Barkley Marathon Prison Origins
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A story about how the Barkley Marathon was created, inspired by James Earl Ray's failed prison escape.
"There's this race called the Barkley Marathon created by this guy who has a nickname called Lazarus Lake. He started this marathon - it's 100 miles in the mountains of Tennessee. The reason he created it was James Earl Ray, the guy who assassinated Martin Luther King, had escaped from prison for 3 days and only ran 12 miles. Lazarus Lake was like 'What a softie, I easily could have done 100 miles on that route.'
So he creates this 100-mile race inspired by that route. They only allow 40 people a year to join and get thousands of applicants. It has a 60-hour cutoff. To join the race, you have to pay a $1.60 application fee and write a letter explaining why you're good enough. If you get accepted, he sends you a letter of condolences saying 'this is the day that you might die.'
The registration fee is you have to bring a license plate, flannel socks, and underwear because that's what Lazarus Lake needs to live throughout the year. The race doesn't start with a gunshot - it starts when Lazarus Lake lights a cigarette. Only about 18 people have ever finished this race."
Sam Parr
Host of MFM and fitness influencer
Sam Parr is a serial entrepreneur and business media pioneer.
In 2016, he founded The Hustle, a business news media company that started in his kitchen with just $12 and grew to eight figures in revenue.
Sam led the charge in making newsletters popular when few believed in their potential.
After four successful years, he sold The Hustle to HubSpot, a publicly traded company. Now operating as HubSpot Media, The Hustle reaches 3 million readers daily, employs a team of nearly 100, and has been the launchpad for dozens of its staff to found their own media companies and newsletters.
Sam remains the host of the popular business podcast, My First Million, and continues to start and sell companies. He also co-founded Hampton, a highly vetted community for entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs, and teaches people to write better through his platform, Copy That.