Meet the only female runner to finish one of the most extreme marathons EVER

Impressive is one of the many words to describe Jasmin Paris’s incredible achievement: in March 2024, the British ultra-marathon runner became the first female finisher of the Barkley Marathons, hands-down the toughest race in the world. 

Only limited to 40 runners every year and well-known for its gruesome trail and many difficulties, the race takes place in Frozen Head State Park in Morgan County, Tennessee, USA.

Although the course varies with the editions, the 60-hour off-trail marathon is consistently composed of five loops. Each loop counts over 20 miles (roughly 32 km) for over 100 miles (160 km). Runners who complete three loops (96 miles) are said to have completed a “fun run”.

As of 2018, 55% of the runners couldn’t finish the marathon – and, before Jasmin, no woman had ever completed the colossal feat.

Jasmin discovered her passion for sports at a young age, and recalls being always at ease with nature. 

“As children, we spent a lot of time in the great outdoors,” she says, “my parents took me and my brother hiking from an early age.” 

Over time she embarked on more ambitious trips alongside her brother, deciding to go hiking or wild camping and exploring the mountains all over Europe.

She started running after leaving university, and she was immediately hooked. 

It wasn't until around summer 2021 that Jasmin fully committed to tackling the most insidious, challenging marathon of all: the infamous Barkley Marathons.

The savage run roots back to 1986, counting over 160 km of wilderness with a whopping 54,200 feet (16,500 m) of accumulated vertical climb. 

The two creators of the track, Gary "Lazarus Lake" Cantrell and Karl "Raw Dog" Henn, designed the trail inspired by the escape of James Earl Ray (who murdered Martin Luther King Jr.) from the nearby Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary. 

“I’d known about the Barkley Marathons for many years, but I didn’t think about it seriously until after the Montane Spine race in 2019, when I started to be asked in interviews whether I would consider racing,” Jasmin confesses. 

After that first 2019 interview, it took the runner a couple of years to consider the idea.

She also writes in her blog that, at first, she wasn't entirely convinced: "I can’t recall when I first heard about the Barkley Marathons, but I do remember that at first, I wasn’t at all convinced. The event sounded contrived, the course repetitive, and the emphasis on suffering strange."

In 2021, she finally found the right drive and excitement to dive into the challenge: however, she knew she had to be entirely committed if she wanted to complete this never-seen-before challenge.

“When my son (second child) was approaching his first birthday, I suddenly knew that I wanted to have a go, and I found myself full of enthusiasm for the adventure,” Jasmin says. 

And with that, she started training to accomplish something no female runner had ever managed before.

“My training for Barkley was fairly similar to any big event I’m working towards, but with more ascent – thanks to the incorporation of steep hill repeats to my long runs, as well as evening stair-climber sessions 2-3 times a week (double training days),” she explains. 

Jasmin likes to complete her training in the early morning, roughly from 5:30 a.m. to 7:15 a.m., as it’s the only timeslot she always has free as a full-time worker and a mother of two young children.

“At weekends I still do my training early,” she explains. “To have most of the day free for the family.

“To focus my navigation specifically for Barkley, my family and friends have set up several 'mini-Barkley' courses over the last few years, complete with magazines to tear pages from. We've had a lot of fun, and it's been great training too.”

The magazines were a pivotal part of the training: the Barkley runners, in addition to making their way through the rough off-trail path, must also find some books along the course (between nine and 15 depending on the year). Then, they must remove the page corresponding to their number from each volume. 

For the first time, in 2022, Jasmin witnessed Lazarus Lake – endurance race designer and co-founder of the Barkley Marathons – lighting his cigarette: with that iconic gesture, the race officially started. Adrenaline rushed through her, and she entered the challenge feeling she'd done all she could to prepare.

Sadly, the first two attempts – respectively in 2022 and 2023 – didn't go as Jasmin planned.

“In the first year I ran with Barkley veterans for much of loop one, but then it rained a huge amount overnight on loop two," she recalls. "By the end of that, I think I was one of only five runners remaining in the race."

Although the British runner completed a ‘fun run’ (three loops) she didn’t manage to finish in time.

“On loop three, I muddled my way through the navigation, making several big mistakes, but thankfully squeezing in a ‘fun run’ in just under the 40-hour time limit.” 

Back in Tennessee the year after, Jasmin was now fascinated with the race and determined to see what she could do.

“In the second year we had fantastic conditions (very cold but clear), but I knew I wasn’t in ideal form going into the race, so I was really pleased to get out on to loop four, having done my ‘fun run’ in less than 36 hours.”

After an injury that stopped her from running for six weeks, Jasmine managed to train consistently for her third attempt at conquering the gruelling marathon.

Looking back on it, she confidently says that the difficult time was during loop four.

“I think that’s the one most people struggle with, knowing it’s not yet the last, but already being so tired,” she explains. 

Towards the end of that loop, she struggled to eat and her insides felt terrible. 

“At one point, I lay down curled up for a minute in the night forest, hoping for the sick feeling to pass. The very hardest point was the final sprint though, in terms of absolute effort.”

However, on the bright side, the runner also admits that her chronically problematic knee felt better than it had in years, thanks to the increased volume and consistency of weighted strength training.

She also felt much more confident than the previous two times about the navigation: during each try, Jasmin had learned to quickly adapt to the weather, the lack of sleep and the terrain, with the latter being a major issue during the race.

Slippery, insidious and full of slopes, rocks and brambles slashing the flesh as she powered on, the event poses many challenges aside from sheer physical endurance. 

With just minutes to spare before the 60-hour mark, Jasmin racked up an incredible time of 59 hr 58 min 21 sec and was one of the five runners to finish the marathon, becoming the first woman in history to complete the Barkley Marathons.

With the long-yearned-for finish in sight and cheers in her ears, she felt close to passing out. Until the last moment, she wasn’t sure if she’d cross the finish or collapse a few steps away from it.

The lack of sleep also led Jasmin to hallucinate, from seeing sinister figures ahead of her to mistaking trees for big animals.

“Knowing that I kept pushing through those hard times, resolute to get to the end, makes the outcome all the sweeter to look back on,” she says.

It wasn’t an easy feat, but she’d come a long way since her first time tackling the ultra-race: “Barkley had been a three-year project for me, preceded each time by many months of dark winter training, and necessitating time spent away from the children to take part.

“The crowd at the finish was just fantastic, they carried me down those final metres with their cheers.”

"In terms of female runners, I’m inspired especially by Angela Mudge, Wendy Dodds, and Helene Diamantedes," Jasmin says, "all of whom I look up to with great respect as well as thanks, for their instrumental role in shaping attitudes to women in our sport."

She is also excited about being part of the Guinness World Records family, as it's one of those childhood ambitions she has managed to fulfil with an accomplishment never managed before.

In June 2024, the ultrarunner was appointed MBE by the King during the 2024 Birthday Honours.

Although she also enjoys reading, painting, and baking during her (little) free time, Jasmin's heart is in running. The British runner is already planning her next success and has her eyes on both the Scottish Islands Peaks Race and the Jura Fell Race in May.

After that, she’ll tackle the Tor des Géants in September, where she'll challenge her limits with another non-stop mountainous adventure (330 km, 24,000 m ascent).

We can’t wait to see what adventures await her in the future.