How the Barkley Marathons make ritual and myth in the East Tennessee woods

How the Barkley Marathons make ritual and myth in the East Tennessee woods

Somewhere deep in the East Tennessee woods, there’s a race with no finish line — at least not one most people will ever reach. There’s no official website, no posted start time, and the course changes every year. Runners carry pages torn from books as proof they’ve completed each loop. And it all begins with the lighting of a cigarette. The Barkley Marathons isn’t just an ultramarathon. It’s a ritual. A myth. A myth that the Niche to Meet You po…