Ultra-runner Jasmin Paris on being the first woman to complete one of the world's toughest races

In this extended chat, Jasmin Paris told Mike Hall what it was like to take on the Barkley Marathons, and how she finds time to train between her full time job and raising her two children.


A British Ultra-runner has described completing a 100-mile race across rough terrain as "the toughest thing I've ever done".

Jasmin Paris, from Hadfield in Derbyshire, was one of five ultra-runners to compete in the Barkley Marathons, an annual race that took her over rough terrain in Tennessee's Frozen Head State Park.

To prepare for such a challenging race, Jasmin had to fit her training around her full-time job as a lecturer at the University of Edinburgh as well as raising her two children.

She said: "I have a very supportive family, and my husband is very equal in terms of childcare.

"For Barkley, I did some really long eight, nine hour runs. I went to bed at 8pm, got up for midnight, and went out at 1am to do nine hours of hill reps... So I'll be back in time to take the kids swimming on Saturday morning."

The 40-year-old finished the race in 59:58:21 with just 99 seconds to spare before she reached the 60-hour cut-off, which would have disqualified her from the race.

She said: "The challenge was on from about six hours out, I knew it was going to be pretty tight.

"I was really pushing as much as I could, and I knew that every mistake I made was going to potentially end it for me."

Jasmin having a well deserved rest moments after completing the race. Credit: Escoacorrere

Jasmin stayed confident throughout the race, but when she entered the final kilometre with just minutes to go she knew it would be close.

She said: "I started to doubt whether it might be possible, and that was really difficult.

"I had to dig deeper than I've ever had to dig, and I was just so desperate to stop and breathe but I forced myself to go faster.

"I sort of said; 'you don't ever want to do five loops again, so either you pass out or you reach that final gate.'"

Jasmin is now one of only 20 runners who have ever completed the race across its four decade history.

The race is made up of five 20 mile loops of the Frozen Head State Park, with no aid stations along the way or markings to indicate the route. Instead, runners are expected to study and copy a map before the race begins. Once they have set off, they must rely entirely on their own notes.

Jasmin said: "It's kind of a wilderness really. You're not allowed off of the trails, and it involves a huge amount of ascent in total; more than twice the climb of Everest."

Instead of checkpoints, runners are expected to find books along the route and rip out the page that corresponds with their race number to prove they have stuck to the course.

Jasmin said: "So it involves a kind of mixture of bashing through undergrowth and wild terrain, and finding the books and navigation."

The course is so mentally and physically draining, runners often start to hallucinate.

Jasmin said: "I tend to see animals. Broken trees turn into things like mountain lions, pigs, and owls. After a bit you become accustomed to it. You're kind of aware you're hallucinating a bit.

"A new thing I hadn't really had before was I saw a group of people wearing black raincoats ahead of me on the mountainside. I was really confused but once I got there there was nobody."

The founder of the race, Gary Cantrell, previously claimed it was so difficult a woman would never be able to complete it.

According to Jasmin, he was glad to be proven wrong when she reached the finish line.

She said: "He was really happy when I finished. He was really happy to have a woman prove him wrong.

"I just took it as a kind of bait really. For me, that's the perfect thing to say to get me to want to do it."

Jasmin alongside the other winners of the 2024 Barkley Marathons. Credit: Escoacarrere

As well as proving Gary Cantrell wrong, she also hopes completing the race will inspire other women.

She said: "I would have been very happy if another woman had finished it... But I'm really glad a woman has finished it. I think it sends a really good message.

"I'm glad it's inspired people... to get out and do sport and be active and take on challenges they wouldn't have dared take on otherwise."

Jasmin is already planning her next challenge with her sights set on the Tor des Géants in September. The race will take her across 330km of the Western Alps.

She said: "That's the next multi-day big thing... Until then, I'm just really happy to enjoy some time on the hills. You can't do too many of these things where you constantly push yourself to the limit, because you would stop enjoying doing the running itself.

"So I'm just looking forward to some easy runs, followed by tea and cake for the immediate future."


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