A Special Breed

A close friend suggested I watch a documentary on netflix called The Barkley Marathons. It’s a wild story about an obscure, elite trail race held in Morgan County, Tennessee (see map). This run is regarded as one of the most difficult races in the world.

The race was inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr’s infamous assassin, James Earl Ray, and his highly popularized escape from Morgan County’s Brushy Mountain Penitentiary. Ray was missing for 56 hours but only managed to travel 8 miles in the treacherous hills. Brushy’s warden was famous for saying, “You may be able to escape the prison, but not these hills.”

The escape captured the attention of Gary Cantrell, an eccentric Morgan County trail runner familiar with the hills. Debating the escape with his friends, Cantrell claimed, “Hell, I could run 100 miles in that time”. A few years later, in 1986, Cantrell formalized the now-iconic event where trail runners attempt to run a 26-mile wilderness loop 5 times in 60 hours. The loop itself is a stated route through the daunting terrain — it doesn’t follow a path, or a trail, or a road. The route is a collection of ledges, cliffs, thorns, brush and an overall elevation change equivalent of climbing Mt. Everest…twice.

The subplot of the documentary is Cantrell himself. And for good reason. He would be best described as a hillbilly philosopher-genius. A Southern Appalachian savant. As the race started gaining clout in the running world, Gary started to observe a phenomenon. Traditionally, a marathon or ultramarathon is a test of an athlete’s preparation and ability. The Barkley, however, is more complex. While ability and preparation are vital, tolerance of uncertainty is the deciding factor. The Barkley “Journeys” (not “Marathons”) would be a more fitting name.

Established runners were dropping like flies due to the untamed conditions, the cadence of react/perform/react was something they had never seen, race day had always been Perform/Perform/Perform. It brings to mind the famous Mike Tyson quote, “Everybody’s got a plan, until they get punched in the face”. Traditionally runners had to fight their psyche, now the race itself is throwing blows.

Cantrell gradually learned how to weed out those fragile to disorder, by instituting a scavenger hunt esque application process. Finding out how to apply is a feat within itself, then the applicants must include their running résumé, an essay on “Why I should be allowed to run in the Barkley,” pay a $1.60 entry fee, supply a license plate from their home state/country as well as an item that Gary just personally wants — for example, a new flannel shirt.

If selected, the misdirection has just begun, runners are sent a “letter of condolence” that if read closely, is actually a letter of acceptance. As runners arrive from around the world, Gary explains that at some point within the next 12 hours they will hear the blowing of a conch shell indicating 1 hour until race time. This keeps much of the contestants up all night in fear of the conch’s roar, not knowing when it will be sounded, or how much to eat/drink/sleep. Gary claims that if this stuff stumps them, the race will eat them alive.

I have been the co-founder of a venture-backed tech startup for about 4 years now, and we are on an endless journey for the “right” people, once you gain steam, the “right” people are your biggest bottleneck, your success relies on your ability to build an exceptional team. We have been blessed with some great hires, but have missed the mark at times and both parties have felt the pain. Much like Gary’s early misses, they were qualified and had past success, but understanding the environment in which they found success is as important as any factor.

The virtues found in those who completed the Barkleys highly correlate with those who thrive at a fast paced start-up. Ability, work ethic & preparation are table stakes, reacting to the unforeseen with poise and determination, is the thin line between failure and success. Epictetus would have been a great founder, he said “its not what happens to you, but how you react that matters”. Our destination has been determined, we are building THE modern moving company at a scale and quality the world has never seen. It is vital we don’t just hire great racers, we need to know if you are fit for a good old fashioned trailblaze, we hold the machete, there is no map, no one to follow, uncertainty is the only constant and uncertainty needs to get you out of bed in the morning, not keep you in it.