Touch the Gate(2023)

The 2023 Barkley Marathons

Touch the Gate is a documentary following Joe McConaughy's attempt at the Barkley Marathons, one of the world's most brutal endurance races. Spanning over 100 miles of punishing terrain with twice the elevation gain of Mount Everest, the Barkley is designed to break runners. In 38 years, only 15 competitors have finished. Hundreds apply annually despite the near-impossible odds. The film captures McConaughy's first effort alongside fellow ultrarunners Aurélien Sanchez, John Kelly, Karel Sabbe, Damian Hall, Jared Campbell, and Jasmin Paris as they push their limits across unforgiving landscape. A raw portrait of human determination against impossible odds.