4NBP4S?…
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Yard 123.
Ivo and Merijn came in at the first whistle (3 minutes till the bell).
A short turnaround and they are back out.
Ivo and Merijn came in at the first whistle (3 minutes till the bell).
A short turnaround and they are back out.
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YARD 122
Two Belgian runners, Ivo Steyeart and Merijn Geerts, have broken the World Record in Backyard Ultra. The previous Record was 119, set by Australian Phil Gore.
The Belgians continue to run.
Two Belgian runners, Ivo Steyeart and Merijn Geerts, have broken the World Record in Backyard Ultra. The previous Record was 119, set by Australian Phil Gore.
The Belgians continue to run.
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Yard 111 underway in Belgium.
Ivo and Merijn return to the course.
Between them, they've run 916 miles.
So far.
Ivo and Merijn return to the course.
Between them, they've run 916 miles.
So far.
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Yard 109.
It does go on.
What's left?
The World Record.
Just 10 Yards away.
Ivo Steyeart and Merijn Geerts are chasing it. 🇧🇪
It does go on.
What's left?
The World Record.
Just 10 Yards away.
Ivo Steyeart and Merijn Geerts are chasing it. 🇧🇪
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Jared Beasley retweeted
Mark Dowdle wins the United States race with 107 yards; Jon Noll with the assist. The United States finishes with 1,120 yards, #1 overall.
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Jared Beasley retweeted
And then there were two. The USA and Belgium remain in Big’s Backyard Ultra World Team Championship.
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