Meet Jasmin Paris: First Woman To Finish Barkley Marathon In 38 Years

“It’s the toughest thing I have ever done. Afterwards, I just dropped. I needed to breathe for five minutes hard before I corrected because I’ve never been so oxygen deficient.” Jasmin Paris was hailed after she became the first woman to complete the Barkley Marathon in its 38-year history. 

Who Is Jasmin Paris?

Jasmin Paris has inspired millions and is all set to make more records in the upcoming Scottish Island Peaks race, a fell running and sailing race in May 2024. In an interview with the Guardian, she narrated her daunting, invigorating and exhausting experience. Right after the race, Jasmin slumped on the ground due to weakness, with only 99 seconds to spare from the assigned 60 hours to complete the marathon. Since the conception of the Barkley Marathon in 1986 only 20 people have been able to complete the ultramarathon out of thousands who participate and Jasmin is not only one of those 20 people but the only woman in the first 20 people. 

She described her experience and said, “It's not the fact that it's 100 miles that’s the problem – it’s about the terrain. Immediately after we set off we went up a slope so steep that at times my foot would slide back down, and I would have to go again. There were a couple of places we were climbing on our bellies. And this year, there was also a new section that used to be used for hillside mining, it was all covered in brambles so our legs got slashed to pieces.” One of the most interesting things about the Barkley Marathon is its traditions, every year the route changes and is never the same. The runners must find 9 to 14 books along their route, there is a secret entry to the race and the fee to participate is 1 dollar and 60 cents, the wildest of them all is how the race begins- it officially starts when the race director lights a cigarette. 

While everyone is viewing her as a superwoman, Jasmin expects people not to put her on a pedestal to but be inspired and do something that gives them joy, a hobby or a passion project that helps their mental health while raising a family and working as marathons did to her. She said, “I hope maybe it encourages people to have some hobbies of their own when kids, work and life get in the way. “Because it has certainly been really good for my mental health.”

While being on a 60-hour-long ultra marathon Jasmin tells what her source of sustenance and energy had been. She reveals “Bananas are the one thing that works for me when I’m doing these crazy long things. “I also tried to keep a mixture of savoury and sweet, including cheese and pickle sandwiches, pizza, frittata, Snickers and flapjacks. It gets really hard to eat, so you have to eat what you can.” Jasmin had explained how it is nearly impossible to get sleep so it is essential that people take a 3-minute power nap but her experience of doing this resulted in a lack of sleep and hallucinations along her journey of the marathon. 

With rigorous training and workout sessions squeezed from 5 am to 7:45 am, 40-year-old Jasmin who is a senior veterinary lecturer at the University of Edinburgh and a mom of two kids only gets certain hours in the morning for herself. She has not only inspired us with a historic win but also put forward the message of 'self-love' and how important it is to prioritise your interests, hobbies and 'me time' in your life.