Britain’s Jasmin Paris rose to national prominence after her outright victory in the 2019 Montane Spine Race, but had been a leading sky and fell runner for some time. 

And she made international headlines in March 2024 when becoming the first woman to finish the infamous Barkley Marathons, widely regarded as the toughest ultramarathon out there.

Combining her running exploits with motherhood and her job as a University of Edinburgh vet, Paris thrives on a busy schedule. 

Although she had previously enjoyed walking and backpacking, Jasmin Paris only started taking running seriously when she moved to Edinburgh in 2010. 

Having initially achieved success as a fell runner, twice winning British titles, she started competing in ultra-distance events in 2015. 

Since then, she has set records for the Bob Graham and Ramsay Rounds, won the Dragon’s Back Race and finished third in the Skyrunning World Championship. 

Before her Barkley Marathons success, she had been best known for her 2019 Spine Race victory in which she set a new outright course record for the 268-mile Pennine Way route. 

Paris, who expressed milk for her daughter at some of the checkpoints, took more than 12 hours off the fastest time and her mark stood until 2024.

Jasmin Paris Record and Results

Jasmin Paris built a strong reputation as a British fell runner with her CV including six victories at Wasdale between 2012 and 2018.  

She has also won the Yorkshire Three Peaks (2013), Borrowdale (2018), Langdale Horsehoe (2013), Isle of Jura (2014), Ennerdale Horsehoe (2013) and the Lakeland Classics Trophy series on five occasions. 

She won the Scottish Hill Running Championship in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015 and the British Fell Running Championship in 2015 and 2018. 

She added the Skyrunner World Series title to her repertoire in 2016 and won a bronze medal in the ultra category at that year’s Skyrunning World Championships. 

The latter performance underlined Jasmin Paris’ ability in longer-distance events, which have become her forte. 

In April 2015, Jasmin Paris set a new women’s record of 11:09 in winning the Fellsman and two months later was first women and second overall at the Dragon’s Back Race in Wales. 

She is a previous women’s record holder for the Bob Graham Round with a 15:24 clocking in 2016 and still holds the Ramsay Round best with 16:13 from the same year. 

She finished sixth at the Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc in August 2016, then continued her prodigious year by setting a women’s Paddy Buckley Round record with 18:33. 

These successes provided the foundation for Paris’ most notable performance to date at the 2019 Montane Spine Race, a 268-mile route along the Pennine Way. 

Jasmin Paris secured outright victory in 83:12:23, taking more than 12 hours off the previous course record set by Eoin Keith in 2016. 

In 2021, she set a new record of 29 Munros completed in a circular route inside 24 hours and won the Ultra Tour Monte Rosa in Switzerland. 

In March 2022, she became the first woman in nine years to complete a ‘Fun Run’ of three loops at the Barkley Marathons and that would spark what would prove to be a defining interest in the event.

The following year she once again completed three loops, and became only the second woman to begin a fourth loop, after Sue Johnston in 2001.

But then came the iconic moment in 2024 when she followed the 19 men who had previously finished the race since 1989.

Five 20-mile loops – with the elevation equivalent of climbing (and descending) Mount Everest twice – need to be completed within 60 hours, through treacherous terrain and undergrowth. And Paris achieved the feat with just 99 seconds to spare to spark global headlines and praise.