Ultrarunning superstar Courtney Dauwalter has thanked Jasmin Paris “for just blowing the roof off the thing” with her Barkley Marathons performance.
There had never been a female finisher of the infamous ‘Race That Eats Its Young’ until last week – not even Dauwalter herself, who completed one of the five loops well within 12 hours on her debut in 2021 and then again in 2022.
But Paris – at her third attempt – went all the way in Tennessee to shatter what was one of the few remaining glass ceilings in the sport and make headlines around the world.
‘Showing us what’s possible’
Asked for her reaction at the Salomon running athletes’ press conference in Annecy, Dauwalter said: “Jasmin Paris being the first female to ever finish the Barkley was really, really cool.
I was certainly glued to the Twitter feeds, refreshing it for those three days that she was out there.
“I’m so impressed by her – and thankful to her for just blowing the roof off the thing and showing us what’s possible.”
Mount Fuji next, then Hardrock
Dauwalter, the GOAT of women’s ultrarunning, has a whole raft of unprecedented achievements on her CV.
In 2023 she claimed a historic winning treble of iconic 100-mile trail races in Western States, Hardrock and UTMB, becoming the first person to win all three in one calendar year.
That too was a feat that many thought impossible given the extreme distance and elevation gain of all three races and the fact they all took place within 70 days.
And it’s clear that she hasn’t ruled out a return to Frozen Head State Park for the Barkley at some point in the future, adding: “For sure I’m still intrigued about those woods and what I could do out there.”
But as far as this year is concerned, she began it with a victory in Gran Canaria and will next head to Japan.
She explained: “I am feeling good after Transgrancanaria. It was a fun way to kickstart a year full of what I hope will be lots of mountains. So tons of climbing, using poles, going through nights – that will be kind of how I shape this season instead of last year where it was a lot of variety and packing in quite a few races.
“So I’ll head to Mount Fuji 100 at the end of April and then Hardrock 100 in the middle of July, targeting getting to Hardrock just as ready as possible to make a big loop through the mountains as well as I can.”
