British ultramarathoner Paris becomes first woman to complete 100 miles of Barkley Marathons – Firstpost
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.
British ultrarunner Jasmin Paris on Friday became the first woman to complete the Barkley Marathons 100-mile race, completing one of the world’s toughest ultramarathons by 99 seconds within 60 hours.
Paris was one of five ultrarunners to finish the annual race held at Frozen Head State Park in Tennessee, which has not seen a finisher in more than half of the races in its nearly four-decade history.
Paris, who finished the race in 59:58:21, had completed the 60-mile “fun run” version of the race in 2022. She also ran last year, but was unable to finish the race in time.
The 40-year-old ultrarunner, a veterinary scientist in Edinburgh and mother of two, had already broken the course record for the Montane Spine Race in the north of England by 12 hours in 2019.
I still feel the happiness of Jasmin Paris’ arrival at the Barkley marathons, becoming the first woman in history. It was improbable. It was 99 seconds and one of the best results in history.
Many thought she shouldn’t be given time at the Fire Tower, but she never gave up pic.twitter.com/qnm618iKoX
– HarveyLewis (@HarveyLewisRuns) March 24, 2024
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, who ran approximately 12 miles in 54.5 hours from a nearby prison in 1977.
The ultramarathon was expanded from 55 to 100 miles in 1989. Its current course consists of five loops of 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 the 60-hour time limit in 1995. In total, 20 people have completed the race, with Jared Campbell, 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.
