A rare look into an enigmatic accountant from the Tennessee backwoods who morphs into Lazarus Lake, the world’s most notorious race maker.
The Endurance Artist is an all-access pass to the world’s most grueling races and the mastermind behind them.
Gary Cantrell, better known by the nom de guerre Lazarus Lake, has been described as a “hillbilly genius” and the “Leonardo di Vinci of pain.” His Barkley Marathons is considered the most difficult ultramarathon ever devised, a fight club in the wilderness run in secret. With books hidden in the woods, a cigarette-start, and elevation gain that amounts to summiting Mount Everest twice, the Barkley defies convention. Big’s Backyard Ultra pushes human beings to their absolute limit on a four-mile loop that is run every hour starting on the hour until there is just one runner standing—most recently, a high school teacher who ran 450 miles without sleep.
Author Jared Beasley uncovers the world of a recluse hell-bent on rewriting the rules to reveal a life reimagined and failure reinvented. Laz calls into question our obsession with winning and fairness, success and failure, and whether these ideas handicap potential.
About the Author
Jared Beasley is an author and journalist who never expected to find himself embedded in the world of ultrarunning. A former actor with a degree in theatre and literature from The University of Alabama, he brings a human perspective to a sport that is at times rife with danger and denial. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, Canadian Running, Outside, and he has a monthly column in Ultrarunning Magazine, "Detours of the Lost and Found." Two of his articles made Runner’s World’s top ten stories of the year in 2020. He’s been a featured guest on several podcasts, including Ultrarunner, Author’s Stories, Bad Boy Running, and The Shakeout Podcast.
Praise For…
"[Gary Cantrell's] backstory is as fascinating as the races themselves, and this is the definitive telling." — Alex Hutchinson, New York Times bestselling author of Endure
"Lazarus Lake may be a sadist, but he isn’t a simple trickster. He’s dealt with medical torture, profound penury, and relentless pain. He’s turned it all into creation and inspiration. He’s also walked across the country three times. I had long known about [his] races, and I’ve been delighted to learn about the man behind them through Jared Beasley’s wonderful book." — Nicholas Thompson, CEO, The Atlantic
“One of the most compelling narratives to emerge from the running world in years... this is a story about human complexity, about the paradoxes we all carry, about how the most interesting lives are often within normal people who just need to be tested beyond perceived limits.”
— David Callahan, CEO, Ultrasignup
"This is a truly brilliant book. Even if you’re not a runner, you’ll discover a fascinating story of sport and human endurance." — Ultrarunning World Magazine
“A superb exploration of one of the most interesting people of our times.”
— Jared Campbell, 4-time finisher of the Barkley Marathons
"If you’re a runner—you’ll devour it. If you’re not a runner—you’ll devour it. Beasley finally delivers the tale so many of us have waited to read, a book as rambunctious, bloody and—yes, beautiful—as its subjects." — Chris Solomon, contributing editor at Outside magazine, writer for The New York Times, National Geographic
“Captivating. Irresistible. Why does anyone do this?”
— Tom Foreman, Emmy-award-winning journalist, CNN
"The Endurance Artist is compulsively readable; fans will devour it in one sitting." — Canadian Running
"Gripping... Laz emerges as a compassionate and complex character, his story is utterly fascinating. Brilliant!" — Lord Bishop Helen-Ann Hartley, 13th Bishop of Newcastle and Member of the House of Lords, ultrarunning enthusiast
"A cast of characters as exceptional as they come.”
— Marshall Ulrich, Best-selling author of Running on Empty
