“Some said it was impossible.” Jasmine Paris, 40, 2 kids, first woman to complete Barkley’s gruesome ultra

On March 22, Jasmine Paris made history in the woods of Ice Head Park in Tennessee (USA). The 40-year-old Scot is the first woman to finish the Barkley, one of the world’s toughest ultra-trail races. 160 kilometers run in 59 hours and 58 minutes and the altitude is about 20,000 meters. All this, without a track, without GPS or contact with the outside world. The feat in itself would be enough, but it would be a shame not to mention that Jasmine Parris is also a vet, works at the University of Edinburgh and is a mother of two children aged 3 and 6.

This race completes his extensive record in recent years. Since her twenties, Jasmine Parris has had a string of performances, two-time British mountain running champion, two-time Scottish mountain running champion… she also set a new women’s record in the Spine Ultramarathon in 2019, completing 430 kilometers. 83 hours and 12 minutes. And this was when she was still breastfeeding her daughter, barely one year old. How does her daily life get organized between her work as a vet, her training and her two children? How does he train for events like this? How does he manage to surpass himself physically and mentally? Jasmine Paris confided Madame Figaro.

Madame Figaro .- In 2019, British newspapers circulated pictures of you expressing your milk while running…
Jasmin Paris. And yet, it was nothing out of the ordinary. I was still nursing my daughter, so I had to pump at checkpoints between each loop of the course to avoid contracting mastitis. It was just part of my to-do list. replenish my food, get a map of the new section of the route…and use my breast pump. The biggest challenge for me was being away from my daughter in the first place. It was the first time I left her for more than one night.

How do you balance parenthood, work and training?
It’s a real juggling act. I work out six days a week. On weekdays I wake up at 5am and run from 5:30am to 7:15am. I train longer on the weekends, averaging 3 to 5 hours a day. I go very early in the morning to spend the day with my children. Running is my only time to enjoy the outdoors without worrying about work, kids and everything else. Running also makes me a better mom, it makes me happier and more patient with my kids. It’s also what allows me to be more focused and productive at work, to get home as quickly as possible and find them. In this sense, my sports training complements my daily routine.

They also allow you to achieve feats. How did you feel after completing Barkley’s legendary race?
An incredible sense of pride and accomplishment. The Barkley is the hardest event I’ve ever experienced, I’ve been preparing for it for three years. In my first attempt, I completed three 32-kilometer loops; On the second attempt, I wasn’t fast enough to complete the fourth loop. This time I wanted to go all the way. I proved that a woman can finish a race that some people think is impossible. I feel like I won for women all over the world.

Barkley is the hardest event I’ve ever experienced

Jasmine Paris

Pride worth the challenge…
Absolutely. Barkley is a stack of challenges. To succeed, you must complete the 160 kilometers in less than 60 hours, and each of the five 32 kilometer loops in less than 12 hours. The altitude also involves more climbing than any other race I know. So you have to run all the time. Add to this the difficulty of finding your way in the forest, off-trails, using only a map, GPS and phones are prohibited. You have to constantly concentrate so as not to get lost.

Without ever sleeping.
No, we don’t have time. The lack of sleep didn’t really bother me, just after the second sleepless night I started having hallucinations, I saw animals instead of piles of leaves and branches. But I was ready for it, one of the longest training sessions of the previous months had lasted almost 9 hours; I had climbed 4,700 meters, going up and down the same hill several times in the middle of the night. It was raining heavily in the highlands and snowing in the highlands. It was a good mental workout.

You seem to have the ability to ignore the signals your body is sending you during an athletic performance like this…
That’s right. I developed tendinitis in my left leg during the last Barkley loop, it was very painful. I actively forced myself to ignore it and keep running at speed. I was so pressed for time that I could not afford to limp.

What were you thinking throughout the ordeal?
When I run such long distances, I break them down into chunks in my head so that each goal seems achievable. At the start of the race, I don’t think about the five times 32 kilometers that I will cover, I only think about finishing the first loop. And throughout the test, I focus on my desire to succeed. This desire is strong enough to push me to surpass myself. I have always operated like this. If I have a goal, I commit to it and dedicate myself fully to achieving it and being the best I can be.

When I run such long distances, I break them down into chunks in my head so that each goal seems achievable.

Jasmine Paris

What motivates you?
Enjoyment is the key. My love for mountain landscapes is the main reason I run ultra trails, I never actually listen to music. I love to hear the birds singing, the sound of the wind on the leaves… The mountains just make me happy and I’m always happier when I come back.