Bring Laz to New Zealand!

Gary “Lazarus Lake” Cantrell, The Mastermind of such events as The Barkley Marathons and Big’s Backyard Ultra - events that are designed to not merely test, but push people beyond what were considered the limits of human endurance, is coming to Aotearoa.

The Relaps crew have been putting in the work convincing Laz that he’d like to come down here to oversee The VW Riverhead Backyard Relaps Ultramarathon and Relay..or maybe, he convinced us, you never know with Laz.

The Relaps, held from the 3rd of April 2020 will see the winner of the Last Person Standing pocket a Golden Ticket entry to Laz’s Big’s Backyard Ultra Marathon in Tennessee. Big’s is the world championship of the LPS, the original backyard event, whose entry list this year reads like a who’s who of ultra endurance running stars.

We couldn’t think of anyone better to blow the three minute warning and the hourly start whistle than the man himself. Who better to write the hourly updates? Which read like a modern day iliad, broken down into 60 minute chunks, delivered in Laz’s iconoclastic style? Lazarus Lake is a prophet.

To get Laz here, we need the community’s help. We need to raise $8,000 dollars for flights (these are expensive because he needs extra legroom) and accommodation. We can’t do this without you..

We will be holding an event the night before the Relaps starts (Thursday 2nd April), where Lazaurus will speak and have a live Q & A curated by Eugene Bingham and Matt Rayment of Dirt Church Radio, which will be made available as an extra special live podcast. We will be selling tickets to the live event to contribute to fundraising, but we still need your help to get him here. No Laz, no event, no event, no podcast...you dig?

The Backyard Relaps has an incredible atmosphere... How much more exciting will it be to see the man who started it all in action? For those attending to spectate, a chance to grab a word or a quick snap with Laz, for those competing, we’re sure his presence will drive people past what they thought they were capable of, be that Last Person Standing entrants, or teams….

We want to make this happen, thanks in advance for your generous support.

Photo: outsideonline.com