The Barkley Marathon is a long, painful, 100 mile marathon that only male competitors have ever finished, that is until recently. On March 22nd, 2024, when a woman named Jasmin Paris made history and finished the race in 59:58:21. This is something no woman has ever done before in the history of the Barkley Marathon.
The race is five laps, each lap being 20 miles. It goes around a mountain in Frozen Head State Park, located in Morgan County, Tennessee. In total, the race is about one hundred miles long.
Since 1989, more than 1,000 runners have attempted to run this marathon, but only 20 have succeeded, all men. But back in March, a woman named Jasmin Paris finished it. She is the first ever woman to finish this race.
“It’s not the fact that it’s 100 miles that’s the problem – it’s about the terrain,” Paris said in an interview with the Guardian. The race is really hard to run. Participants who are running the race will have to face harsh weather conditions such as rain and thunderstorms and rugged terrain. Competitors also have to pull one or maybe multiple all nights to finish this. Because it took her almost 60 hours, that is three whole days! There are many races that are one hundred miles that have been beaten by all sorts of people. But when you’re running around on a hill in a big circle, that’s what makes it hard.
Fellow marathon superstar Courtney Dauwalter has remarked about Jasmin Paris and her success. She thought that Paris being the first to finish was really cool. She exclaimed, “I’m so impressed by her – and thankful to her for just blowing the roof off the thing and showing us what’s possible.”
This isn’t the only record Paris has broken. In 2023, she claimed historic winning treble of iconic 100-mile trail races. She won Western States, Hardrock, and UTMB, which made her the first person to win all three races in one year.
This marathon is a big race that hardly anyone has ever beaten. Jasmin Paris has made history. This woman has broken many records in the span of one year and a few months. This woman has made worldwide history.
