đBook Announcementđ
Back at the Barkley firepit this year â 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. #BM100đhttps://t.co/ceKUubrZWS
It began with a questionâone that ran through Lazâs life, his races, and my encounters with him: âWhat makes you quit?â And what started as a simple biography morphed into something else altogether.
Thereâs hard, insanely hard, then thereâs Lazâs creations. Heâs been called everything from a hillbilly genius to an evil mastermind to âthe Willy Wonka of the Woods.â Through jeerleaders, taunts, and non-standardized (often unknown) distances â 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 losingâa race with no finish line, where âspeed killsâ 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 â an aimless hippie-turned hospital orderly-turned accountant, who took a simple idea â that failure has to hurt â 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." âTom 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 andâyes, beautifulâas its subjects. If you're a runnerâyou'll devour it. If you're not a runnerâyou'll devour it. " âChris Solomon, Contributing editor at Outside magazine
âWhether you run or not, you will love reading about the quirky, brilliant, hillbilly genius of Lazarus Lake who, like Bob Dylan, isnât afraid to experiment. He doesnât 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.â
âMarshall Ulrich, best-selling author of Running on Empty and Both Feet on the Ground. Endurance athlete, speaker, and Route 66 UltraRun race director.
đąI'll be covering this year's Barkley for The Guardian. Stay tuned!
#TheEnduranceArtist #lazbook #ultrarunning
LAZARUS LAKE, 71, has stuck his cattle prod in the Pacific, finishing his third walk across America and his second Transcon. đ„
"hear me my friends
my feet are sick and sad
from where the sun now stands
i will walk no more
forever
apologies to chief joseph"
#lazcon COMPLETE
THOSE wanting to walk with Laz as he finishes his walk across America:
The Geezer is expected at 0700 at the Golden Gate Bridge. Be sure to give him space. He can bite.
PC: Olle Berg
#lazcon
Laz has spotted the Golden Gate Bridge. He will take an easy day, today. Then, hit the bridge Saturday morning and walk to the ocean. PC: Olle Berg
#lazcon#sanfrancisco#california
The Endurance Artist:
https://t.co/RlxpnCw89B
Geezer alert for San Francisco. đ„
Saturday is the Golden Gate Bridge.
Laz has now walked over 4,000 miles on this trek. "my response time isn't what it was a thousand miles ago."
#lazcon Final Leg, Day 57
Laz can smell the sea air.
He looks to be in San Francisco on Saturday, marking his second Transcon and his third walk across the country.
#lazcon Final Leg, Day 56
Laz has made Sacramento. đ„
"the last eruption of the santorini caldera actually blasted this statue head into low orbit... you learn stuff here."
#lazcon Final Leg, Day 54
"it is not an adventure if you know how it will come out."
Laz gets lost but rebounds with a big mileage day.
Barkley's yellow gate caught following him. đ
#lazcon Final Leg, Day 53
After quitting his job as a ticket puncher on a bus, Al Howie had a simple mission in life:
Never Stop Running...
to break records, to escape the law, the escape himself.
BOOK LINK: https://t.co/bGOp33o86N
"the left foot is trash. the legs are shot. i am so wobbly on my feet that i have trouble not falling."
Lazarus Lake, 71, on his third walk across America, has nine more days to San Francisco.
This is Laz one morning in West Virginia... two years ago. đ
#lazcon Final Leg, Day 52
"i have never had such a large percentage of drivers move over to leave me some room."
California đ„
11 days to San Francisco.
#lazcon Final Leg, Day 50
"i remember when i was the master of my journey.
but after all these miles i feel like an infant.
all i have left is keeping my body alive
and taping my dam feet
so someone can set me out on the side of the road and tell me to go."
#lazcon Final Leg, Day 49