British ultrarunner becomes first woman to finish Barkley Marathons

She only had two minutes to spare, but she did what fans around the world were hoping she’d do: in the 38-year history of the race, Jasmin Paris of the UK has become the first woman to finish the Barkley Marathons. She was the fifth of five finishers at Frozen Head on Friday; never have there been so many finishers in the same year. Paris was on the course for 59 hours, 58 minutes and 21 seconds. (The race, which involves completing five 20-mile loops and thousands of metres of elevation gain, moving in alternating directions, has a hard cutoff of 60 hours.)

Jasmin at the gate. #bm100 TY 2 Harvey Lewis 📷 pic.twitter.com/v6hidxl4JH

— Jared Beasley (@DbJared) March 22, 2024

They other finishers are as follows. Greig Hamilton of New Zealand, who was at Frozen Head for the third time; Hamilton earned a “Fun Run” in 2023–three loops of the course in under 40 hours. Jared Campbell scored an unprecedented fourth finish on Friday. John Kelly was about 20 minutes ahead of Campbell, and so was very briefly tied with him for the most Barkley Marathons finishes; this was Kelly’s third finish. Canada’s Ihor Verys of Chilliwack, B.C., was the first finisher this year, in 58:44:59, and is both the first Canadian and the first Ukrainian to finish the Barkley Marathons. Verys, Hamilton and Paris become the race’s 18th, 19th and 20th finishers.

Damian Hall of the UK and France’s Sébastien Raichon both returned to camp after failing to complete loop five.

The finishers. #BM100 pic.twitter.com/jImcGzD5nB

— Keith (@keithdunn) March 22, 2024

It was Paris’s third time racing the Barkley, earning Fun Runs in 2022 and 2023. Paris first made headlines when she won Britain’s gruelling Montane Spine Race outright in 2019. At that time, Laz predicted (accurately, as it turns out) that she might become the first woman to finish the Barkley. 

Campbell also completed the race in 2012, 2014 and 2016; Kelly’s previous finishes were in 2017 and 2023, when Aurélien Sanchez of France and Belgium’s Karel Sabbe also completed all five loops. (Sanchez was back this year, but dropped during the second loop.)

new finishers list #bm100 pic.twitter.com/GA8uvp2K5m

— John Sugden (@JohnSug) March 22, 2024

This was Verys’s first time at the Barkley Marathons in only his fourth year of competing professionally. Last year, he was runner-up at Big’s Backyard Ultra World Championships, which was won by American Harvey Lewis, who ran a mind-boggling 724 km over five days; Verys set a Canadian record of 107 “yards,” smashing his previous personal best by 267 km. Verys also has wins at B.C.’s Fat Dog 120 and the Canadian Death Race.

Lewis, who was also part of this year’s Barkley but dropped out of the race after the first loop, was out on the course to cheer on Verys as he took on his final loop. Verys reportedly smiled and said to Lewis “It’s only 60 hours, not 107,” referencing the elapsed time limit of the Barkley Marathons, compared to how long he was on the course at Big’s Backyard, which is a last-runner-standing event.

What is the Barkley Marathons, anyway?

The Barkley Marathons is five loops of a 20+ mile course (distances vary; the race is thought to be about 120 miles, or 192 km) featuring thousands of metres of elevation gain, with a time limit of 60 hours. GPS watches are not allowed; each runner is issued a cheap watch set to “Barkley time,” i.e., the 60-hour limit. Runners must collect pages corresponding to their bib number from 13 books hidden on the course (they receive a new bib for each loop); missing pages mean disqualification. There is water available on the course, but no aid stations. Runners may only receive aid from their crew between loops, in camp, where they are on the clock.