With her voice now having returned after her Barkley Marathon heroics, British ultrarunner Jasmin Paris has told the BBC she did it for women worldwide.
Paris, a mother of two, vet, and research scientist, broke boundaries with her display at Frozen Head State Park in rural Tennessee, becoming the first woman to finish the infamous event.
It involves completing five 20-mile loops inside 60 hours, including the elevation equivalent of climbing Mount Everest twice.
Confidence booster
Thanks to an incredible finish she made it back to the famed yellow gate with just 99 seconds to spare before collapsing with the sheer exhaustion – and elation – as you can see via the video on the embedded X post below from BBC Breakfast.
“I did it for me and I’m super happy that I achieved what I set out to do after the three years of trying,” Jasmin explained, referencing her two previous appearances in 2022 and 2023 which had seen her go closer than any other woman in recent times.
“But I’m glad that I kind of did it for women worldwide as well – not just runners – but any woman that wants to take on a challenge and maybe doesn’t have the confidence.
“The idea that I might have inspired them to believe in themselves… that’s huge, especially all the young girls – you know how hard it is to keep young girls in sports. That’s fantastic if I might have inspired them to keep at it.”
‘Meaning so far beyond the yellow gate’
Jasmin – and the other runners – were covered with scratches from the brutal terrain and undergrowth they had to negotiate in ‘The Race That Eats Its Young’.
“Brambles would get you and it was like having somebody cut you and that would happen loop after loop and it was like doing it back over the same scars,” she said.
Paris became just finisher number 20 in the history of the race since it was extended to 100 miles in 1989.
The feat as been described as “the greatest in ultrarunning history” and has taken the sport into the mainstream in a way that hasn’t been seen before.
Her exploits have been hailed by her fellow runners too, American legend John Kelly said: “Jasmin Paris had the kind of performance that makes this arbitrary adventure have meaning so far beyond this yellow gate.
“I don’t think anything at Barkley will ever top it.”
