Jasmin Paris completes Barkley Marathons, 1st woman to finish

British ultrarunner Jasmin Paris on Friday became the first woman to complete the Barkley Marathons, completing one of the world's toughest ultramarathons by 99 seconds within 60 hours.

Paris was one of five ultrarunners to complete the annual race – covering about 100 miles – held in Frozen Head State Park, Tennessee, which saw no finalists in more than half of the races over the course. of its nearly four decades of history.

Paris, who finished the race in 59 hours, 58 minutes, 21 seconds, had completed the “fun run” version of the roughly 60-mile race in 2022.

The Barkley Marathons, created by Gary Cantrell and Karl Henn in 1986, were inspired by the escape of James Earl Ray, the assassin of Martin Luther King Jr., who ran about 12 miles in 54 1/2 hours from a neighboring prison in 1977.

The ultramarathon was expanded from 55 to 100 miles in 1989. Its current course consists of five loops of approximately 20 miles each around the park with an ascent and descent of 54,200 feet.

There are no refreshments on the course, apart from water in two places.

Mark Williams became the first runner to complete the race within 60 hours in 1995. A total of 20 people have completed the race, with Jared Campbell, who was third this year, completing a record four times. .

Brett Maune holds the record for fastest time with a time of 52:03:08 in 2012. This year's winner, Canada-based Ukrainian Ihor Varys, clocked 58:44:59.

Paris, 40, a veterinary scientist in Edinburgh and mother of two, had already broken the course record at the Montane Spine Race in the north of England by 12 hours in 2019.