Jasmin Paris’ Barkley Marathons race top raises over £5,000 for charity

Jasmin Paris‘ iconic red running top that she wore when becoming the first woman to finish the infamous Barkley Marathons has sold at auction for £5,200.

The Brit made ultrarunning history earlier this year when becoming the first female to complete the five laps at Frozen Head State Park in Tennessee inside the allotted 60 hours.

And she did it with just 99 seconds to spare, collapsing to the floor at the yellow gate which marks the end of each loop in Laz Lake‘s fiendish creation.

MBE one of many awards

Her achievement sparked worldwide acclaim – and she was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in the King’s Birthday Honours List.

The unique, signed race jersey was put up for sale on eBay, with all proceeds benefitting the Street Child charity, which supports education in some of the world’s poorest countries.

The reserve price for the auction was set at £5000 and bidding opened on Friday July 19, with a close date of 9pm (UK) on Sunday July 28.

But it took until 8.58pm on Sunday, just 84 seconds before the cut-off, for the first bid of £5,100 to appear.

That was swiftly followed a minute later by what proved the winning bid of £5,200 in an auction finish that matched Paris’ desperate dash to the gate.

Unique race

Paris is just the 20th person to complete the Barkley Marathons and whoever paid the £5,200 now has a piece of running folklore from a race which continues to captivate people from around the world.

Dubbed the ‘race that eats its young’, the Barkley Marathons is a secretive event that attracts the very best ultrarunners from around the world and garners global attention despite the only updates coming from one man’s X feed – Keith Dunn.