How they train: Jasmin Paris

Katy Barden pays a visit to an ultra runner who made history by completing the notorious Barkley Marathons – and did so while juggling a young family and a full-time job

“I thought it was you, I saw you on the news!” exclaims the postman as he hands a parcel to Jasmin Paris. He’s keen to chat to her about her latest achievement, but the working mum-of-two looks slightly bemused. They talk briefly about her neighbours and her dog, Moss, before he takes his leave, and his claim to fame, to the next stop on his round.

It’s mid-April and just over three weeks since Paris made history, completing the final loop of the Barkley Marathons and touching the famous yellow gate for the fifth time – the first woman to do so – before collapsing with exhaustion.

She has invited AW into her rural home to the south of Edinburgh to reflect on her experience and in particular to talk about the training it took to get to, and through, the ultra-marathon trail race known for its extreme difficulty and many peculiarities.

Since 1989 (when the original course was extended) more than 1000 competitors have attempted it, but only 20 have ever finished the 100-mile route which includes about 16,500m (54,000 feet) of elevation – the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest twice – within the 60-hour time limit.

In 2022, following her first Barkley Marathons where she completed a “Fun Run” of three loops, Paris published an extract from her application essay on her blog: “I’m looking for a new challenge, an adventure that will push me to the limits of what I can endure, and beyond. I’m ready to feel small and insignificant in the wilderness, and I’m excited to find out what I can achieve, when I believe in the impossible.”

She had gone to the Barkley determined to give it her all and had come away knowing that she had done all she could. “I understand now why Barkley becomes an obsession; in fact, I suspect I’m already firmly in its grip,” she wrote afterwards.

The entry process itself is shrouded in mystery and intrigue. In addition to an essay on ‘Why I should be allowed to run in the Barkley’, entrants must pay a $1.60 application fee and complete other requirements subject to change. If accepted, an entrant receives a ‘letter of condolence’ from race organiser Laz (Gary ‘Lazarus Lake’ Cantrell).

Paris returned to the beautiful wilderness of Frozen Head State Park in Tennessee in March 2023 and completed four loops. “When I…