Ashley Paulson smashed the women’s world record for 100 miles when she won the Jackpot 100 Mile Ultra just outside Las Vegas.
The 44-year-old American star clocked 12 hours, 19 minutes and 34 seconds to knock 17-and-a-half minutes off the previous best which was set by Ireland’s Caitriona Jennings last November.
Paulson also improved her own American masters (40–44) record from 2024 by a whopping one hour, 45 minutes, and 12 seconds.
7:21 mile pace – for 100 miles
The race was held on a 1.19-mile loop around a pond in Cornerstone Park.
Paulson went under six hours for the first 50 miles and though she slowed fractionally her average pace per mile was an astonishing 7:21 – or in kilometre terms that’s almost exactly 4:34/km.
All of which meant she won the women’s race by over two hours while the only man ahead of her was overall winner Rajpaul Pannu, who crossed the line in 11:38:56.
‘Dreams come true’
The event doubled as the USATF 100 Mile Championships and speaking afterwards to her sponsors Buzz Bomb Caffeine, Paulson said: “Honestly, it doesn’t feel real.
“I’m like, has this really happened? I worked so hard for it, but it came, it happened. Dreams come true, you’ve just got to keep fighting for it and show up, put in the work, and then execute. It’s real, we did it today.”
It’s the latest in a long line of achievements for Paulson, who was a pro triathlete in her 30s.
She is a two-time Badwater 135 champion, first taking the women’s title and course record in what is billed as the ‘world’s toughest footrace’ in 2022.
She then returned to California’s Death Valley 12 months later and beat her own mark by two-and-a-half hours as she also claimed the overall victory.
