A race is supposed to be a contest of speed and finishing first. One bizarre race, however, intends the opposite. The sadistic Barkley Marathon held yearly in Frozen Head State Park, Tennessee, USA, gives runners no more than 60 hours to cross the finish line. The time limit is not the issue, though.

The challenge starts with the application to compete in the race. Unusual processes and requirements include emailing an essay to race organizer and director Gary Cantrell on a specified date and time, according to a documentary on the marathon. How the applicants submit it, when the race has no website, is a mystery, but the latest contestants were accepted after reportedly receiving a letter of condolence from Cantrell.

The marathon usually takes place in early spring but the exact date is not announced. When it begins, runners are treated to a barbeque featuring undercooked meat on the eve of the race, New York Post reports. Cantrell then starts the race anytime from midnight to noon, depending on his whim, by lighting a cigarette.

There’s only one copy of the course map, so runners have to memorize it. There are no markers on the trail to serve as a guide. The contestants are required to find and rip out about 60 to 75 pages corresponding with their bib number from notebooks hidden along the route to prove that they had been there, according to NYP.

There are only two water stations along the course, which consists of five loops with varying heights and distance of 100 to 130 miles. Not finishing a lap in less than 12 hours means disqualification.

Jasmin Paris, 40, of England won this year’s edition of the marathon on 22 March and became the first woman to finish.

While Barkley Marathon contestants don’t get any help as organizers want them to fail, it’s totally different with a TV game show which helps its contestants every way it can to prevent an interruption of the show.

“The Price Is Right” former producer Mike Richards revealed that the studio had a curtained spot

near the stage with a blow dryer and sweatpants in case of “accidents.”

In an episode of the show back in 2008, the purpose of the blowdryer and sweatpants was demonstrated. An excited contestant peed her pants so she was taken to the curtained side where show staff blowdried her pants while she wore the sweatpants to get back quickly to the show.