Lazarus Lake

Gary Cantrell, known as Lazarus Lake, is an endurance race designer and director. His races include the Barkley Marathons, Big's Backyard Ultra, the Barkley Fall Classic, Vol State 500K, A Race for the Ages, the Last Annual Heart of the South, and the Strolling Jim 40. In 2018, Lake covered the United States on foot, starting in Rhode Island and ending in Oregon.

A largely fringe figure known only within the world of ultrarunning, Cantrell gained worldwide recognition following a 2014 documentary called The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young.

His races are known to be especially grueling. Trail Runner magazine called him an "evil genius," "The Leonardo da Vinci of pain," "A master of sadomasochistic craft." Yet, his races have developed an almost cult-like following. The Bitter Southerner magazine described Cantrell as a "Bearded Saint" and "The Godfather of the Woods."

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he organized the Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee (#GVRAT), which started on May 1 and ended four months later. During that period (123 days), the more than 19,000 participants—from all over the world—averaged over 5 miles per day to run (virtually from their hometown) a total of 635 miles / 1021 km, and so crossing virtually the entire state of Tennessee.

In 2023, Cantrell was inducted into the American Ultrarunning Hall of Fame. He lives with his wife Sandra in Bell Buckle, Tennessee.