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Jasmin Paris, a British athlete, made history on Friday by becoming the first woman to complete the Barkley Marathons, a grueling 100-mile race, with only 99 seconds left before the 60-hour deadline.
Paris was among the group of ultrarunners who successfully finished the yearly race at Frozen Head State Park in Tennessee. This race has a history of having no finishers in over half of its races since it began almost 40 years ago. Paris completed the race in 59 hours, 58 minutes, and 21 seconds and had previously completed the 60-mile “fun run” version in 2022. She also attempted the race last year but was unable to finish in time, although she did set a women’s record for starting loop four.
“In 2019, the 40-year-old ultrarunner, who is a veterinarian scientist and mother of two in Edinburgh, set a new course record for the Montane Spine Race in Northern England, beating the previous record by 12 hours.”
In 1986, Gary Cantrell and Karl Henn created the Barkley Marathons, taking inspiration from James Earl Ray’s 54.5-hour run of 12 miles to escape from a prison near Martin Luther King’s assassination site in 1977.
In 1989, the ultramarathon was increased from 55 miles to 100 miles. The current route covers five loops of 20 miles each at the park, with a total elevation gain and loss of 54,200 feet, which is equivalent to the height of Mount Everest’s summit at 29,000 feet.
There are no rest stops along the route, with the exception of two locations where water is available.
Athletes run five laps, sometimes in low lighting and without a predetermined start time communicated beforehand. In order to verify that they have followed the correct course, they must use a map and compass and tear out pages from books along the path. These pages are then returned at the finish line gate after each lap.
In 1995, Mark Williams made history by becoming the first runner to complete the race within the 60-hour limit. Over the course of the event’s existence, a total of 20 individuals have successfully finished the race. Among them, Jared Campbell has the most impressive record, having completed the race four times and placing third this year.
In 2012, Brett Maune set the record for the quickest completion time of 52 hours, 3 minutes, and 8 seconds. In the current year, the victorious runner, Ihor Varys from Canada who is originally from Ukraine, finished in 58 hours, 44 minutes, and 59 seconds.
Further information provided by Reuters.
The Independent is a news outlet that publishes articles from a variety of perspectives
The Independent is a media platform that publishes articles from a diverse range of viewpoints.
