#175 - Max King

#175 - Max King

From The Steep Stuff Podcast by James Lauriello

April 30, 2026 · 1h 10m · Season 1 · Episode 175

About this episode

Max King discusses the cooperative aspects of the Barkley Marathons and the skills needed for off-trail navigation.

Send us Fan Mail Barkley Marathons is famous for suffering, but Max King explains the part most people miss: it’s a puzzle that rewards cooperation as much as fitness. We talk about why he’s drawn to deep-woods, off-trail navigation, how the old-school “tear a page from a hidden book” checkpoints actually make sense, and what it takes to build the kind of year-to-year knowledge that can move you from survival to real progress. If you’ve ever wondered why even elite runners struggle there, Max...

People in this episode

Host: James Lauriello

Guest: Max King

Topics covered

  • Barkley Marathons
  • off-trail navigation
  • cooperation in sports
  • fitness
  • running challenges

Keywords

  • Barkley Marathons
  • Max King
  • running
  • navigation
  • fitness
  • cooperation
  • challenges

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