Growing up, I was always exposed to the New York and Boston Marathons. Thus, when I saw the documentary last Friday about the Barkley Marathon, I was extremely surprised. This marathon was by far one of the most interesting and intriguing concepts I had came across in a while and I was shocked to learn how little is known about it by most people. The marathon itself is more grueling than your average marathon.

Although the organizers try and discourage a lot of people from applying, thousands of applications still flood in which at first might be odd. However, I believe this makes perfect sense and depicts an important aspect of the human psyche that a lot of us can relate too. The thrill and reward from possibly accomplishing such a tremendous feat is one that greatly entices us. I think this relates really well to students coming to Cornell as even though we know it will be hard and a lot of work, we still come and try and show our merit. Doing well on an exam or project at this school boosts our confidence and the motivation to hurdle a daunting task draws us in just like the competitors drawn to the marathon.

All in all, I was glad I was able to watch this documentary and learned about the marathon as otherwise, I don’t think I would have ever stumbled upon it.