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The Midpacker Podcast

#98 Jared Beasley | The Endurance Artist, Barkley’s Secrets, & Running Toward the Story

Oct 29, 2025 · 1 hr 11 min · 139.5 MB
0:00-1:11:29

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"I had to prove I wasn’t just another guy chasing Laz for a headline—I had to show up, over and over."


In this episode, Troy sits down with Jared Beasley, journalist, author, and now, the man who got closer to Lazarus Lake than just about anyone. Jered’s new book, Endurance Artist, is part biography, part endurance journey, and full-blown deep dive into the enigmatic world of Laz—the creator of Barkley Marathons and the Backyard Ultra.


Jared shares his own story of burnout, reinvention, and how he found healing through running and storytelling. What started as a curious profile of an oddball race director turned into years of friendship, exploration, and digging up the strange and beautiful layers of one of ultrarunning’s most legendary figures.


In This Episode:

  • How Jared transitioned from actor to investigative endurance writer

  • The 5-year journey to earn Lazarus Lake’s trust (and the stories that followed)

  • A raw look at failure, resilience, and finding peace through pain

  • Inside the Backyard Ultra and Barkley from a storyteller’s lens

  • The unseen emotional toll of embedded journalism

  • Writing a book while feeling like you’re not good enough


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Jared Beasley, Lazarus Lake, Garry Cantrell, Barkley Marathons, Backyard Ultra, Endurance Artist, ultra running, endurance sports, embedded journalism, failure, resilience, Troy Meadows, MidPacker Pod